Marin Sonoma Impact Ventures announced the final closing of its second venture capital fund on Thursday, raising more than $11 million and pushing the Corte Madera-based firm's total assets under management above $17.7 million. The fund drew capital from 60 limited partners, with 98% of that money coming from Marin and Sonoma residents or institutions — a hyper-local backing structure that has defined the firm since its founding.
According to a release distributed via PR Newswire, the Redwood Credit Union Community Fund made a significant $1 million commitment to Fund II, one of the larger single contributions to the new vehicle. MSIV says it has now deployed more than $8.665 million into 22 Marin and Sonoma startup companies combined across both funds. Fund I, which opened to investors in March 2021, is fully deployed across 13 investments, while Fund II has already completed nine, as The Press Democrat also reported.
Zachary Kushel, founder and managing partner of Marin Sonoma Impact Ventures, built the firm around a simple pitch: keep investment dollars — and the jobs they create — close to home. The firm is described as the first regional venture capital firm for Marin and Sonoma county startups, per the Press Democrat's earlier reporting, and its first fund closed at $6.6 million in December 2022 with support from 62 investors, according to FinSMEs. That first fund was intended for early-stage companies planning to grow and create jobs locally, the Press Democrat noted at the time.
Who Fund II Has Backed So Far
Fund II's named investments include Gable, Lighthouse Pharmaceuticals, Lumo, OLarry, Skribe Medical and Your360 AI, per the fund's own release. MSIV has not disclosed individual investment amounts for those six companies, nor identified the other three companies in its nine-investment Fund II portfolio.
Lighthouse Pharmaceuticals is a Novato-based clinical-stage biotech company developing small-molecule therapies for neurodegenerative and inflammatory diseases, according to the firm's own announcement on MSIV's website. MSIV invested in the company as part of its $12 million Series A financing, led by Double Point Ventures. Santa Rosa-based Lumo develops precision irrigation systems for specialty crops, while Fairfax-based Your360 AI is an HR technology company that, per MSIV's writeup on its site, conducts voice-driven 360-degree interviews to deliver workplace feedback and support professional development.
A Deliberately Local Investment Model
The firm's emphasis on local capital isn't new. Fund I was backed by 62 individuals, 92% of whom lived in Marin and Sonoma counties, according to a report from North Bay Biz.
Beyond writing checks, MSIV has built out a support network for North Bay founders. The firm organizes 24 to 28 networking events annually with startup founders and potential investors, the Press Democrat reported, and its Executive Network of 75 senior executives provides volunteer mentorship to early-stage local companies, according to MSIV. The firm has also released a North Bay Startup Map cataloging 100 local startups and 15 co-working and social-working spaces, and plans to add more startups to the next edition.
Kushel has described a long-term ambition that goes beyond any single fund: placing 10 high-growth startup companies in downtown San Rafael to kickstart a broader job-creation run, he told the Press Democrat in an earlier interview. The firm's second NEXT networking conference was held at Sonoma State University in April 2023, with a third conference following in Novato in May 2024, per North Bay Biz.
With Fund II now fully closed and nine investments already made, MSIV's next moves will likely center on deploying the remainder of the $11 million raised and continuing to build out its North Bay founder and executive networks — the infrastructure Kushel has leaned on since the firm's earliest days to keep local capital circulating among local companies.
