Tim Chen
Tim Chen is Founder and Managing Partner at Essence Venture Capital and serves as Operator Advisor at Bessemer Venture Partners. He founded Essence VC, a venture fund that he continues to lead, and has expertise in pre-seed and seed investing, DevTools, infrastructure, and Data SaaS.
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.
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.
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.
Organizations
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The Infra Pod Co-host 2024–present · current
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Bessemer Venture Partners Operator Advisor 2021–present · current
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Open Source Startup Podcast Co-host 2021–present · current
Education
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University of Washington B.S., Informatics
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DigiPen Institute of Technology Computer Science
