The House Fund Closes $115 Million Fund III to Support Berkeley-Affiliated AI Startups
The House Fund, a venture capital fund dedicated to pre-seed and early-stage investments in UC Berkeley startups—particularly in artificial intelligence—has successfully closed its third tranche, Fund III, with a total of $115 million in commitments.
Ken Goldberg, a respected UC Berkeley professor and roboticist, will join The House Fund as a part-time partner, according to a recent email interview with Jeremy Fiance, the managing partner of The House Fund.
"We’re called The House Fund because we aim to be the home for the Berkeley startup ecosystem," Fiance explained. "We strive to support Berkeley individuals on their entrepreneurial journeys—whether that involves joining existing startups, launching new ventures, providing feedback on business concepts early on, or offering advisory support."
Fund III is specifically focused on investing in AI startups connected to Berkeley—regardless of whether they are founded by alumni, faculty, PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, graduates, undergraduates, or even dropouts. Approximately 70% of the fund will target pre-seed stage startups, with The House Fund also leading, co-leading, and participating in seed rounds. They may consider a limited number of initial Series A rounds for founders with previous exits ranging from $500 million to over $1 billion.
"We typically write our initial checks up to $2 million and set aside funds for follow-on investments," Fiance noted. "For recently graduated founders or those who have dropped out, we can invest as little as $100,000 and are comfortable being the sole investor."
Founded in 2016, The House Fund claims to be the first-ever fund dedicated exclusively to Berkeley startups and is distinguished as the only fund backed by both the University of California System Endowment and the UC Berkeley campus endowment. Currently, The House Fund manages $330 million across its funds, with over 100 follow-on investments made in its portfolio companies. The first fund amounted to $6 million, while the second, which closed in late 2019, raised $44 million. Notable past investments include Anyscale, a framework for distributed computing; Crowdbotics, a software development platform; and Ambi Robotics, founded by Goldberg.
"There are approximately 600,000 Berkeley alumni—one of the largest alumni networks globally," Fiance remarked. "Alumni have long requested more accessible community engagement and streamlined ways to connect back after graduation. As a large public institution, Berkeley historically lacked the resources to address this need. Thus, we stepped in to create solutions for our community. Our mission is to meet the needs of entrepreneurs by offering curated resources for Berkeley AI founders and fostering the interconnected ecosystem necessary for startups to flourish."
Startups receiving funding from The House Fund gain access to advanced technology from the firm's partners, mentorship from Limited Partners and advisors, talent from the Berkeley community, and introductions to potential customers linked to Berkeley.
Additionally, The House Fund recently launched an accelerator program designed to provide select startups with a $1 million investment each, structured as a $10 million post-money SAFE note, alongside "free and early access" to technology from industry partners such as OpenAI, Microsoft, and Databricks. (SAFE notes grant investors the right to acquire equity at a future date.) Accelerator participants also benefit from mentorship provided by Gradient Ventures, Google’s AI-focused venture fund, in conjunction with support from The House Fund's technology partners.
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