Build Program
8VC is a firm built by founders for founders. Entrepreneurial DNA is one of our core values.
Our partners have built companies from the ground up, and we understand what it takes to succeed across industries and verticals. The 8VC Build Program leverages our background as entrepreneurs, vantage point as investors, and powerful talent network to launch companies to address conceptual gaps in the market.
[8VC Build Program]
[Overview]
The virtuous circle of
Through the investment process, we often identify whitespaces and internal theses where there are opportunities to remedy an important part of the world.
We gain exposure through our work to determine the optimal approach to add value, often by tackling messy, legacy technical systems in industries paralyzed by their scale. The Build program creates a powerful channel for 8VC to act on these ideas, partnering with ambitious entrepreneurs and engineers, and creating positive feedback loops as we build sustainable businesses. 8VC Build companies are either initially driven by these internal theses or our Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, who join 8VC with a problem, technology, or vertical in mind.
8VC Founder and serial entrepreneur Joe Lonsdale is personally involved with each of the 8VC Build companies, helping to craft their theses and guide strategy. Partners across the firm work directly with our founders in the Build process to give our companies unfair advantages.
[Build Networks]
Our build companies are tackling hard problems across a range of industry sectors
Build companies are part of a broader 8VC context, including portfolio companies and advisors
Zachary Bookman
CEO, OpenGov
Alex Moore
Brian Hendrickson
Retired Navy Rear Admiral (Naval Special Warfare)
Zivan Benisty
Founder and CEO, ZCS
Charlie Songhurst
Justin Rockefeller
Co-Founder, ThelmPact.org
Blake Brickman
Stephen Harper
22nd Prime Minister of Canada
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Jake Medwell
Shaleen Devgun
EVP and CIO, Schneider
David Wyler
Managing Director, Granaria Holdings
Alan Gershenhorn
Former Chief Commercial Officer and EVP, UPS
Chris Sultemeier
EVP Logistics, Walmart Stores, Inc
Justin Hall
CEO, Primo
Dan Faga
COO, Mirati Therapeutics
Daniel Saks
President & Co-CEO, AppDirect
Alicia Jackson
CTO, Drawbridge Health
Lawrence Fong, MD
Distinguished Professor in Cancer Biology, UCSF
Arie Belldegrun, MD
Founder, Kite Pharma, Allogene, Cougar Biotech, Agensys;
Andrew Rubin
CEO, Illumio
Cameron Sepah
VC, Magi Ventures
Andrew Perlman
Chief Medical Officer of Velocity Pharmaceutical Development
Jonathan Weissman, PhD
Faculty Member, Whitehead Institute
Dan Widmaier
Harrison T. LeFrak
Vice Chairman at LeFrak
Jerry Yang
Founder, AME Cloud Ventures
Scott Cook
Founder, Intuit
Greg Silverman
Founder & CEO of Stampede Ventures
Keri Findley
Investor
Isaac Applbaum
Angel Investor
Vivian Bannon
FinTech Legal Innovator
Eric Poirier
CEO, Addepar
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[Case Studies]
Our build companies are tackling hard problems across a range of industry sectors
Government & Defense
Stage
Series C
Founded
Region
Austin, TX
Fund
8VC Fund IV
[Overview]
Saronic develops intelligent autonomous surface vessels (ASVs), combining advanced software, hardware, and AI to achieve mission-level autonomy. In an increasingly asymmetric battlespace, traditional Naval ships are too large, too expensive, and too time-consuming to build and replace. The answer is vessels as platforms, capable of rapidly integrating mission-specific payloads, sensors, and communications systems to detect, monitor, and neutralize potential maritime threats, and ultimately redefine maritime superiority.
[How was it built]
8VC partnered with Dino Mavrookas, a former Navy SEAL with eight combat tours turned private equity technology investor, as a Defense EIR. Alongside the 8VC Defense team, Dino conducted extensive evaluation of critical national security needs before developing the concepts that became Saronic. The executive team was rounded out with leaders from Anduril, Naval Special Warfare, the US Marine Corps, Liquid Robotics, Northrop Grumman, and Tesla. Saronic’s engineering group combines the top echelon of hardware, software, AI, and systems engineering talent, working across 100,000 square feet of factory space in Austin.
[Results]
Less than twelve months from inception, Saronic formally launched its first product, and now produces two classes of ASVs, with a third close behind. The 6’ Spyglass is built for tactical deployment, while the 14’ Cutlass boasts 10x the range and 5x the payload capacity. Saronic recently sailed both vessels in the Navy’s Integrated Battle Problem 24.1 live exercise, extending their C2 and launch capabilities, showcasing a variety of payloads, and demonstrating Spyglass’ swarming effects. Saronic was selected as the first industry partner for the Naval Postgraduate School’s Naval Innovation Exchange program, which conducts rapid prototyping against the Navy’s most complex problems. Saronic’s advisors include multiple retired admirals who are helping advance efforts to federate ASVs across the Naval fleet.
Government & Defense
Stage
Series C
Founded
2017
Region
Fund
8VC Fund 2
[Overview]
Epirus combines high-powered microwave, AI, and advanced electronics to protect and sustain civilization. Asymmetric threats to critical infrastructure and mass gatherings, particularly drone swarms, require dynamic, powerful, and cost-effective defenses. Epirus produces the most energy-dense phased array in existence, creating a platform for intelligent, software-defined electronic warfare systems, with adjacent opportunities in optimized power solutions for commercial markets.
