Civilization Ventures

Civilization Ventures is an operator-led venture capital firm founded in 2017 by Shahram Seyedin-Noor and headquartered in San Francisco, CA. The firm invests in early-stage scientific founders building disruptive companies in genomics, diagnostics, digital health, synthetic biology, gene and cell therapies, and AI-in-biotech. It targets pre-seed and seed rounds as lead investor, writing initial checks of $1M–$15M, and also deploys an Opportunity Fund for follow-on investments in proven portfolio companies. The firm manages over $200M in assets across multiple funds, having grown from a $1M pilot fund (2017) to a $35M Fund II (2020) and most recently Civilization Ventures III, L.P. (a 10-year fund). The portfolio spans 75+ companies with 17 exits and 3 unicorns, including BillionToOne, Omada Health, Rocket Pharma, and Rewrite Therapeutics (acquired by Intellia). The firm also runs a Fellowship program for PhD and MD candidates from elite institutions, training the next generation of biotech founders and investors; applications are accepted via Typeform on a rolling basis.