Investor Profile: Prime Movers Lab — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

Prime Movers Lab backs breakthrough scientific startups founded by 'Prime Movers', the inventors who transform billions of lives. Founded in 2018 by Dakin Sloss, the firm raised a $245 million third early-stage fund in August 2023, taking total assets under management above $1.2 billion. If you are building generation-defining science and need serious startup funding, this is one of the largest dedicated pools of early-stage capital in the world.

Thesis

The firm invests in startups reinventing energy, transportation, infrastructure, manufacturing, human augmentation and agriculture. Its framing is mission-critical: an aging population plus surging demand for sustainable energy means the world needs real scientific solutions, not software wrappers. Sloss, an engineer by training, built the firm like a startup, and its published values run from ruthless introspection to producing massive abundance, a culture it expects its founders to share.

Sectors and stages

Prime Movers Lab is an early-stage investor across its six target sectors. Its third fund continues the early-stage mandate of its predecessors, through which the firm had already deployed $845 million before the 2023 raise.

Fund size and cheque size

The $245 million third early-stage fund and $1.2 billion-plus in total assets under management were confirmed in August 2023 press coverage. Standard cheque sizes are not publicly disclosed.

Notable portfolio

Earlier funds backed fixed-wireless provider Tarana Wireless, supersonic-aircraft developer Boom Supersonic, commercial-spaceflight pioneer Axiom Space and satellite-network builder E-Space. The third fund's early bets include cislunar-infrastructure provider Quantum Space, which received $15 million in December 2022 to build its QuantumNet network of Scout spacecraft; mental-health therapeutics company Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals; brain-computer-interface developer Paradromics, which has won FDA approval to trial its implant in people; and robotics innovator Robust.AI. The wider portfolio spans Momentus, Terran Orbital, K2 Space, Twelve, Divergent 3D, Terrestrial Energy, Turntide Technologies, Halo Space, Overview Energy (space-based solar power), Focused Energy (fusion) and Atom Computing (selected by DARPA for next-stage quantum work).

Partners

Founder and General Partner Dakin Sloss trained as an engineer at Stanford and Caltech and previously served as CEO of Tachyus. He is joined by general partners Suzanne Fletcher and David Siminoff, and partners Ashley Zehnder, Amy Kruse (a PhD neuroscientist), Alex Fielding, Anton Brevde and Sean Simmons, per third-party firm directories.

Programs, credits and perks

The firm advertises no accelerator, grant program or startup credits scheme. Its public thought leadership, including papers such as Venture Trends in Agtech and regular portfolio rundowns, doubles as its founder-facing content.

How to apply for funding

There is no public pitch portal. The firm's homepage speaks directly to founders: 'If you are a Prime Mover with a growth mentality and breakthrough scientific inventions, we want to learn about and help you to realize your ambitious plans.' The route in is the Contact Us page on primemoverslab.com.