# Princeton University

> Princeton University is a VC fund in Princeton backing Education and EdTech. See 8 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Princeton, United States
- Total investments: 8
- Last investment: Apr 2021
- Lead investor: 13%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/edu/princeton-university-18867
- X (Twitter): http://twitter.com/princeton
- Website: http://www.princeton.edu
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PrincetonU/

Princeton University is a VC fund in Princeton focused on Education and EdTech. One of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the United States, Princeton University is consistently at the forefront of research and academic excellence. This is partially due to its unique approach to education, which stresses the importance of independent study.Princeton’s undergraduate academics grant bachelor’s degrees in the artsand sciences. In their third and fourth years, all undergraduates must pursue independent research in their chosen field of study. Depending on your major and academic goals, this can vary from a lab research to a creative project.The graduate school at Princeton University offers a variety of master’s degrees and Ph.D.’s, as well as continuing education programs to suit diverse academic needs. The graduate school does not use a credit-based system, and your department and advisor will determine your curriculum.Tuition at Princeton is among the most expensive in the country. In light of this, the university aims to support its students with significant financial assistance. Princeton’s need-based financial aid program replaces loans with grants, so that its students won’t be overwhelmed with debt after graduation. These programs and more are available to those who qualify. Tuition costs shouldn’t discourage qualified students to apply to Princeton.As an Ivy League school, Princeton’s admissions are highly competitive.Contact the school directly for more information and guidance on applying.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for Princeton University. Shizune tracks 19 team members at Princeton University. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/princeton-university?utm_source=investor_profile

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Education | 5 | 63% |
| EdTech | 3 | 38% |
| FinTech | 2 | 25% |
| Finance | 2 | 25% |
| Software | 2 | 25% |

