Role in the network: The charitable foundation of Formation Bio’s longest-serving board director, which held stock listed as “LABNOOK AKA TRIALSPARK” until switching to aggregated reporting in 2024 — the same year as the rebrand — rendering the holding invisible to IRS database searches, while simultaneously investing $1.258 billion in a fund managed by the foundation’s own founder.
Bio
Crankstart is the philanthropic and investment platform of Michael Moritz and Harriet Heyman. It operates through two arms: the Crankstart Foundation, a 501(c)(3) private foundation established in 2000, and Crankstart Investments, a for-profit investment vehicle. The foundation is based in San Francisco and reported approximately $5 billion in assets as of 2025, with $1.6 billion distributed to date across 2,780 grants to 764 organizations. [1] [2]
Michael Moritz was born in Cardiff, Wales to a Jewish family that fled Nazi Germany during World War II. He attended Christ Church, Oxford (BA in History) and the Wharton School (MBA). He worked as a journalist for Time magazine, authored a book on Apple (“The Little Kingdom”) and co-authored one on Chrysler (“Going for Broke”) before joining Sequoia Capital in 1986. At Sequoia, he led investments in Google, Yahoo!, PayPal, LinkedIn, Stripe, Klarna, and Instacart, among others, and co-founded the firm’s China and India businesses. He departed Sequoia in July 2023 to focus on Sequoia Heritage, a $15-16 billion standalone wealth management vehicle he co-founded in 2010. He was knighted (KBE) for services to business. [3] [4] [5]
Harriet Heyman is a sculptor, novelist (“Between Two Rains”), and former New York Times journalist. She serves as a director of the Crankstart Foundation. [3]
Moritz and Heyman are Giving Pledge signatories, having committed to give away at least half of their wealth. [3]
The foundation’s grantmaking focuses on education (40%), community/social services (38%), democracy (14%), and environment/basic sciences (8%). Major recipients include scholarships at Oxford, the University of Chicago, and Juilliard; the ACLU; Bay Area homelessness initiatives; and a £150 million donation to the National Gallery in London — one of the largest cultural gifts ever. The foundation also funds the Booker Prize through the Booker Prize Foundation. [3] [6]
Crankstart Investments, the for-profit arm, has made separate investments including a financial partnership with the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO). The investment and charitable operations share Moritz’s oversight but operate as distinct entities. [7]
The Moritz Family Foundation Network: Three Entities, One Controller
Michael Moritz does not operate one foundation. He operates three, and the financial data shows they function as a coordinated unit.
The Three Entities
| Entity | EIN | Founded | President | Michael’s Role | Assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crankstart Foundation | 94-3377099 | Jun 2002 | Michael Moritz (CEO, 2024+) | Direct control | ~$5B |
| Kelson Foundation | 81-3588323 | Jul 2017 | Jake Moritz (son) | Secretary/Treasurer | ~$38M+ |
| Loud Hound Foundation | 81-3588263 | Jul 2017 | William Moritz (son) | Secretary/Treasurer | ~$38M+ |
Both sons’ foundations were created in July 2017 — the same month. Same city (San Francisco). Same two-person board structure (son as President, Michael as Secretary/Treasurer controlling finances). Same filing dates every year. The only variable is which son’s name is on the President line. [8]
The Mirror Amounts
The sons’ foundations report revenue that matches to the dollar:
| Year | Kelson (Jake) | Loud Hound (William) | Difference | % Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $38,630,708 | $38,630,222 | $486 | 0.001% |
| 2022 | $6,565,332 | $6,148,067 | $417K | 6.4% |
| 2023 | $1,798,886 | $2,769,303 | $970K | 35% |
| 2024 | $8,090,595 | $8,057,536 | $33K | 0.4% |
In 2021, the difference between two “independent” foundations was $486 on $38.6 million. That’s 0.001%. In 2024, it was $33K on $8 million — 0.4%. These are not two independent decision-makers arriving at coincidentally identical numbers. These are coordinated distributions from the father, who serves as Secretary/Treasurer of both and controls the finances of all three entities. [8]
The 2022-2023 divergence (6.4% then 35%) followed by 2024 reconvergence (0.4%) may reflect a period where distributions were adjusted independently before being re-synchronized.
