Humba II: Doubling Down on Deep Tech

The Humba Ventures team is proud to announce the launch of Humba II, our oversubscribed $40M second fund focused on deep tech and American Dynamism. For the past three years, Humba has been investing in founders who are reimagining how the most important systems in our society work. Alan Kay once said, “People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.” We think this doesn’t just apply to software, it applies to everything. If you really care about a problem, you should pursue the most ambitious solution possible.

This insight has driven Humba to partner with founders building everything from organoid-based drug testing platforms to next-generation sawmills to nuclear power for defense. Many companies seeded by Humba’s first fund, like Antares, WindBorne, and Mytra, have already gone on to raise subsequent rounds from top firms like Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, and Coatue.

We recognize that real growth is driven by innovators building at the fundamental substrate of our economy — the physical world. That’s why our fund strategy invests in domains like transportation, energy generation and distribution, heavy industry, health care, and national security. Innovators building in these spaces often carry more technical risk than market risk, and we embrace that. The question for us is not whether there will be demand for cancer cures or cheaper energy, but what it will take for teams to develop them.

Luckily, we believe it’s never been easier for a small group of builders to make a massive impact. Ideas that used to require tens or hundreds of millions can now be approached with a few million dollars or less. Humba supports founders at the earliest stages of this journey. With Humba II, we are investing $250K-$500K at pre-seed and $500K-$1M at seed. And, because we’re part of the broader Susa fund family, we offer more platform services and support per dollar invested than much larger funds.

Leo and Anna-Sofia

Companies we partner with often require teams with diverse, unique backgrounds, and we are building our team similarly. Humba’s General Partner, Leo Polovets, was one of the first engineers at LinkedIn and has over a decade of experience in venture, having co-founded Susa Ventures and helped build it into the leading seed fund it is today. Humba’s newest addition, Anna-Sofia Lesiv, has excelled at distilling deep tech topics to mass audiences through her research and writing.

History has shown us that if you just get enough talented engineers in the same room together and give them enough capital and support, magic will happen. By definition, building hard tech is hard, but nothing that endures comes easy.

For founders eager to take bold swings, Humba is ready to take on the risk with you. If you have a big idea, we want to meet you. If we invest, we’ll commit to supporting you throughout your entire journey.

This post was originally published on Humba’s blog.