18 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | 4 | 50% |
| Pre-Seed | 2 | 25% |
| Funding Round | 2 | 25% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Derek Lidow | Professor in Entrepreneurship | 1 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/derek-lidow |
| Jennifer Rexford | Professor of Computer Science | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/jennifer-rexford |
| Margaret Martonosi | Professor of Computer Science | 5 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/margaret-martonosi |
| Paul Prucnal | Professor | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/paul-prucnal |
| Pierre duPont | Mentor | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/pierre-dupont |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Backer | Backer is a social savings platform that enables users to set up a tax-free 529 account where family and friends can contribute. It is backed by leading edtech and fintech venture firms, Princeton University, Dartmouth University, USC’s Marshall School of Business, and founders of SoFi, Facebook, Quizlet, CircleUp, AltSchool, Patreon, andLendingHome.Backer was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. | $8.4M |  | Apr 28, 2021 |  |
| Backer | Backer is a social savings platform that makes it easy for parents to invest tax-free for education with a 529 Savings Plan, and do so with robust financial support from family and friends. Backer has helped its families avoid over $75M in student debt so far, with 40% of the savings coming from grandparents, uncles/aunts, and more distantfriends/relatives.Backer recently announced a $8.4 million round of funding led by Crosslink Capital's Jim Feuille (board director at Chime) and Rally Ventures with participation from Corellation Ventures, Princeton, Dartmouth, USC, and prominent angels including founders of SoFi, Patreon, Quizlet, and CircleUp. | $9M |  | Apr 28, 2021 |  |
| Backer | Backer is a social savings platform that makes it easy for parents to invest tax-free for education with a 529 Savings Plan, and do so with robust financial support from family and friends. Backer has helped its families avoid over $75M in student debt so far, with 40% of the savings coming from grandparents, uncles/aunts, and more distantfriends/relatives.Backer recently announced a $8.4 million round of funding led by Crosslink Capital's Jim Feuille (board director at Chime) and Rally Ventures with participation from Corellation Ventures, Princeton, Dartmouth, USC, and prominent angels including founders of SoFi, Patreon, Quizlet, and CircleUp. | $5.3M | Seed | Apr 28, 2021 |  |
| Backer | Backer is a social savings platform that makes it easy for parents to invest tax-free for education with a 529 Savings Plan, and do so with robust financial support from family and friends. Backer has helped its families avoid over $75M in student debt so far, with 40% of the savings coming from grandparents, uncles/aunts, and more distantfriends/relatives.Backer recently announced a $8.4 million round of funding led by Crosslink Capital's Jim Feuille (board director at Chime) and Rally Ventures with participation from Corellation Ventures, Princeton, Dartmouth, USC, and prominent angels including founders of SoFi, Patreon, Quizlet, and CircleUp. | $3.7M | Pre-Seed | Nov 06, 2019 |  |
| Aquabyte | Aquabyte builds machine learning products for aquaculture (fish) farms.Aquabyte was founded in 2017 to bring machine learning and computer vision technologies to the aquaculture industry. Our diverse team of machine learning experts, entrepreneurs, and aquaculture biologists are hyperfocused on delivering solutions with a real-world impact.Real-time sea lice counting, biomass monitoring, and appetite detection are just a few of the many applications that will eventually be possible with the Aquabyte system. We have offices in San Francisco and Norway.Aquabyte surpasses modern farm monitoring products with our machine learning platform and smart camera system. Our solution offers easy installation, continuous monitoring, and multiple applications.Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing sectors of food production on the planet, offering a meaningful solution to global food deficits. Aquabyte’s mission is to use machine learning to make fish farms more efficient, sustainable, and profitable. | $3.5M | Seed | Jan 30, 2018 |  |
| Nucleos | Nucleos produces e-learning solutions for learners involved in justice and corrections. We believe that everyone should have access to 21st century learning opportunities. Nucleos strives to promote education opportunities for underserved learners. Via our learning platform, Nucleos securely delivers the best e-learning opportunities tohard-to-reach learners. We build solutions which bring better education and rehabilitation opportunities to the millions of Americans who cycle through U.S. correctional facilities. We partner with public correctional facilities to help keep people from returning to jail or prison. | $400K | Pre-Seed | Jun 01, 2017 |  |
| Play Piper | Piper is a Minecraft toolbox for budding engineers that leverages kids' love of Minecraft to show them that building real gadgets is effortless and fun. At a time when technology pervades every part of our life, kids learn to passively USE technology, but not to CREATE with it. We believe that giving kids an opportunity to become creatorsrather than consumers, and to do it through a game their already understand and love is a powerful way to replace screen-time with build-time. Letting kids invent, tinker, and build in the physical world while they are young is the most powerful way to empower them to create the future. | $2.1M | Seed | Jun 21, 2016 |  |
| Friendsy | Friendsy is a social networking platform created exclusively for college students enabling them to chat, compliment, and connect with students everywhere. It was launched in 2013 and is based in Princeton, New Jersey. | $700K | Seed | Aug 24, 2015 |  |

8 of 8 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Reach Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/reach-capital) — VC Fund, 5 deals together
- [Great Oaks Venture Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/great-oaks-venture-capital) — VC Fund, 4 deals together
- [Ulu Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ulu-ventures) — VC Fund, 4 deals together
- [Rally Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/rally-ventures) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [University of Southern California](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/university-of-southern-california) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [Crosslink Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/crosslink-capital) — VC Fund, 2 deals together

## Similar investors

### Similar stage
- [Antler](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/antler-be9c) — VC Fund
- [Alumni Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/alumni-ventures-group) — VC Fund
- [Right Side Capital Management](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/right-side-capital-management) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does Princeton University invest in?

Princeton University invests primarily in Education, EdTech and FinTech startups, most often at Seed and Pre-Seed stage. Most of the 8 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 Princeton University?

Public channels for Princeton University include LinkedIn, X (Twitter) 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 Princeton University?

The team at Princeton University includes Derek Lidow (Professor in Entrepreneurship), Jennifer Rexford (Professor of Computer Science) and Margaret Martonosi (Professor of Computer Science), among 19 team members tracked by Shizune. 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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