Formation Bio Holdings Across All Three
Crankstart (Michael directly):
| Tax Year | Name on Filing | Fair Market Value |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | LABNOOK AKA TRIALSPARK | $4,268,353 |
| 2021 | LABNOOK AKA TRIALSPARK | $75,141,375 |
| 2022 | LABNOOK AKA TRIALSPARK | $72,887,675 |
| 2023 | LABNOOK AKA TRIALSPARK | $72,887,675 |
| 2024 | (AGGREGATED — inside $467M bucket) | Unknown |
The 2020 to 2021 jump from $4.3M to $75.1M represents a 17.6x increase on paper — corresponding to Altman’s Series C leadership ($156M, September 2021). Altman’s investment inflated the value of Moritz’s pre-existing position by nearly 18x. [8]
Sons’ foundations (separate name, separate searchability):
| Year | Kelson (Jake) | Loud Hound (William) | Name Used |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $249,999 | $249,999 | TRIALSPARK |
| 2022 | $174,999 | $174,999 | TRIALSPARK |
| 2023 | Listed | Listed | FORMATION BIO |
| 2024 | Listed | Listed | FORMATION BIO |
The sons’ foundations use a DIFFERENT name than Crankstart for the SAME stock. Crankstart says “LABNOOK AKA TRIALSPARK” (the name from when Michael invested). The sons say “TRIALSPARK” and later “FORMATION BIO” (the name from when they received shares). This means:
- Search IRS for “LABNOOK” — find Crankstart, miss sons
- Search IRS for “TRIALSPARK” — find sons’ 2021-22, miss Crankstart’s “LABNOOK AKA” format
- Search IRS for “FORMATION BIO” — find sons’ 2023-24, miss everything before 2023
- Search IRS in 2024+ — find nothing (Crankstart aggregated, sons’ amounts small)
Combined Moritz family position (2023): approximately $73.4 million in a company where no Form D had ever been filed with the SEC. [8]
The Sequoia China / HongShan Thread
Across the three foundations, approximately $465 million was held in Sequoia China / HongShan funds — the entity created when Sequoia’s China business split off in June 2023 amid US-China geopolitical tensions and executive order on outbound investment screening. Moritz co-founded Sequoia’s China operation. His foundations hold nearly half a billion dollars in the fund that resulted from the split. [8]
This connects to Formation Bio’s Chinese drug sourcing: Bleecker Bio (Lynk Pharmaceuticals) and Kenmare Bio (CTFH/Jiangsu Chia Tai Feng Hai) both license drugs from Chinese companies with “worldwide rights excluding Greater China.” The man whose foundations hold $465M in Chinese venture funds is also a board director of the company sourcing drugs from Chinese pharma.
The Title Changes
Moritz’s title on Crankstart filings shifted over time:
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| Pre-2024 | President / CFO |
| 2024+ | CEO |
He upgraded from President to CEO the same year the foundation switched to aggregated reporting. The operational structure changed simultaneously with the transparency reduction. [8]
Crankstart Revenue Swings
| Year | Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2021 | $480M |
| 2022 | $55M |
| 2024 | $349M |
The 2021 spike ($480M) corresponds to the same year Crankstart’s Formation Bio position jumped 17.6x. The 2022 crash ($55M) aligns with the broader tech stock collapse. The 2024 recovery ($349M) came the same year as the Series D and aggregation switch. [8]
The Sequoia Heritage Self-Dealing Question
Crankstart’s 2023 filing showed $1.258 billion invested in SC Heritage Fund — Sequoia Capital Heritage, the wealth management vehicle that Moritz himself runs as president. [8]
Under IRC Section 4941, private foundations face strict self-dealing rules. A “disqualified person” (which includes the foundation’s substantial contributors, officers, and directors) is generally prohibited from engaging in financial transactions with the foundation. Moritz is the founder, primary contributor, and a director of Crankstart. He is also the president of Sequoia Heritage — the fund in which Crankstart has a $1.258 billion position.
