F-Prime Capital
Technology and life sciences venture firm affiliated with Fidelity Investments, backing early-stage companies globally.
F-Prime is what happens when you take Fidelity's $2 trillion checkbook and 50+ years of VC experience and point it at early-stage companies - they're one of the few funds that actually creates companies from scratch (30+ times) rather than just writing checks to existing startups. "I have seen the F-Prime team at work from the perspective of a founder and as a venture partner," Eric told us. "They have a massive wealth of knowledge and supportive resources at their disposal. If they aren't able to help portfolio companies with a problem, they almost certainly know someone who can — and they're always happy to make the introduction." The "technical-risk-yes, regulatory-risk-no" filter is smart - they'll back CRISPR but avoid antibiotics. Their healthcare track record is legitimately impressive (Toast, Flywire, Beam, Denali), and having no external LPs means they can be patient capital when others are panicking. Stephen Knight has been there 20+ years and knows what he's doing.
- —Best for: Deep-science founders who need patient capital and serious operational support
- —Known for: Creating companies from scratch and having Fidelity's resources behind them
- —Sweet spot: Series A healthcare/biotech with clear regulatory paths, $40M+ rounds
F-Prime's core thesis centers on partnering with visionary founders to turn bold ambitions into world-changing breakthroughs across healthcare and technology. F-Prime employs a distinctive "technical-risk-yes, regulatory-risk-no" filter that avoids heavy regulatory categories in favor of clear FDA pathways (e.g., rare diseases and gene therapy over broad-spectrum antibiotics).
Leads rounds in early stage (Seed and Series A), comfortable co-leading and participating in later stages. F-Prime Capital has made 132 investments in Series A stage with an average round size of $40.3M, 67 investments in Series B stage with an average round size of $45.3M and 39 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $8.4M. Heavy focus on life sciences (therapeutics, medtech), enterprise software, fintech, frontier tech, crypto, and healthtech services with proven ability to create companies from scratch rather than just backing existing ones.
Stephen Knight joined F-Prime in 2003 where he serves as President and Senior Managing Partner. He has worked in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries for over 30 years and invests broadly across healthcare. He also was a researcher at AT&T Bell Laboratories, the National Institutes of Health, and Yale University. He holds an M.D. from the Yale University School of Medicine, an M.B.A. from the Yale School of Organization and Management.
Have a specific question about F-Prime Capital?
Ask Bernie →