# First Star: portfolio, investments and team > First Star is a vc firm based in United States. 9 investments on record, latest Jan 2025. Portfolio, stages, co-investors and team. Source: https://millionrounds.com/fund/first-star-ventures (Millionrounds; every figure on the page links to its filing or article) United States · [Investor](https://millionrounds.com/investors) # First Star Last cheque observed Jan 2025. Silence since then is not evidence of inactivity: our sources miss unannounced rounds. Email VC firm Quiet Last fund $25M, Sept 2022 Pre-seed Seed Series A Mrna Transcriptomics Life Sciences Follow First Star and see its new cheques in your feed. [Start following](https://millionrounds.com/login?join=1&why=follow&next=%2Ffund%2Ffirst-star-ventures) Cheques on record **0%** of best year **0** **cheques in 12 months**, 9 on record Since the last cheque **652** days **00** hrs **00** min **00** sec Median round **$8.3M** Cheque size, as they say **$200K – $1.1M** Rounds led **0 of 9** Exits **1 from the portfolio** Mostly in **United States, 88%** Pitch First Star ## First Star highlights - 01 9 rounds on record - 02 Mostly Seed and Series A: 86% of its rounds - 03 1 exits from the portfolio ## What they do > First Star is a pre-seed fund that backs visionary research-driven founders. From their own website - **Type:** VC firm (from a list, unverified) - **Cheque size:** $200K – $1.1M as they say - **Stages:** Pre-seed Seed Series A - **Sectors:** Mrna Transcriptomics Life Sciences - **Based in:** Cambridge, United States - **Cold pitches:** Accepted ## The record Every round we can evidence, newest first **9 appearances** - **2025** 1 round - **Jan** **[Bedrock Energy](https://millionrounds.com/company/bedrock-energy)** Series A · US · Titanium Ventures **$12M** With 10 others - **2019** 1 round - **Nov** **[WinterLight Labs](https://millionrounds.com/company/winterlight-labs)** CA · FinSMEs **$4.2M** With 3 others - **2018** 1 round - **Sept** **[Plus One Robotics](https://millionrounds.com/company/plus-one-robotics)** Series A · US · FinSMEs **$8.3M** With 6 others - **2015** 2 rounds - **Aug** **[Netra Inc](https://millionrounds.com/company/netra-inc)** **$500K** With 9 others - **Apr** **[Blank Label](https://millionrounds.com/company/blank-label)** Seed · US **$1.1M** With 6 others - **2014** 1 round - **Mar** **[Weft](https://millionrounds.com/company/weft)** Seed · US **$1.0M** With 6 others - **2013** 2 rounds - **Nov** **[Technical Machine](https://millionrounds.com/company/technical-machine)** Venture · US · sec.gov **$1.0M** With 4 others - **Jul** **[Weathermob](https://millionrounds.com/company/weathermob)** Seed · US · techcrunch.com **$650K** With 3 others - **2012** 1 round - **Apr** **[Weathermob](https://millionrounds.com/company/weathermob)** Seed · US · techcrunch.com **$360K** With 3 others An announcement gives the size of the round, not the size of this investor's cheque: the only rounds that imply a cheque are those where they were the sole named investor. ## The team Named by the firm itself, on a filing, its Form ADV or its company registration **2 named** AV **Andrew Volpe** Manager i Filing they signed RL **Ruiyi Liu** Manager i Filing they signed We also hold **6** people at this firm from the lists this database was built from: a weaker source than the filings, since a list does not say when a title ended. Login to see them. ## What they claim to have backed From their own portfolio page (on their website) **19** of 33 we have independently watched raise [Bedrockenergy](https://millionrounds.com/company/bedrock-energy)[Brink](https://millionrounds.com/company/brink)[Cisco](https://millionrounds.com/company/cisco)[Enpowered](https://millionrounds.com/company/enpowered)[Extellis](https://millionrounds.com/company/extellis)[Genialis](https://millionrounds.com/company/genialis)[Gradient](https://millionrounds.com/company/gradient)[Jellyfish](https://millionrounds.com/company/jellyfish)[Nativevoice](https://millionrounds.com/company/native-voice)[Nomic](https://millionrounds.com/company/nomic)[Parallelwireless](https://millionrounds.com/company/parallel-wireless)[Plusonerobotics](https://millionrounds.com/company/plus-one-robotics)[Robigo](https://millionrounds.com/company/robigo)[Saola](https://millionrounds.com/company/saola)[Swiftly](https://millionrounds.com/company/swiftly)[Thronescience](https://millionrounds.com/company/throne-science)[Turso](https://millionrounds.com/company/turso)[Winterlightlabs](https://millionrounds.com/company/winterlight-labs)[Zanskar](https://millionrounds.com/company/zanskar) Bot Brelle Enzymit Getenpowered Getzep Iorgan Phaseshift Plexresearch Romixbio Salientpredictions Scootscience Thekanary Tranquildata Vistapath Weaker than a round we watched, stronger than a list somebody sold us. A firm is far less willing to put a company on its own site that it never funded. ## Exits from the portfolio Companies it backed that were later bought or listed **1 in all** **[Weathermob](https://millionrounds.com/company/weathermob)** Bought by [Weathernews](https://millionrounds.com/fund/weathernews) **Undisclosed** May 2015 An exit counts when it came after the firm's first round in the company. From historical deal records. Latest fund on file **$25M** raised in Sept 2022 From its SEC filing. Nothing newer is on file yet. ## The cheque Pre-seed Seed Series A Median round joined **$8.3M** the round, not its cheque Led 0 of 9 rounds **0%** - **Said size:** $200K – $1.1M - **Sole investor:** Never alone - **Last cheque:** Jan 2025 - **Exits:** 1 from the portfolio Rounds by stage said on their site - Seed said *4* - Series A said *2* - Venture *1* - Pre-seed said *-* Cheques by month Led Joined Dec 2023 Nov 2026 Often in the room with - [Mark Hastings](https://millionrounds.com/fund/mark-hastings) 2 **Pitching First Star?** Put them on your fundraising board with this record on the card, and follow them to hear when they write a new cheque. Add to your CRM *→* ## Who they invest alongside The investors most often in the same rounds as First Star. A count of rooms they were both in, not a relationship either has claimed. [**Mark Hastings** Angel **2** rounds together](https://millionrounds.com/fund/mark-hastings) ## Recently backed The latest companies First Star put money into. [**Bedrock Energy** $12M · Jan 2025](https://millionrounds.com/company/bedrock-energy)[**WinterLight Labs** $4.2M · Nov 2019](https://millionrounds.com/company/winterlight-labs)[**Plus One Robotics** $8.3M · Sept 2018](https://millionrounds.com/company/plus-one-robotics) ## Quick answers about First Star ### What does First Star invest in? First Star invests most often at Seed and Series A (86% of the rounds on record), in sectors such as Mrna, Transcriptomics and Life Sciences. ### How active is First Star? 9 investments on record, 0 of them in the last 12 months. The most recent was in Jan 2025. ### What has First Star invested in recently? Its most recent investments on record: Bedrock Energy (Series A, Jan 2025), WinterLight Labs (Undisclosed round, Nov 2019) and Plus One Robotics (Series A, Sept 2018). ### How big are First Star's cheques? The median round it joins is $8.3M. It says it writes cheques of $200K to $1.1M. ### Does First Star lead rounds? Rarely, if at all: none of its 9 investments on record names it as the lead. ### Where does First Star invest? Most of the companies it backs are in the United States (88%) and Canada (13%). ### Is First Star investing now? No investments in the last 12 months; the latest was in Jan 2025. ### Who does First Star invest alongside? Most often Mark Hastings (2 rounds together). ## Raising now? Find the investors who back rounds like yours, and keep every conversation on one fundraising board. Find similar investorsOpen your CRM Built from the rounds we watched, its filings and its own website, refreshed every night. 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