Biotech VC, Chicago

ARCH Venture Partners

Venture capital firm · Chicago · Founded 1986

Quick read

ARCH Venture Partners is an early-stage biotech and deep-science VC founded in 1986, headquartered in Chicago with a secondary office in Seattle. The firm manages approximately $12 billion in AUM across 17 funds, most recently closing Fund XIII at $3 billion in September 2024. ARCH co-founds companies directly with university researchers and national lab scientists, placing concentrated bets on breakthrough life sciences platforms before most investors show up.

Key facts

Founded
1986
Founders
Steven Lazarus
Employees
93
Sectors
biotech, healthcare, ai, hardware
Website
www.archventure.com

Investment thesis

ARCH co-founds companies at the concept stage directly with university researchers and national laboratory scientists, taking contrarian positions in early-stage life sciences, deep science, and physical sciences where the potential for disease prevention, detection, and cure is largest. The firm writes large checks and builds concentrated portfolios, repeatedly leading $100M+ formation rounds.

Recent activity

  • Jun 2026investment
    Kardigan raised $400M in an IPO to fund three clinical-stage cardiovascular programs; ARCH Venture Partners is a backer. archventure.com
  • Jun 2026investment
    Parabilis Medicines set a biotech IPO record; ARCH Venture Partners is listed as a backer. archventure.com
  • Jun 2026investment
    ARCH-backed SonoThera closed a Series B to advance safer gene therapies. archventure.com
  • Jun 2026investment
    Ollin Biosciences raised an oversubscribed $330M Series B co-led by ARCH Venture Partners and TCGX to advance Phase 3 development of OLN324, a retinal disease therapy targeting wet AMD and DME. Global Phase 3 trials are planned for late 2026. cbinsights.com
  • Apr 2026press
    ARCH-backed Paradigm Health announced a partnership with the FDA to provide a technology platform for real-time clinical trial monitoring. archventure.com
  • Feb 2026investment
    Syndex Bio unveiled its mcPCR technology at AGBT 2026 following a $15.5M Seed financing round backed by ARCH Venture Partners. life-sciences-europe.com
  • Jan 2026investment
    Vizgen raised $48M to advance spatial biology and multiomics tools, with ARCH Venture Partners participating alongside Northpond Ventures and M Ventures. tracxn.com
  • Jan 2026press
    Bob Nelsen appeared live at JPM 2026 in a sit-down with Novo Nordisk's CEO, representing ARCH Venture Partners. cbinsights.com
  • Jun 2026investment
    ARCH's latest portfolio exit was Kardigan, which exited on June 18, 2026. cbinsights.com
  • Jun 2026investment
    ARCH invested in City Therapeutics as part of a Series B round on June 8, 2026. cbinsights.com
  • May 2026investment
    CREATE Medicines announced a $122 million Series B to advance an in vivo CAR pipeline in autoimmune disease and oncology, with ARCH listed among investors. crunchbase.com
  • Apr 2026investment
    Moleculent raised a funding round from ARCH Venture Partners and two other investors. crunchbase.com

Notable investments

Key people

Named individuals at the firm. We don't expose direct email or phone — use their LinkedIn for outreach.

  • Robert Taylor Nelsen · Managing Director
  • Paul Berns · Partner
  • Robert Nelsen · Co-founder & Managing Director
  • Steven Lazarus · Co-founder
  • Keith Crandell · Managing Director
  • Kristina Burow · Managing Director

Sources

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Frequently asked

What is ARCH Venture Partners?+

ARCH Venture Partners is an early-stage biotech and deep-science VC founded in 1986, headquartered in Chicago with a secondary office in Seattle. The firm manages approximately $12 billion in AUM across 17 funds, most recently closing Fund XIII at $3 billion in September 2024.

Where is ARCH Venture Partners headquartered?+

ARCH Venture Partners is headquartered in Chicago, United States.

When was ARCH Venture Partners founded?+

ARCH Venture Partners was founded in 1986 by Steven Lazarus.

What sectors does ARCH Venture Partners invest in?+

ARCH Venture Partners focuses on biotech, healthcare, ai, hardware. They primarily invest in these sectors.

How do I prepare for a meeting with ARCH Venture Partners?+

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Generated by briefthecall.com from public web sources. Last updated August 7, 2026. Each claim is linked to its source above.

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