About Necessary Ventures
Necessary Ventures is a venture capital firm founded in 2020. It is primarily based out of San Francisco, United States. As of Jul 2026, Necessary Ventures is an active investor, having invested in 59 companies, with 2 new investments in the last 12 months. It primarily invests in Seed round in United States based startups. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from Enterprise Applications to High Tech and Consumer. Most recently it participated in the $***** Series A round of Kanurra Overall, Necessary Ventures portfolio has seen 5 unicorns, 3 IPOs and 8 acquisitions including key companies like Planet, Wayve and Talkspace. A lot of funds co-invest with Necessary Ventures, with names like Collab Fund sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. Necessary Ventures has team of 22 people including 6 partners.Key Metrics
Team Members
Portfolio Sectors
Portfolio Locations
Rounds of Entry
Seed, Series A & 2 more
Portfolio IPOs
Necessary Ventures' List of Top Investments
Necessary Ventures has a portfolio of 59 companies, including 5 unicorns. Their most notable investments are in Rubi and Plural Energy.Their portfolio spans across United States, United Kingdom, India and 5 more locations. They have invested in Enterprise Applications, High Tech, Consumer and 23 other sectors, across stages such as Seed, Series A and 2 more. Here is the list of top investments by Necessary Ventures:
1. Planet
Provider of daily satellite imagery and geospatial data analytics services. The organization offers high-frequency imagery, mosaics, on-demand tasking, and analytic feeds. It transforms imagery into insights, providing data for monitoring, change detection, and analysis. The company delivers data products and cloud-based tools, offering solutions across various industries.
Key facts about Planet
- Founded Year: 2010
- Location: San Francisco (United States)
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $602M
- Employee Count: 1,749 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: Western Technology Investment, HighGear Ventures and 53 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Post IPO, Sep 12, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Public
2. Nomba
App-based payment acceptance solutions for SMBs. It offers solutions for payment tracking, payment management, payment acceptance, and more. It also offers invoice and inventory management solutions. The app is available for iOS and Android users.
Key facts about Nomba
3. Wayve
Developer of embodied artificial intelligence software for autonomous vehicle systems. This technology utilizes end-to-end machine learning models to enable driving automation across various vehicle types. The software functions without the requirement for high-definition maps, allowing for adaptation to diverse environments and road conditions. By processing sensor data through generative models, the system facilitates autonomous navigation and decision-making capabilities. The platform supports the deployment of foundation models designed to improve safety and scalability in real-world driving scenarios.
Key facts about Wayve
- Founded Year: 2017
- Location: London (United Kingdom)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series D
- Total Funding till date: $2.61B
- Employee Count: 1,044 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: Baillie Gifford, Qualcomm Ventures and 60 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series D, Apr 15, 2026, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
4. Talkspace
Online platform offering virtual consultation services for mental health conditions. It is an online mental health platform offering convenient access to licensed therapists and psychiatric providers for therapy and medication management. It provides flexible options for therapy, including live sessions and messaging.
Key facts about Talkspace
- Founded Year: 2011
- Location: New York City (United States)
- Annual Revenue: $100M - $500M as on Dec 31, 2025
- Last Known Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $109M
- Employee Count: 1,201 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: TriplePoint Capital, La Maison Partners and 21 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Grant (prize money), Sep 03, 2020, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
AI-enabled drug discovery and development platform for novel therapeutics. It focuses on identifying new targets and designing optimized molecules. The platform utilizes biological and chemical datasets, machine learning models, and a supercomputer to accelerate the discovery of medicines. It aims to improve the speed and efficiency of drug development for conditions with high unmet needs, including cancers and rare diseases. The company also forms strategic partnerships to expand its impact on patients.
