Proximal Ventures raises debut fund to back startups bringing AI to drug development

Summary

• Sahir Raoof raised $27.5 million for Proximal Ventures, his first solo venture capital fund, despite a challenging fundraising environment for first-time managers.
• Proximal Ventures focuses on investing in startups that use AI to transform drug development tools, infrastructure, and services.
• The firm plans to invest in pre-seed and seed-stage companies with checks ranging from $500,000 to $1.5 million.
• Proximal has already backed six startups, including ChronicleBio, which uses AI to analyze biological data for chronic disease treatment.
• Raoof previously served as a principal at SignalFire, led business development at Iterative Health, and oversaw partnerships at Flatiron Health.
• Limited partners in Proximal include SignalFire, Kleiner Perkins, Bertelsmann Healthcare Investments, Dimension Capital co-founders Nan Li & Zavain Dar, & Amy Abernethy.
• Amy Abernethy, former principal deputy commissioner of the FDA, cites Raoof's relationship-building skills & industry knowledge as key factors in her investment.