Xfund

# Xfund: Backing Lateral Thinkers at the Intersection of Liberal Arts and Technology

Xfund is an early-stage venture capital firm that operates at the intersection of academia and entrepreneurship, deliberately targeting founders with unconventional backgrounds who combine technical capability with multidisciplinary thinking[1][2]. Founded in 2014 as a pioneering partnership between leading venture capital firms and top research universities, Xfund has raised over $225 million since its inception[1]. The firm is co-managed by Patrick Chung and Brandon Farwell and maintains offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Palo Alto, California[3].

The firm's core mission extends beyond traditional venture capital returns. Xfund operates with what its leadership describes as a "double bottom line"—pursuing financial returns while simultaneously advancing an educational mission to teach students, faculty, alumni, and staff what it means to launch a company[1]. This dual commitment reflects the firm's origins within the Harvard ecosystem and its ongoing partnerships with world-class research universities.

Origin Story

Xfund emerged from Harvard nearly a decade before 2021, making its founding approximately 2012-2014[1]. The firm was co-founded by Patrick Chung and Hugo Van Vuuren, with Chung remaining a central figure in the organization's evolution[3]. Notably, despite its deep Harvard connections and alumni investors, Xfund operates independently of the University and receives no funding from it[1].

The firm's founding philosophy reflected a deliberate rejection of conventional venture capital wisdom. Rather than exclusively seeking founders with traditional computer science or engineering backgrounds, Xfund's founders recognized that technical talent alone was insufficient for building durable companies. They sought entrepreneurs with lateral thinking abilities—individuals who could draw connections across disciplines and bring diverse perspectives to problem-solving[2].

This unconventional approach has yielded remarkable results. The firm's portfolio includes notable exits such as Kensho, an artificial intelligence-driven search and data-analysis firm acquired by S&P Global for $550 million in 2018, as well as investments in Zumper (the world's largest online residential real-estate rental platform), Natalist (fertility and pregnancy products), and 23andMe (genomics-based personal health)[1].

Core Differentiators

Multidisciplinary Founder Selection

Xfund's most distinctive characteristic is its deliberate focus on founders who think laterally rather than linearly[3]. The firm actively seeks entrepreneurs who combine seemingly disparate skill sets—a poet and physicist, a hacker and historian, a techno-utopian and aesthete[3]. This approach has produced measurable diversity outcomes: 33 percent of the firm's capital is invested in companies with women founder-CEOs, compared to less than 3 percent nationally[1]. When immigrant and minority founders are included, that proportion rises to 72 percent of investments[1].

University-Backed Network

Xfund operates as a pioneering partnership with some of the country's most successful venture capital firms and world-class research universities in the United States and abroad[3]. The firm benefits from more than two dozen faculty and student advisers from leading academic institutions, providing portfolio companies with access to cutting-edge research, talent pipelines, and intellectual resources[1].

Investment Thesis and Check Sizes

The firm focuses on pre-seed and seed-stage investments, with check sizes typically ranging from $0-$100K and $100K-$500K[5]. Xfund invests across multiple sectors including enterprise, consumer, health, life sciences, and business services[5]. The firm's geographic focus is primarily the United States[5].

Educational Mission

Unlike traditional venture capital firms focused solely on financial returns, Xfund explicitly incorporates an educational component into its mandate[1]. This reflects the firm's commitment to demystifying entrepreneurship and helping emerging founders understand whether starting a company aligns with their personal and professional goals.

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Xfund represents a significant counterweight to the homogeneity that has historically characterized venture capital. The tech industry has long struggled with founder diversity, with venture capital dollars disproportionately flowing to founders from similar backgrounds—typically male, technically trained, and from privileged socioeconomic circumstances. By deliberately seeking founders with liberal arts backgrounds and nontraditional degrees, Xfund challenges the assumption that technical pedigree is the primary predictor of entrepreneurial success[5].

The firm's emphasis on lateral thinking also addresses a real market need. As technology becomes increasingly complex and interconnected, companies that can bridge disciplines—combining technical depth with domain expertise, design thinking, or business acumen—often create more defensible and innovative solutions. Xfund's thesis that "technical talent is necessary but not sufficient" reflects a maturing understanding of what drives successful startups[2].

Additionally, Xfund's university partnerships position it at the forefront of academic entrepreneurship. As universities increasingly emphasize technology transfer and commercialization, Xfund serves as a critical bridge between academic research and market applications, helping translate discoveries from labs into viable businesses.

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Xfund has established itself as a consequential force in early-stage venture capital by proving that founder diversity and multidisciplinary backgrounds correlate with strong investment outcomes rather than detracting from them. The firm's track record—including significant exits and a portfolio that reflects genuine diversity across gender, ethnicity, and background—validates its contrarian thesis.

Looking forward, Xfund's influence is likely to expand as the venture capital industry increasingly recognizes the limitations of traditional founder selection criteria. The firm's model demonstrates that innovation thrives at the intersection of disciplines, and that the most transformative companies often emerge from founders who don't fit the conventional mold. As technology becomes more deeply embedded in every sector of the economy, the demand for founders who can think laterally and bridge technical and non-technical domains will only intensify.

The firm's continued growth and its expanding university partnerships suggest that Xfund is positioned to scale its impact while maintaining its distinctive philosophy. In an industry often criticized for perpetuating homogeneity, Xfund offers a compelling alternative model—one that is both more equitable and, by the evidence of its portfolio, more effective at identifying breakthrough founders.