What If Ventures
VC Fund
Frisco, United States
What If Ventures is a VC fund in Frisco focused on Health Care and Medical. What If Ventures invests in disruptive healthcare and defense industrial startups. Each vertical has a personal connection to What If Ventures founder, Stephen Hays.The firm was founded in 2019 by Stephen Hays, after his own personal struggles with mental health and addiction fueled his desire to see more funding for solutions in that space.Since then, the firm has broadened its aperture and has deployed nearly $100mm into more than 80 disruptive healthcare startups. Prior to venture capital, Stephen was an investment banker in the Aerospace & Defense sector at some of the top bulge bracket investment banks in the world. He found his way into this sector as a U.S. Army Veteran and West Point graduate. While Healthcare and Defense may seem like markedly different markets, they are in fact very similar from a macro perspective. These are both markets with: 1) Very large addressable markets comprised of many fragmented smaller markets. 2) Complex regulatory landscapes. 3) Significant government customers who dominate the landscape (CMS & DoD). 4) Extremely large and influential commercial customer base (Insurance, Health Providers, Defense Primes, Aerospace OEMs, etc.) 5) Similar growth and margin profiles for mature businesses within these two sectors. 6) Lack of successful innovation by new entrants.These two markets are very difficult to innovate in, which resonates with the core of the What If Ventures ethos. What if we could? What if we did find a way to improve the lives of millions of people, or make the world safer, or disrupt decades old markets where the interests of the people are no longer served by the dinosaurs that benefit from the status quo? Let's go do that. That's what we are all about.
- Total investments:
- 101
- Last investment:
- Lead investor:
- 0%
Last updated:
For AI agents: llms.txt
Industries What If Ventures invests in
Stages What If Ventures invests in
Countries What If Ventures invests in
Contacts
| Name | Phone | Socials | |
|---|---|---|---|
Investment Focus
Industry
- Health Care 53 (52%)
- Medical 19 (19%)
- Wellness 15 (15%)
- Biotechnology 14 (14%)
- Software 11 (11%)
Stage
- Seed 22 (22%)
- Series A 16 (16%)
- Series B 16 (16%)
- Series C 11 (11%)
- Funding Round 8 (8%)
Country
- United States 65 (64%)
- Canada 3 (3%)
- United Kingdom 2 (2%)
- Germany 1 (1%)
- Switzerland 1 (1%)
Team
| Name | Title | Investments | Links | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Dale Stephens
Venture Partner
|
Venture Partner | Total investments: 0 | Find email | |
Stephen Hays
Founder and Managing Partner
|
Founder and Managing Partner | Total investments: 61 | Find email |
Investments
| Company | Description | Round | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
Thea Energy
|
Thea Energy is taking a faster approach to commercialize fusion energy. The company’s fusion systems will create a limitless source of zero emission energy for a sustainable future.Thea Energy is leveraging recent breakthroughs in stellarator physics and engineering developed at Princeton University and elsewhere. The company was founded in 2022with the objective of building modular, utility-scale fusion power. | $100M / Series B / May 27, 2026 | |
Reliable Robotics
|
Reliable Robotics provides advanced automation systems for aviation companies. The company was founded by Juerg Frefel and Robert Rose in 2017 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States. | $160M / Series D / Apr 21, 2026 | |
ZeroMark
|
ZeroMark is a defense product company building technology to ensure safety and precision when using kinetic and non lethal weapons. | $235.6K / Series A / Sep 09, 2025 | |
Legacy
|
Legacy provides a service for at-home sperm testing and cryopreservation, allowing individuals to take control of their fertility health from the comfort of their homes. Their semen analysis is conducted in CLIA-certified labs, ensuring high-quality testing without the need for direct doctor involvement. As America's largest at-home fertilityclinic for men, Legacy empowers clients to understand their reproductive health and plan for the future effectively. | $10M / Venture - Series Unknown / Jul 18, 2025 | |
Saildrone
|
