# Forward Ventures

> Forward Ventures is a VC fund backing Biotechnology and Health Care. See 64 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: San Diego, United States
- Total investments: 64
- Last investment: Oct 2024
- Lead investor: 9%
- Fund size: $145M
- Last fund: Jan 2004
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/forward-ventures
- Website: http://www.forwardventures.com

Forward Ventures is a VC fund in San Diego focused on Biotechnology and Health Care. Forward Ventures, founded in 1993, is a leading life-science venture capital firm located in San Diego. Forward has a team of investment professionals with extensive experience in entrepreneurship, venture capital and operations. Our firm has invested in over 50 companies since it was founded in 1993 and currently has more than $500 million incapital under management. The most recent fund, Forward V, continues Forward Ventures’ program of life sciences and health care venture investing in companies of all stages of development. Forward invests throughout the United States and will consider select European opportunities.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for Forward Ventures. Shizune tracks 4 team members at Forward Ventures. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/forward-ventures?utm_source=investor_profile

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Biotechnology | 23 | 36% |
| Health Care | 19 | 30% |
| Pharmaceutical | 12 | 19% |
| Medical | 11 | 17% |
| Therapeutics | 11 | 17% |

27 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Series A | 15 | 23% |
| Series B | 14 | 22% |
| Series C | 12 | 19% |
| Series D | 7 | 11% |
| Funding Round | 5 | 8% |

8 stages tracked in total.

