Organization · Venture Studio
Material
Material is a venture studio that co-founds, funds, launches, and scales companies alongside entrepreneurs, focusing on various sectors including DTC cooking and genetic testing for pets.
Overview
What Material does
What Material is
Material is a venture studio that co-founds, funds, launches, and scales companies alongside entrepreneurs, focusing on various sectors including DTC cooking and genetic testing for pets.
How it participates in the startup ecosystem
The current public profile supports funder and program host capabilities. Each capability below is shown separately so organization identity and role-specific information do not get conflated.
Operational profile
Organization status and context
Organization status describes the entity itself. Funding and program availability appear within the relevant capability profile.
- Operational status
- Active
- Organization type
- Venture Studio
- Structured capabilities
- Funder · Program host
- Last reviewed
- March 7, 2026
What Venture studio means
A venture studio is an organization that systematically creates new startups by generating or sourcing ideas, validating them, building early products, recruiting founders or operators, providing shared resources, and retaining meaningful equity in the companies it helps create.
Open the glossary entryOfficial channels
Find Material elsewhere
Open the official website or a supported primary organization account.
Capability profile
Material as a funder
Investment thesis
Material is a venture capital fund and studio focused on company creation, co-founding, funding, launching, and scaling companies alongside entrepreneurs.
Focus narrative
Material invests in a diverse range of sectors through its venture capital activities. The organization is particularly focused on co-founding companies and providing the necessary funding to support their growth. Key areas of investment include direct-to-consumer (DTC) cooking experiences, genetic testing for pets, e-commerce brand acquisition, and tech-enabled asset management.
Value beyond capital
Material adds value to its portfolio companies by providing not only capital but also strategic guidance and operational support, leveraging the extensive experience of its partners in the venture capital space.
Focus and fit
- Stages
- Friends and Family · Angel · Pre-seed · Seed · Seed+ · Series A · Series B · Growth Equity
- Regions
- Global
Availability
- Currently deploying
- Yes
Portfolio and track record
- Recorded portfolio count
- 4
- Recorded notable exits
- Blue Apron
Portfolio context
Notable portfolio companies include Blue Apron, a DTC cooking experience company that went public at a $2 billion valuation; Embark, a genetic testing company for dogs; Suma, focused on acquiring e-commerce brands; and Unlimited, a tech-enabled asset manager offering a machine learning-based ETF.
Capability profile
Material as a program host
Program thesis
Material is a venture capital fund and studio focused on company creation, co-founding, funding, launching, and scaling companies alongside entrepreneurs.
Focus narrative
Material invests in a diverse range of sectors, focusing on innovative business models and technologies. The organization is particularly interested in direct-to-consumer cooking experiences, genetic testing for pets, e-commerce brand acquisition, and tech-enabled asset management. By co-founding companies in these areas, Material aims to drive growth and create impactful solutions in the market.
Value and support
Founders partnering with Material benefit from the organization's extensive experience in venture capital and company creation. They receive not only funding but also strategic guidance, operational support, and access to a network of industry experts to help scale their businesses effectively.
Availability
- Application state
- Not published
Focus and fit
- Stages
- Pre-seed · Seed · Seed+
- Regions
- Global
Alumni and track record
Alumni context
Notable alumni companies include Blue Apron, a DTC cooking experience company that went public at a $2 billion valuation; Embark, a genetic testing company for dogs; Suma, focused on acquiring e-commerce brands; and Unlimited, a tech-enabled asset manager offering machine learning-based ETFs.
Common questions
What to know about Material
Upseed classifies Material under the Venture Studio organization type. Its current public profile includes funder and program host capabilities.
Source and update disclosure
Know what this page is based on
Source basis
Public organization and program material, official websites, and structured Upseed records.
Last reviewed
March 7, 2026
Known limits
Capability profiles appear only when a structured public profile also contains decision-useful role evidence. Terms and availability can change.
Upseed is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the organization described on this page.