Drew Volpe
About Drew Volpe
Drew Volpe is an investor, entrepreneur and technologist with experience in search, machine learning, sensors and mobile. He holds an AB in Computer Science from Harvard University. He is based in Boston, Massachusetts.
His operating career began in search software. He was Director of Product Development at Endeca Technologies, a search and unstructured-data company that Oracle acquired for about $1.1 billion. He then co-founded Locately and served as its CTO. He led development of its location-based mobile market research platform until SMG acquired the company. LinkedIn-derived listings show him as Locately co-founder and CTO from 2008 to 2013, followed by a stint as entrepreneur in residence at Highland Capital Partners in 2013.
From 2014 to 2015 he was founding VP of Product Development at Semantic Machines, a conversational AI startup. Crunchbase says it was backed by $21 million from Bain and General Catalyst. The CIX Summit bio says Microsoft later acquired it. He now runs First Star Ventures (formerly Procyon Ventures), a Cambridge, Massachusetts firm he co-founded with Millie Liu. He also speaks and mentors at MassChallenge, Techstars, MIT and Harvard.
Crunchbase lists 12 investments across 11 portfolio companies, with 0 lead investments and 5 exits (none by IPO). Crunchbase also credits him with founding 3 companies. PitchBook counts him as an individual angel with 7 recorded investments and 5 exits. Counts differ between databases, and some deals may have been made through First Star rather than with personal money.
Public records show early checks going back to 2013. PitchBook lists seed rounds in Tessel (November 2013) and Smarking (May 2015). It also lists Netra (2016), Genialis (2019), Talla (2019), Skynet (2020) and Radial (February 2022). NFX Signal lists a separate set of First Star-era deals from 2014 to 2019, including Seven Bridges Genomics, Plex Research, Jellyfish, Feature Labs, Everbloom, Motion Hall, Tranquil Data and Scoot Science.
He sits on company boards. MarketScreener lists him as a director at Genialis, Dex and Plex Research, and as a director and managing partner at Tranquil Data.
Drew's AI experience is hands-on. He was an early product leader at Semantic Machines and spent years on search and database systems. Public sources describe him as a coder-founder-investor who applies that background to evaluating technical AI companies.
AI-related positions in the public record include Feature Labs (seed, February 2018, listed at $1.5 million on NFX Signal). They also include Plex Research (seed, January 2017), which provides search engine technology for drug discovery. He is also listed as an investor in Tranquil Data (pre-seed, November 2018), which builds software that gives context to data. Mercury's investor database lists Oculii and PlusOne Robotics among his highlights, without dates.
His X bio lists AI/ML, bio, bots, energy, Bitcoin and decentralization as interests. In January he published an article on X about Boston's AI ecosystem.
Stage: Mercury lists pre-seed and seed. NFX Signal records show pre-seed and seed rounds.
Sectors: First Star describes its focus as applications of frontier technology such as AI/ML, computational biotech, connected sensors, AR/VR and blockchain. NFX Signal says he is most interested in new computing technologies applied to traditional industries, computational biology, and decentralized services and governance. A VC directory summary says he has expressed interest in hard-tech ideas from research institutions such as MIT.
Geography and exclusions: NFX Signal lists the US and Canada, and says he is not interested in consumer, gaming, or startups outside those countries.
Check size: Mercury lists $500K to $1M. NFX Signal lists $100K to $1M with a $500K sweet spot, and shows a current fund size of $25M. These figures come from third-party directories and describe his investing through First Star. Drew has not published personal angel check sizes that we could find.
His LinkedIn headline says pitches go to talktodrew@firststar.vc.
- Seven Bridges Genomics: genomics company; seed round, January 2014 (NFX Signal).
- Tessel: electronic hardware company; seed round, November 2013 (PitchBook). PitchBook lists it as out of business.
- Smarking: business software company; seed round, May 2015 (PitchBook).
- Plex Research: search technology for drug discovery; seed, January 2017. Drew is also a director.
- Jellyfish: seed, February 2017 (NFX Signal).
- Feature Labs: seed, February 2018, $1.5M (NFX Signal).
- Everbloom: seed, March 2018, $1.5M, alongside Geoff Bernstein of Indicator Ventures (NFX Signal).
- Tranquil Data: software that gives context to data; pre-seed, November 2018. Drew is also a director.
- Genialis: biotechnology company; investment dated 2019 (PitchBook). Drew is also a director.
- Scoot Science: pre-seed, March 2019, alongside Jerry Neumann of Neu Venture Capital (NFX Signal).
- Skynet Labs (Sia): listed by Mercury as a highlight; PitchBook dates a Skynet investment to September 2020.
- crunchbase.com/person/drew-volpe
- crunchbase.com/organization/procyon-ventures
- mercury.com/investor-database/drew-volpe
- signal.nfx.com/investors/drew-volpe
- pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/458037-46
- marketscreener.com/insider/DREW-VOLPE-A2G1EM
- cixsummit.com/selection-committee/drew-volpe
- linkedin.com/in/drewvolpe
Investing activity
Drew Volpe has made 12 investments according to Crunchbase across 11 portfolio companies, and has seen 5 exits and founded 3 companies.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Drew Volpe
Does Drew Volpe invest at pre-seed and seed?
Yes. Mercury lists pre-seed and seed as his stages. The deals recorded on NFX Signal are pre-seed and seed rounds.
What is Drew Volpe's check size?
Third-party directories list $500K to $1M (Mercury) and $100K to $1M with a $500K sweet spot (NFX Signal). These reflect his investing through First Star Ventures. He has not published a personal angel check size.
What kind of AI startups does Drew Volpe back?
He backs technical teams applying AI/ML to real-world problems, including computational biology, sensors, data infrastructure and decentralization. He says he is less interested in consumer and gaming startups, and in companies outside the US and Canada.
How do I pitch Drew Volpe?
His LinkedIn headline lists talktodrew@firststar.vc for pitches. He is also active on X as @drewvolpe.
What is Drew Volpe's background before investing?
He was Director of Product Development at Endeca, co-founder and CTO of Locately, and founding VP of Product Development at Semantic Machines. Oracle acquired Endeca and SMG acquired Locately.
Is Drew Volpe also a fund investor?
Yes. He is a founding partner of First Star Ventures, a Cambridge, Massachusetts pre-seed and seed firm co-founded with Millie Liu. Founders should ask whether a given check would come from the fund or from him personally.
Is Drew Volpe an angel investor?
Yes. Drew Volpe invests personally as an angel. Crunchbase counts 12 investments and 5 exits.
Where is Drew Volpe based?
Drew Volpe is based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
How can founders reach Drew Volpe?
Founders on Lounge can see Drew Volpe's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with them under Warm Paths, and add Drew Volpe to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.