Saildrone is a maritime defense and oceanographic survey company that enables navies, governments, and commercial organizations to obtain the real-time, accurate data required to monitor the maritime domain. Powered primarily by renewable wind and solar energy, the company operates a fleet of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) capable of conductinglong-duration missions that span several months. These autonomous vessels are equipped with advanced sensors and proprietary AI algorithms, allowing them to deliver a comprehensive view of the maritime environment both above and below the surface. Their technology supports various applications, including border protection, critical infrastructure monitoring, and hydrographic surveying. By harnessing sustainable energy sources, the USVs offer a persistent maritime presence without requiring human crews or fossil fuels. The integration of AI enhances real-time data analysis, making these systems both efficient and cost-effective. This innovative approach positions the company at the forefront of autonomous maritime surveillance and environmental monitoring. | $60M / Series C / May 13, 2025 | |
|
Saildrone
|
Saildrone is a maritime defense and oceanographic survey company that enables navies, governments, and commercial organizations to obtain the real-time, accurate data required to monitor the maritime domain. Powered primarily by renewable wind and solar energy, the company operates a fleet of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) capable of conductinglong-duration missions that span several months. These autonomous vessels are equipped with advanced sensors and proprietary AI algorithms, allowing them to deliver a comprehensive view of the maritime environment both above and below the surface. Their technology supports various applications, including border protection, critical infrastructure monitoring, and hydrographic surveying. By harnessing sustainable energy sources, the USVs offer a persistent maritime presence without requiring human crews or fossil fuels. The integration of AI enhances real-time data analysis, making these systems both efficient and cost-effective. This innovative approach positions the company at the forefront of autonomous maritime surveillance and environmental monitoring. | $60M / Series C / May 13, 2025 | |
Firehawk Aerospace
|
Firehawk Aerospace is a defense technology company that replaces traditional propulsion production methods with additive manufacturing (3D printing) to produce solid rocket motors, hybrid rocket engines, and propellant. This proprietary process creates customized propellant grains and fuel structures, which allows for rapid manufacturing andincreased design flexibility for defense systems. | $60M / Series B / Jan 05, 2025 | |
|
Firehawk Aerospace
|
Firehawk Aerospace is a defense technology company that replaces traditional propulsion production methods with additive manufacturing (3D printing) to produce solid rocket motors, hybrid rocket engines, and propellant. This proprietary process creates customized propellant grains and fuel structures, which allows for rapid manufacturing andincreased design flexibility for defense systems. | $60M / Series C / Jan 05, 2025 | |
Alto Pharmacy
|
Alto is a full-service pharmacy powered by a team of experts dedicated to making your doctor's orders their own. From delivering prescriptions to coordinating with insurance, digging for discounts, and answering, Alto works behind-the-scenes to remove any obstacles standing in the way of your care.The company started in 2015 and isheadquartered in San Francisco, California. | Convertible Note / Nov 26, 2024 | |
Alto Pharmacy
|
Alto is America’s leading digital pharmacy, transforming a $500 billion industry. Founded in 2015, Alto’s better pharmacy model is centered on the critical role of pharmacists as the final link in a person’s health journey. Alto combines expert pharmacist care with purpose-built technology to deliver a more convenient and affordable experience forthose who need medication. To date, Alto has fulfilled more than three million prescriptions, expanded to twelve markets, and built a mobile app experience that makes it easier than ever to manage medications and chat with a pharmacist. As Alto continues its rapid growth, it remains customer obsessed, with an industry-leading NPS score of 86. | Convertible Note / Nov 26, 2024 | |
| See all 101 investments → | |||
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FAQ
What does What If Ventures invest in?
What If Ventures invests primarily in Health Care, Medical and Wellness startups, most often at Seed and Series A stage. Most of the 101 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 What If Ventures?
Public channels for What If Ventures 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 What If Ventures?
The team at What If Ventures includes Dale Stephens (Venture Partner) and Stephen Hays (Founder and Managing Partner). 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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