SAN FRANCISCO – Zelda Ventures, a new investment firm founded and led by General Partner Suzanne Fletcher, has closed its first fundraise with an oversubscribed $33 million debut fund. The pre-seed fund invests in the next companies of founders whom Suzanne has already invested in.
“Zelda Ventures is the culmination of decades spent nurturing entrepreneurial talent and building authentic relationships,” said Suzanne Fletcher. “With an extensive network and a strong understanding of the startup ecosystem, I’m excited to collaborate with entrepreneurs, many of whom I’ve known for nearly 10 years, as they begin building their next companies. The fund’s name pays homage to the iconic video game character, the beloved badass associated with hunting for and finding treasure, and that’s precisely the spirit I aim to embody.”
As a generalist fund, Zelda Ventures has already backed nearly a dozen startups – including Andromeda Surgical, Pointable, and Redcoat AI – with plans to triple the number of investments by 2026. Among its portfolio, Zelda Ventures has written the first checks for the majority of companies, kicking off pre-seed rounds that have quickly become oversubscribed.
“Suzanne has been a tremendous partner and advocate for Andromeda Surgical, just as she was for my previous companies, Zenflow and Avail Medsystems,” said Nick Damiano, CEO and co-founder of Andromeda Surgical. “Her deep understanding of the startup landscape and her consistent support have been instrumental in our success. There’s immense value in working with someone you already know and trust, and the StartX community was delighted to see her launch her own fund.”
Suzanne brings over two decades of investment experience, investing alongside top VCs including Lightspeed, Andreessen Horowitz, DCVC, Founders Fund, and 8VC. She has backed 350+ startups founded by 900+ entrepreneurs. Among these entrepreneurs, Suzanne estimates that 10% will launch new companies each year. Zelda Ventures is swiftly becoming the ‘first choice for first checks’ among a group of entrepreneurs who boast robust investor networks themselves.
“I’m thrilled to witness Suzanne’s launch of Zelda Ventures,” said Randy Livingston, CFO of Stanford University. “Her tenacity, organizational prowess, and warmth have earned her deep respect within the local entrepreneurial community.”
Suzanne’s investments prior to Zelda represent over $50 billion in company value and include 12 unicorns, including Sourcegraph, Hive, Alation, Turing, Dexterity, Orca Bio, and more, with an additional 30 successful exits such as Nearpod (acquired by Renaissance Learning), Osmo (acquired by Tangible Play), Cleargraph (acquired by Tableau), Eero (acquired by Amazon), and Sweep (acquired by Affirm).
“We are delighted to be significant investors in Zelda Ventures’ fund and confident that Suzanne’s unique background, experiences, and relationships will allow her to identify, evaluate, and invest in the most promising new companies ahead of others. Her focus on the Stanford University ecosystem, especially on serial entrepreneurs with successful track records, taps into one of the most attractive sources of high-quality investment opportunities,” said Randy Eisenman, co-founder and managing partner of Satori Capital. “Her history of responsibly managing third-party capital, coupled with her history of supporting high-performing startups, are key factors that enabled her to become one of the few emerging managers to successfully raise an oversubscribed fund in today’s market.”
Prior to founding Zelda Ventures, Suzanne was a general partner at Prime Movers Lab, playing a pivotal role in scaling the firm and leading seed rounds. Before that, Suzanne managed the co-investment vehicle at StartX, one of the most prestigious startup accelerators in the world serving the Stanford University community, for five years. Suzanne has a Bachelor Science in Economics from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, magna cum laude, and an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