The question is whether Crankstart’s investment in Sequoia Heritage constitutes self-dealing under IRC 4941. The foundation is investing over a billion dollars in a fund managed by the foundation’s own founder. Even if this falls under an exception (such as the “incidental or tenuous” exception for indirect self-dealing), the scale ($1.258B) and the directness of the relationship (founder manages the fund) make this a legitimate regulatory question. [8]
Moritz as Formation Bio Board Director
Moritz is not merely an investor in Formation Bio — he is an existing board director with fiduciary obligations to the company. The June 2024 Series D press release explicitly names him as a continuing board member alongside new directors Scott Kupor (a16z) and Alfred Lin (Sequoia). [9]
His title in that release: “Sr. Advisor to Sequoia Heritage” — not “Sequoia Capital partner,” which he had been for 37 years. The title change reflects his July 2023 departure from the main Sequoia firm while maintaining his Formation Bio governance role through a different institutional affiliation.
His quote in the Series D release: “Thanks to A.I, biotech and pharmaceutical companies are about to be drowned in an avalanche of promising looking drugs that merit enquiry. Formation Bio has the technology and know-how to help the industry sort the wheat from the chaff.” [9]
As board director, Moritz had visibility into:
- Every fundraising round (including the absence of Form D filings for the first $250M+)
- The OpenAI/Sanofi partnership and Altman’s conflict of interest
- The TrialSpark → Formation Bio rebrand strategy
- The clinical trial site selection targeting low-income communities
- The Project Covalence grant from Altman’s nonprofit
The San Francisco Standard: Media Ownership
In 2021, Moritz founded the San Francisco Standard, a for-profit local news outlet, with an initial $10 million investment through Crankstart. Moritz serves as chairman. The Standard covers technology, city politics, and business — all topics where Moritz’s active investment portfolio creates coverage conflicts. [10]
The Standard’s ethics policy governs journalist-level conflicts (stock ownership, gifts, free trips) but contains no language about owner-level conflicts. Moritz sits on the boards of Stripe, Klarna, Instacart, and other companies within the Standard’s coverage territory. None of these positions are addressed in the published ethics framework. [10]
Griffin Gaffney, the Standard’s CEO, simultaneously co-founded TogetherSF (later Blueprint SF), a Moritz-funded political action committee that spent over $5 million in San Francisco elections. The same person leads both the news outlet and the political operation funded by the outlet’s owner. [10]
The investigation parallel: a Foundation Bio board director who controls a $5 billion charitable foundation, holds Formation Bio stock through multiple family foundations under multiple names, and owns a media outlet that covers the technology industry — all while serving on the board of a clinical trial company that has never adequately disclosed its SEC filings.
The China Thread
Moritz co-founded Sequoia’s businesses in China and India. The Sequoia China operation (later rebranded as HongShan after the 2023 split) was one of the most successful cross-border VC operations in history. [4]
InfluenceWatch reported that “Moritz, Sequoia Capital, and Crankstart were all the beneficiaries of Chinese financing” — though the specific nature and timing of this financing requires further investigation. [5]
The China connection matters because Formation Bio’s drug pipeline includes subsidiaries that source drugs from Chinese pharmaceutical companies: Bleecker Bio (from Lynk Pharmaceuticals, worldwide rights excluding Greater China) and Kenmare Bio (from CTFH/Jiangsu Chia Tai Feng Hai, worldwide rights excluding Greater China). The “excluding Greater China” carve-out in both deals means the Chinese companies retain rights in their home market while Formation Bio gets the rest of the world — a structure that requires deep China relationships to negotiate. [9]
Key People
| Person | Role | Network Connection |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Moritz | Founder, Chairman | Formation Bio board director. Sequoia Heritage president ($15-16B AUM). Former Sequoia Capital partner (1986-2023). Board: Stripe, Klarna (chairman), Instacart, Green Dot. KBE. Born Cardiff, Wales. |
| Harriet Heyman | Director, Crankstart Foundation | Former NYT journalist. Sculptor. Novelist. Co-signatory Giving Pledge. |
