Elm Street Ventures

Elm Street Ventures is a seed and early-stage venture fund based in New Haven, Connecticut. Yale University is our largest investor. While our emphasis is on the life sciences, with approximately 70% of our investments to date in companies developing therapeutics, laboratory tools, diagnostics, medical devices, and other healthcare-related products and services, we are also active investors in software, materials, sustainable technology, and other industries.

We are primarily interested in companies with a Yale connection, typically technology developed at and licensed from Yale. We also invest in companies located in the greater New Haven area, and, in exceptional cases, non-Yale/non-New Haven companies in which we have strong, personal connections to the founders or investors or where we can add substantial value.

In making investment decisions, we weigh the strength of the team as much as the technology or markets being addressed – often more. We look for creative thinking, high intelligence, passion, and a deep commitment to working hard for success. Building great businesses takes time and hard work. If you believe in free lunches or use the word “flip” in your pitch, we are unlikely to invest.