Root Ventures Raises $190M Fund to Back the Builders Behind the Code

Root Ventures, a San Francisco–based early-stage venture capital firm known for backing deeply technical founders, has raised $190 million for its fourth fund . The new capital comes from institutional investors including the University of Chicago , Adams Street Partners , the State of New Mexico , Loyola , DuPont Trust , and Brown Advisory . The raise allows the firm to double down on its strategy of identifying unconventional, engineering-driven startups before they hit the mainstream radar.

Founded by Avidan Ross , a former CTO and engineer, Root Ventures has built a reputation for investing in what it calls “wonky startups” — companies built by hackers, builders, and inventors working at the edge of hardware, software, and science. The team, which includes partners Kane Hsieh and Chrissy Meyer , has stayed deliberately small, cultivating a culture that looks more like a garage lab than a traditional VC office. They’ve hosted robot fight nights, hacking sessions, and even run their website from an espresso machine — a fitting symbol for their offbeat engineering spirit.

Despite the quirkiness, Root Ventures’ bets are starting to pay off. Portfolio companies have gone on to raise growth rounds from heavyweights such as Sequoia Capital , Benchmark , and Union Square Ventures , signaling strong validation from the broader venture community. In a market dominated by massive funds and AI hype cycles, Root’s niche focus on deeply technical founders gives it a distinctive edge — and perhaps a glimpse of what Silicon Valley used to be before the suits moved in.