Essence VC

Hacker Noon / Bundle Sep 23

Fearn launches AI-native patent law firm with $5.5M seed from Kindred Ventures and a16z speedrun

Fearn, an AI-native patent law firm, launched with $5.5 million in seed funding led by Kindred Ventures and a16z speedrun to speed and cut costs of U.S. patent filings. The firm promises review-ready applications in as little as 24 minutes, provisional filing within three business days, and a fixed $9,000 fee with its own fee at risk if an examiner allows nothing.

Taylor Soper / GeekWire Mar 10

Tim Chen’s Essence VC Raises New $7 Million Fund to Boost Infrastructure Startup Investments

Essence VC, led by Tim Chen, is raising a new $7 million fund to lead larger pre-seed rounds and have greater investment flexibility, focusing on infrastructure startups. This fund is separate from their previous $41 million fund raised last year.

Taylor Soper / GeekWire Oct 24, 2025

Tim Chen Raises $41 Million for Fourth Fund at Essence VC, Emerging as a Leading Solo Investor Backing Infrastructure Startups

Tim Chen, initially rejected by Seattle venture capital firms for being 'too nerdy,' launched his own firm, Essence VC, which has grown to raise $41 million for its fourth fund and gained a strong reputation backing infrastructure startups. His technical background and experience as a software engineer have made him a sought-after solo investor, with notable portfolio successes including the $2.2 billion acquisition of Tabular by Databricks.

Todd Bishop / GeekWire Nov 27, 2024

Seattle Startup Groundlight Uses AI, Strobe Lights, and Radio to Stop Raccoons Invading Home via Cat Door

A Seattle AI startup called Groundlight helped solve a homeowner's raccoon problem using a system combining strobe lights, public radio, and AI to prevent raccoons from entering through a microchip-detecting cat door. The raccoons had learned to bypass the specialized cat door's intruder mode, but the AI-based solution effectively deterred them.

Nate Bek / GeekWire Jun 29, 2023

Seattle Venture Firm Essence VC Raises $27M to Fund Early-Stage Tech Infrastructure Startups

Seattle-based venture capital firm Essence VC, led by managing partner Timothy Chen, has raised $27 million for its third fund to invest in early-stage startups focused on software development tools, data infrastructure, and AI. The firm targets pre-product startups and has made seven investments since December, including in Jasper AI and MotherDuck.

Nate Bek / GeekWire Apr 19, 2023

Seattle Startup Groundlight Raises $10M Seed to Revolutionize Warehouse Monitoring with AI and Natural Language Computer Vision

Seattle startup Groundlight, co-founded by former Amazon and Picobrew execs Leo Dirac and Avi Geiger, emerged from stealth with a $10 million seed fund to simplify warehouse monitoring using AI-powered computer vision. Their platform enables businesses to query real-time video feeds through natural language prompts for instant, customizable insights.

Nate Bek / GeekWire Feb 23, 2023

Seattle-based Sentio Raises $6.4M Led by Lightspeed to Expand Blockchain Observability Platform

Sentio, a Seattle startup co-founded by Fuyao Zhao and Chongzhe Li, raised $6.4 million led by Lightspeed Venture Partners to expand its blockchain application monitoring tool and increase its team size. The company plans to grow its headcount from 10 to 15-20 employees by next year with support from investors including Hashkey Capital and GSR Ventures.