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§ Venture Capital · USA
venture capital firm backing early-stage frontier science startups, focused on computational biology, synthetic chemistry, and applied physics.
KdT Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm based in Austin, Texas, USA, specializing in frontier science startups that reimagine technology at the molecular and physical levels. The firm manages over $250 million in assets across four funds, supporting founders in computational biology, synthetic chemistry, and applied physics through capital and guidance. With check sizes ranging from $100K to $3M, KdT Ventures has built a portfolio of 51-70 companies, including notable investments like Dyno Therapeutics, Terray Therapeutics, Path AI, Solugen, Abridge, and Checkerspot. The firm actively invests across sectors such as therapeutics, synthetic biology, and sustainable materials, having made 8 new investments in the last 12 months, including Arkestro's Series B and PHNX Materials' Seed VC. KdT Ventures was founded in 2017 by Cain McClary.
Key people at KdT Ventures.
Key people at KdT Ventures.
KdT Ventures has more than 26 tracked investments across 23 companies. The latest tracked deal is $25.0M Series A in Faeth Therapeutics in October 2025.
KdT Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm specializing in frontier science investing, with a mission to empower entrepreneurs who are reprogramming chemistry and biology using innovative technology platforms. The firm focuses on sectors such as biotechnology, healthcare technology, data, engineering, and life sciences, aiming to back startups that develop transformative solutions at the molecular and physical layers of the world. KdT Ventures combines capital with deep scientific and technical expertise, providing strategic guidance and industry connections to help startups scale and disrupt traditional industries.
The firm’s investment philosophy centers on identifying visionary founders and scalable business models that harness the power of nature’s code to solve unprecedented challenges. By investing primarily at seed and Series A stages, KdT Ventures plays a critical role in nurturing early-stage companies that commercialize breakthrough science, thereby significantly impacting the startup ecosystem in frontier science and technology innovation[1][2][3].
KdT Ventures was founded in 2017 in Austin, Texas, by Cain McClary, a physician by training passionate about creating the future through science rather than practicing in the past. The founding team includes experienced partners such as Mack Healy, a former startup lawyer, and Phil Grayeski, an MD-PhD with a background in biotechnology spin-outs. Their combined expertise in science, law, and venture capital shaped the firm’s focus on frontier science and technology.
The idea for KdT Ventures emerged from a desire to invest in companies that fundamentally re-architect the physical world at a molecular level, leveraging advances in chemistry, biology, and technology. Early traction came from backing startups that commercialize science from nano to whole-earth scales, with a hands-on, operator-first approach that has led to notable exits and a robust portfolio[1][2][3][5].
KdT Ventures rides the wave of increasing convergence between biology, chemistry, and technology, a trend driven by advances in synthetic biology, AI-driven drug discovery, and healthcare innovation. The timing is critical as the physical layer of technology—molecules and atoms—is now programmable, opening vast opportunities for new industries and solutions that address global challenges like health, sustainability, and agriculture.
Market forces favor firms like KdT that combine scientific rigor with venture capital agility, influencing the broader ecosystem by accelerating the commercialization of frontier science. Their investments help bridge the gap between academic research and scalable businesses, fostering innovation that could redefine industries and improve human and environmental health[2][3][4].
Looking ahead, KdT Ventures is poised to deepen its influence in frontier science investing by expanding its portfolio of companies that reprogram biology and chemistry with technology. Trends such as AI integration in life sciences, personalized medicine, and sustainable biotech will shape their journey. The firm’s operator-first, science-driven approach positions it to remain a key player in early-stage investments that drive transformative change.
As the physical layer of technology becomes increasingly programmable, KdT Ventures’ role in supporting visionary founders will likely grow, enabling breakthroughs that harmonize human activity with nature’s code and redefine the future of technology and healthcare[3][4].