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 30 | 47% |
| United Kingdom | 3 | 5% |
| Canada | 1 | 2% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Caroline Barberio | CFO | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/caroline-barberio |
| Jeffrey Sollender | Managing Member | 1 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/jeffrey-sollender |
| Standish M. Fleming | Co-Founder & Managing Member | 5 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/standish-m-fleming |
| Stuart Collinson | Partner | 4 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/stuart-j-m-collinson |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Speckle | Speckle is a collaborative data hub connecting various AEC (Architecture, Engineering, and Construction) tools, facilitating effective global project delivery for teams. The company promotes an open ecosystem aimed at overcoming the challenges of working in a fragmented industry, providing digital infrastructure for 3D designs such as buildings andbridges. | $12.5M | Series A | Oct 25, 2024 |  |
| Xanadu | Since its founding in 2016, Xanadu has focused extensively on the effects quantum will have on society and how to best service those needs. Xanadu's ultimate goal is to provide quantum on demand to enable significant computational improvements over the best classical methods to solve really tough real-world problems. Xanadu has amalgamatedleading scientists and professionals to pair academic research with industry veterans to develop a massively scalable venture.For more information, please visit xanadu.ai | $100M | Series C | Nov 09, 2022 |  |
| Virtuoso | Virtuoso uses artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotic process automation to run a test automation tool that gives the speed of codeless paired with the power of scripted test steps. They develop codeless test automation software without slowing down the development process. They provide functional UI testing and continuous testingsolutions. | $3.3M | Seed | Aug 20, 2019 |  |
| Viracta Therapeutics | Viracta is a precision oncology company targeting virus-associated malignancies. Viracta's proprietary investigational drug, nanatinostat, is currently being evaluated in combination with the antiviral agent valganciclovir as an oral combination therapy in a Phase 2 clinical trial for EBV-positive lymphoma. Viracta is pursuing application ofthis inducible synthetic lethality approach in other EBV-associated malignancies, such as nasopharyngeal carcinoma, gastric carcinoma, and other virus-related cancers. | $18.4M | Series B | Apr 04, 2017 |  |
| Syndax Pharmaceuticals | Syndax Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company that focuses on an HDAC inhibitor for solid tumors and hematological tumors. It offers therapies to treat solid tumors and lung, breast, and hematological cancer. The company is developing axatilimab, a monoclonal antibody that blocks the colony-stimulating factor 1 (CSF-1) receptor,in development for chronic Graft versus Host Disease, and entinostat, a class I HDAC inhibitor.Syndax Pharmaceuticals pipeline includes and SNDX-5613, a highly selective inhibitor of the Menin–MLL binding interaction, in development for the treatment of patients with MLLr and NPM1 acute leukemias. | $80M | Series C | Aug 24, 2015 |  |
| Affinium Pharmaceuticals | Affinium Pharmaceuticals is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel anti-infective medicines. The Affinium FASII antibacterial programs constitute a new antibiotic franchise with the potential for multiple products targeting the FASII pathway. These programs include a broad base of long-term intellectual property:issued and pending composition of matter patents on potent orally available small molecule inhibitors for a new class of antibiotics with a unique mechanism of action, targeting an underexploited pathway. | $11.9M | Debt Financing | Sep 11, 2013 |  |
| Syndax Pharmaceuticals | Syndax Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company that focuses on an HDAC inhibitor for solid tumors and hematological tumors. It offers therapies to treat solid tumors and lung, breast, and hematological cancer. The company is developing axatilimab, a monoclonal antibody that blocks the colony-stimulating factor 1 (CSF-1) receptor,in development for chronic Graft versus Host Disease, and entinostat, a class I HDAC inhibitor.Syndax Pharmaceuticals pipeline includes and SNDX-5613, a highly selective inhibitor of the Menin–MLL binding interaction, in development for the treatment of patients with MLLr and NPM1 acute leukemias. | $26.6M | Series B | Aug 27, 2013 |  |
| Ambit Biosciences | Ambit Biosciences is a privately-held biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of small molecule kinase inhibitors for the treatment of cancer, inflammatory disease, and other indications. Ambit's lead compound, AC220, is a novel, potent, highly selective, orally bioavailable FMS-like tyrosine kinase-3 (FLT3)inhibitor, and is currently under clinical investigation in patients with relapsed or refractory AML. Ambit is developing AC220 in collaboration with Astellas Pharma Inc. as part of a worldwide agreement to jointly develop and commercialize FLT3 kinase inhibitors in oncology and non-oncology indications. In addition to AC220, Ambit's clinical pipeline includes AC480, a pan-HER inhibitor, and AC430, an oral JAK2 inhibitor. Ambit also has a pipeline of preclinical candidates which includes CEP-32496, a BRAF inhibitor licensed to Cephalon. | $50M |  | Nov 06, 2012 |  |
| Viracta Therapeutics | Viracta is a precision oncology company targeting virus-associated malignancies. Viracta's proprietary investigational drug, nanatinostat, is currently being evaluated in combination with the antiviral agent valganciclovir as an oral combination therapy in a Phase 2 clinical trial for EBV-positive lymphoma. Viracta is pursuing application ofthis inducible synthetic lethality approach in other EBV-associated malignancies, such as nasopharyngeal carcinoma, gastric carcinoma, and other virus-related cancers. |  | Series B | Mar 12, 2012 |  |
| Affinium Pharmaceuticals | Affinium Pharmaceuticals is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel anti-infective medicines. The Affinium FASII antibacterial programs constitute a new antibiotic franchise with the potential for multiple products targeting the FASII pathway. These programs include a broad base of long-term intellectual property:issued and pending composition of matter patents on potent orally available small molecule inhibitors for a new class of antibiotics with a unique mechanism of action, targeting an underexploited pathway. | $15M | Series B | Aug 29, 2011 |  |

10 of 64 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Domain Associates](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/domain-associates) — VC Fund, 12 deals together
- [Alta Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/alta-partners) — VC Fund, 8 deals together
- [Gimv](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/gimv) — VC Fund, 7 deals together
- [InterWest Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/interwest-partners) — VC Fund, 7 deals together
- [MPM Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/mpm-capital) — VC Fund, 7 deals together
- [MedImmune Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/medimmune-ventures) — VC Fund, 6 deals together

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## FAQ

### What does Forward Ventures invest in?

Forward Ventures invests primarily in Biotechnology, Health Care and Pharmaceutical startups, most often at Series A and Series B stage. Most of the 64 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### How do I contact Forward Ventures?

Public channels for Forward Ventures include LinkedIn and the website linked on this profile. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.

### Who are the partners at Forward Ventures?

The team at Forward Ventures includes Caroline Barberio (CFO), Jeffrey Sollender (Managing Member) and Standish M. Fleming (Co-Founder & Managing Member). The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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