Webinar
Six Pillars of Deep Tech Venture Investing
Matt Caspari, Managing Partner of Alumni Ventures’ Deep Tech Fund, provided a look at how the fund was positioned across the categories driving some of venture’s biggest outcomes — from AI and biotech to space, fusion, advanced manufacturing, and the rebuilding of U.S. industrial capacity.
See video policy below.
In this session, Matt walked through the Deep Tech Fund’s investment thesis and explained how the team was approaching the sector. He discussed how Alumni Ventures identified and evaluated deep-tech companies, how the team assessed risk and milestones in technically ambitious investments, and where it saw the most compelling opportunities forming. Matt also shared recent portfolio activity and the factors shaping the team’s conviction across categories.
Whether you were a current Alumni Ventures investor sharpening your view of deep tech or an accredited investor evaluating the sector for the first time, this session provided a grounded, investor-focused perspective on one of the most consequential shifts in venture. Watch the recording to hear directly from Matt and learn from his responses to investor questions during the live Q&A.
Want to access our Deep Tech Fund startup deals to see, evaluate, and optionally invest? No cost, no commitment.
Key Takeaway
- HomeGet an inside look at the Deep Tech Fund — the thesis, portfolio construction, and where the team is sharpening conviction today
- HomeUnderstand how Matt and the team identify, underwrite, and build a portfolio around companies solving civilization-scale technical problems
- HomeHear how the Deep Tech Fund fits into a long-term venture allocation across AI, biotech, space, fusion, advanced manufacturing, and U.S. industrial capacity
Rated a Top 20 VC Firm by both TIME and CB Insights.
Alumni Ventures is America’s largest venture capital firm for individual investors.
About your presenter
Overview
Matt Caspari invests in mission-driven founders building the next generation of iconic companies—entrepreneurs tackling the world’s hardest, highest-stakes problems. He backs breakthrough technologies with the potential to redefine critical industries, unlock new markets, and create a more sustainable, secure future.
Before Alumni Ventures, Matt was a two-time venture-backed founder/CEO and a leader of the innovation team at Nike. He founded Aurora Biofuels, a deep-tech venture that grew to 100+ employees and secured more than $100 million in funding before its acquisition by Reliance Industries. Earlier, he advised life science multinationals at Cambridge Pharma Consultancy (acquired by IMS Health) and gained experience on Bloomberg’s M&A team. Matt holds a BS in Biochemistry from Georgetown University and an MBA with a Certificate in Entrepreneurship from UC Berkeley.
Funds actively worked on
Investment Area of Focus
His investment lens favors bold solutions to global challenges and durable advantages rooted in technology and aligned with long-term megatrends. This translates to surgical robots powered by physical AI, next-generation energy systems, space-based infrastructure, longevity therapeutics, and more. The through-line is the potential for extraordinary value creation at the intersection of deep science and global need.
Representative investments Matt has led for Alumni Ventures include Andromeda Surgical and Cytronic (Physical AI); Arda Therapeutics and Cambrian Biopharma (Technologies for the Human Body); Max Space and Orbital Operations (Space Infrastructure); and Fortera and Mainspring Energy (The New Energy Stack). Alumni Ventures’ Deep Tech portfolio also includes companies such as Axiom Space, Ayar Labs, Cohere, Frore Systems, Groq, Hawkeye360, Hayden AI, Lambda, Radiant, and Rigetti (Nasdaq: RGTI).