| Missy Narula | CEO, Crankstart Foundation | Operational leadership. |
| Eli Bildner | VP Operations, Crankstart Foundation | Public-facing representative. |
| Griffin Gaffney | CEO, San Francisco Standard | Simultaneously CEO of Moritz-funded news outlet AND co-founder of Moritz-funded political PAC. |
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2000 | Crankstart Foundation established by Moritz and Heyman |
| 2005 | Crankstart Foundation formally operational (per some sources) |
| 2010 | Sequoia Heritage co-founded by Moritz (internal to Sequoia) |
| Pre-2017 | Moritz invests in LabNook (pre-TrialSpark era). Stock held as “LABNOOK AKA TRIALSPARK” |
| Sep 2017 | Sequoia (Alfred Lin) invests in TrialSpark seed round |
| Oct 2018 | Sequoia invests in TrialSpark Series B |
| 2020-2023 | Crankstart 990-PF filings list “LABNOOK AKA TRIALSPARK” by name |
| Sep 2021 | Sequoia (Moritz named as partner) invests in TrialSpark $156M Series C |
| 2021 | SF Standard founded with $10M from Crankstart. Moritz chairman. |
| Jul 2023 | Moritz departs Sequoia Capital. Sequoia Heritage becomes standalone ($15-16B AUM). |
| Dec 2023 | TrialSpark rebrands as Formation Bio |
| 2024 | Crankstart switches to aggregated reporting. Formation Bio holding disappears into “$467M privately held securities.” |
| Jun 2024 | Moritz named as “existing board director” in Formation Bio Series D ($372M). Title: “Sr. Advisor to Sequoia Heritage.” |
| Jun 2024 | Sequoia (Alfred Lin AND Michael Moritz — both partners) invest in Series D |
Nodes and Open Questions
- IRC 4941 self-dealing: Is Crankstart’s $1.258B investment in Sequoia Heritage (Moritz’s own fund) a self-dealing transaction under private foundation rules? What exceptions, if any, apply at this scale?
- Timing of aggregation: The switch from itemized to aggregated investment reporting occurred in 2024 — the same year as the Formation Bio rebrand, the TechCrunch article, and the first-ever Form D filing. Was the timing coordinated or coincidental?
- Sons’ foundations: Which foundations do Moritz’s sons operate? What are the EINs? What other holdings do they list? The use of “FORMATION BIO” (DBA) instead of “TRIALSPARK, INC.” (legal name) on their filings means their holdings are unsearchable under the legal entity name.
- Chinese financing: InfluenceWatch reported Moritz, Sequoia, and Crankstart were “beneficiaries of Chinese financing.” What was the nature, timing, and amount? Does it connect to Formation Bio’s Chinese drug sourcing deals?
- The $467M bucket: What else is in the “privately held securities” aggregate besides Formation Bio? The total ($467M) suggests Formation Bio is a significant but not dominant position. What other network-connected holdings might be hidden in the same bucket?
- Board oversight: As a board director from the LabNook era through Series D, Moritz had continuous visibility into Formation Bio’s operations. What did he know about the absence of Form D filings? The clinical trial site demographics? The Project Covalence grant from Altman’s nonprofit?
- SF Standard coverage: Has the San Francisco Standard covered Formation Bio, OpenAI’s conflicts of interest, or Altman’s investment portfolio? If so, was Moritz’s board seat at Formation Bio disclosed? If not, is the absence of coverage itself notable?
- Green Dot overlap: Moritz sat on the Green Dot board since 2003. Altman sat on the Green Dot board ~2013-2016 (after Loopt was acquired by Green Dot). They overlapped on the same corporate board. This is a direct governance-level relationship, not just a VC-portfolio relationship.
Sources
[1] [Archive] (https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/the-city/crankstart-foundation-michael-moritz-sf-philanthropy/article_9fc8dd50-63b5-4930-afe7-a632950367ef.html)
[2] [Archive] (https://fconline.foundationcenter.org/fdo-grantmaker-profile?key=CRAN040)
[3] [Archive] (https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/find-a-grant/grants-c/crankstart-foundation)
[5] [Archive] (https://www.influencewatch.org/person/michael-moritz/)
[6] [Archive] (https://thebookerprizes.com/our-funders)
[7] [Archive] (https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200121005273/en/)
[8] Prior investigation sessions — Crankstart 990-PF filing analysis, aggregated vs itemized comparison
[10] Prior investigation sessions — San Francisco Standard ownership and ethics policy documentation
[11] [Archive] (https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/crankstart-foundation/)