[How was it built]
8VC helped to build a company around veteran defense leadership, top interdisciplinary technical talent, and a culture of ownership and relentless problem-solving. That culture has allowed Epirus to repeatedly take systems from concept to field demonstration in a matter of months. CEO Andy Lowery is a repeat founder, former Chief Engineer for Electronic Warfare Systems at Raytheon, and retired U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander. Co-founder and Executive Chairman Grant Verstandig is a multi-industry entrepreneur (having sold Rally Health for $7 billion to United Health), investor and advisor to the National Security Agency on advanced analytics, technology, and AI.
[Results]
Epirus’ Leonidas product family utilizes solid-state, software-defined, long-pulse high-power microwave (HPM) technology to achieve unmatched effects against modern electronic threats, beginning with the counter-UAS mission. In early 2023, Epirus was awarded a $66 million contract with the US Army to deliver multiple Leonidas systems. Additional customers include the US Air Force, the US Office of Naval Research, and DARPA. The company closed a $200MM Series C in early 2022, bringing its valuation to $1.35 billion.
Life Sciences
Stage
Series D
Founded
2020
Region
Fund
8VC Fund 3
[Overview]
Resilience is building the future of biomedicine manufacturing, dramatically increasing production capacity for pioneering novel treatment modalities, ensuring that medicines are accessible to all patients and protecting against supply chain disruptions.
[How was it built]
As the world reeled from at the outset of the global COVID-19 pandemic, our firm worked deeply to strategize what we should do for society. Through those sessions in conjunction with ARCH Ventures, the thesis emerged that we needed to remedy critical vulnerabilities in medical supply chains. Together, Bob Nelsen and Joe Lonsdale founded Resilience and raised $800MM to create capabilities and capacity to rapidly produce and distribute important drugs at scale. Together, we amassed top executives, Board of Directors, and advisors with experience at the highest levels of business, the biopharmaceutical industry, academia, and government, including:– Rahul Singhvi, Sc.D. — CEO; former Operating Partner at Flagship Pioneering; COO of Takeda Vaccines; CEO of Novavax– Sandy Mahatme, LL.M. — President, COO & CFO; former CFO and Chief Business Officer at Sarepta Therapeutics; SVP Finance & Corporate Development at Celgene– Patrick Y. Yang, Ph.D. — Vice Chairman; former EVP at Juno Therapeutics; EVP & Global Head of Technical Operations at Roche/GenentechDirectors and Advisors include luminaries such as Frances Arnold, the Nobel Prize-winning professor from the California Institute of Technology; George Barrett, the former chief executive of Cardinal Health; Susan Desmond-Hellmann, the former president of product development at Genentech; Kaye Foster, the former vice president of human resources at Johnson and Johnson; and Denice Torres, the former president of Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical and Consumer Companies; and more.
[Results]
Since its founding, Resilience has launched seven GMP facilities serving five modalities: biologics, vaccines, nucleic acids, cell therapy, and gene therapy. Customers and partners span biotech, large pharma, government, and academia, and include AstraZeneca, Mayo Clinic, Harvard University, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Moderna, Takeda, and MD Anderson. Resilience continues to expand internationally, with planned facilities in Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, and Abu Dhabi. In March of 2023, Resilience was approved for $410 million in financing from the US Department of Defense.
29
Companies founded since 2016
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[Our Philosophies]
What we stand by
Philosophy 1
Big Problems,
Big Impact
We seek ideas that tackle the world’s greatest challenges and think on a grand scale. We ask what is possible now that was not possible five years ago, given breakthroughs in technology. We seek to identify the biggest gaps between this ideal state and reality. Of these gaps, we assess which will meaningfully improve how an industry works and target those where we are confident there’s an entrepreneurial path to success. 8VC is willing and motivated to tackle problem spaces with higher barriers to entry, like govtech or healthcare, to yield results as these are often bigger and more important gaps to fix.
Philosophy 2
Start with
First Principles
We are rigorous in challenging assumptions, always seeking to look at a problem from first principles. That said, there is a tension between visionary and intuition-driven and evidence-based approaches. As Steve Jobs famously said, “People don’t really know what they want until you show it to them.” Great entrepreneurs embrace the best aspects of both, and we are willing to take leaps of faith when our common sense and experience suggest something is right before the data has made it obvious.
Philosophy 3
Assemble
Artist Colonies
We search for uniquely equipped individuals (“artists”) at the top of their discipline, trading the magnitude of their talent spikes for the breadth of generalist capabilities. With eyes wide open, these artists can be matched with teams with complementary skill sets, creating colonies of strength. This approach generates a dialectic organization, naturally cultivating highly diverse teams with a myriad of perspectives. By applying high rigor to the identification of these artists and composition of teams, 8VC Build ensures that the starting fabric of our companies is resilient, creative, and set up for success.
Philosophy 4
Seek the Intersection of
Intellect and Integrity
We identify individuals that marry rigorous thought, curiosity, and meticulous attention to the things that matter with a strong moral compass. Great Builders are constantly learning, growing, and seeking self-improvement hand-in-hand with their businesses. Starting with a purpose greater than oneself ensures that our companies intrinsically focus on the outcomes and values that matter, with leadership that can weather obstacles and navigate challenges along the way.