Key facts about Recursion Pharmaceuticals
- Founded Year: 2013
- Location: New York (United States)
- Annual Revenue: $50M - $100M as on Dec 31, 2025
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $452M
- Employee Count: 2 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: HTIF, Baillie Gifford and 48 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Post IPO, Jul 12, 2023, $*****
- Highlight: Public
Necessary Ventures' Year-on-Year Investment Trends
Necessary Ventures has invested in 59 companies over the last 7 years, with an average of 3 new investments annually in the last 5 years. In 2025, it made 5 investments, while as of Jul 2026, it has made 3 investments in this year. Its most recent first time investment was in Kanurra and most recent follow-on round was in Nitra.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 2 | 1 | 3 |
2025 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
2024 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
2023 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
2022 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
2021 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
2020 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
2019 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Necessary Ventures' Investments by Stage
Necessary Ventures has made 10 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $4.45M, 8 investments in Series A stage with an average round size of $12.6M, 2 investments in Series C stage with an average round size of $50M and 1 investment in Conventional Debt stage.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Seed | 10 |
Series A | 8 |
Series C | 2 |
Conventional Debt | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Necessary Ventures' Investments by Sector
Necessary Ventures has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the HealthTech, Enterprise Applications, FinTech, Auto Tech and Environment Tech. Notably, it has invested in 49 Tech companies, 32 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 24 Software companies and at least 23 companies focusing on Consumer (B2C).Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
HealthTech | 7 |
Enterprise Applications | 6 |
FinTech | 4 |
Auto Tech | 3 |
Environment Tech | 3 |
Others | 34 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Necessary Ventures' Investments by Geography
Necessary Ventures has made most investments in United States (19), followed by Peru where it has made 1 investment.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
United States | 19 |
Peru | 1 |
Venezuela | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Necessary Ventures' recent investments
Necessary Ventures has made 3 investments in 2026 so far. Kanurra and Arc Boats are the latest among them.Here are the most recent investments by Necessary Ventures:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jul 27, 2026 | United States | Series A | 4153 | [+4] | |
Mar 19, 2026 | United States | Series C | 2205 | [+4] | |
Mar 10, 2026 | United States | Series B | 3170 | [+15] | |
Sep 24, 2025 | United States | Seed | 5421 | [+2] | |
Aug 28, 2025 | United States | Series A | 3622 | [+7] |
Unicorns in Necessary Ventures' Portfolio
Necessary Ventures has 5 unicorns in its portfolio - Wayve, FBN, Andela and others. The most recent unicorn in their portfolio is Wayve. It became a unicorn in 2024, 2 years before Necessary Ventures first invested in it.Here is a list of unicorns in Necessary Ventures' portfolio:
Tracxn Score | Company | Short Description | Founded year | Sector | Location | Company Stage | First Investment/ Acquisition Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
73 | Developer of embodied artificial intelligence software for autonomous vehicle systems | 2017 | London | Series D | bopscdw | ||
71 | Network of services for farm management, supplies, and financial solutions | 2014 | San Carlos | Series G | m{stbih | ||
64 | Tech talent training and employment solutions provider | 2014 | New York City | Series E | mdqhsez | ||
63 | Developer of industrial solutions for oil and gas, fuels, and defense | 2016 | Houston | Series D | tlwdp{c | ||
65 | Provider of employee mental health wellness platform | 2017 | San Francisco | Series D | {xbrzpj |
IPOs and Publicly Listed companies in Necessary Ventures' Portfolio
3 of Necessary Ventures' portfolio companies have become public. Planet got listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), in Apr 2021 and Recursion Pharmaceuticals got listed on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) at marketcap of $2.92B.Here are Necessary Ventures' portfolio companies that went public:
Company | IPO Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Apr 30, 2021 | - | - | 6765 | |
Apr 16, 2021 | - | - | 1284 | |
Oct 22, 2020 | Jan 30, 2019 | Series A | 3907 |
Acquired companies in Necessary Ventures' Portfolio
8 companies from Necessary Ventures' portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition was Moov.Here are Necessary Ventures' portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
May 21, 2026 | - | - | 2793 | |
Mar 09, 2026 | - | - | 5042 | |
Sep 05, 2025 | - | - | 7133 | |
Dec 06, 2023 | - | - | 8365 | |
May 12, 2022 | - | - | 7042 |
Team profile of Necessary Ventures
Necessary Ventures has a team of 22 members including 6 Partners and 7 Venture Partners located in United States. Necessary Ventures' team does not sit on the board of any company as of now.Here is a list of top team members in Necessary Ventures:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Partner | Los Angeles | - | ||
Partner | Oakland | - | ||
Partner | New York City | - | ||
Partner | San Francisco | - | ||
Partner | San Francisco | - | ||
Partner | Oakland | - | ||
Venture Partner | Los Angeles | - | ||
Venture Partner | Austin | - | ||
Venture Partner | New York City | - | - | |
Venture Partner | Marina Del Rey | - |
Co-investors of Necessary Ventures
Over the past 7 years, 257 investors have co-invested in Necessary Ventures's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before Necessary Ventures: Y Combinator, AME Cloud Ventures and 84 others have invested in rounds before Necessary Ventures. There are 3 companies where Y Combinator has invested before Necessary Ventures and 2 companies where AME Cloud Ventures has invested before Necessary Ventures.
- Top Co-investors of Necessary Ventures: 127 investors entered a company along with Necessary Ventures. These include investors like Collab Fund (2 companies).
- Invested after Necessary Ventures: A total of 44 investors have invested in Necessary Ventures's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include Inspire Medical (1 company), Justin Mortara (1 company) and Fred Robertson (1 company).
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