A $450M “mission-driven” fund co-founded by Wesley Chan — the creator of Google Analytics and former Felicis Ventures partner who invested in TrialSpark through Felicis before leaving to start FPV, which then invested in Formation Bio’s Series D. Same person, different fund, continuous investment relationship across the company’s entire evolution.
Bio
FPV Ventures (Founders, Purpose, Vision) is a $450 million venture fund co-founded in 2022 by Wesley Chan and Pegah Ebrahimi. The fund invests in “mission-driven founders” at seed and Series A stages, with a portfolio of 35-51 companies including Canva, Flexport, Gusto, Guild Education, Enveda Biosciences, and Formation Bio. Most of FPV’s LPs are described as “mission-driven endowments for charities, foundations, and universities.” [1][2][3]
Wesley Chan is the key figure for this investigation. Chan created Google Analytics at Google, then became a partner at Felicis Ventures — where he participated in TrialSpark’s October 2018 venture round AND the September 2021 Series C. He then left Felicis, co-founded FPV Ventures in 2022, and FPV invested in Formation Bio’s June 2024 Series D. [1][4]
This means Wesley Chan has been invested in this company through TWO different funds across THREE rounds spanning six years: Felicis (2018 venture round, 2021 Series C) → FPV (2024 Series D). He is the only investor who has maintained a continuous personal relationship with the company across a fund transition. When TrialSpark became Formation Bio, Chan simply moved his exposure from one vehicle to another.
Pegah Ebrahimi is the co-founder and brings operational experience as former COO at Morgan Stanley and Cisco. [3][5]
Basic Information
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | FPV Ventures (Founders, Purpose, Vision) |
| Founded | 2022 |
| Co-Founders | Wesley Chan (Managing Partner), Pegah Ebrahimi (Managing Partner) |
| HQ | San Francisco, CA (PitchBook lists Jackson, Wyoming) |
| Fund Size | $450M |
| Portfolio | 35-51 companies, 4 unicorns (including Formation Bio, Flexport) |
| Focus | Mission-driven founders, seed/Series A, healthcare, biotech, deep tech |
| LPs | “Mission-driven endowments for charities, foundations, and universities” |
| Frequent Co-Investor | Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) [4] |
| Website | fpvventures.com |
Wesley Chan: The Cross-Fund Continuity
| Period | Fund | TrialSpark/Formation Bio Round | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-2018 | Google (created Google Analytics) | — | — |
| 2018 | Felicis Ventures (partner) | Oct 2018 Venture Round | Investor alongside Sequoia, Thrive, Cherubic, Sound, TQ, Spark |
| 2021 | Felicis Ventures (partner) | Sep 2021 Series C ($156M) | Investor in Altman-led round |
| 2022 | Leaves Felicis. Co-founds FPV Ventures. | — | — |
| 2024 | FPV Ventures (managing partner) | Jun 2024 Series D ($372M) | Investor in a16z-led round |
Wesley Chan is the only documented individual investor who has maintained continuous exposure to this company across a fund change — from Felicis to FPV. This is not an institutional relationship (like Sequoia being present in every round). This is a personal conviction that followed Chan from one employer to another.
Network Connections
| Connection | Nature | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Chan created Google Analytics | Google/Alphabet DNA — same ecosystem as S32 (Bill Maris/GV) and potentially Verily (Andy Conrad). | |
| Felicis Ventures | Chan’s prior fund. Felicis in TrialSpark 2018 + 2021 rounds. | FPV is the continuation of Chan’s Felicis investment thesis in a new vehicle. |
| a16z | FPV’s most frequent co-investor per Tracxn. a16z led Formation Bio Series D. | Chan and a16z converge on the same deals repeatedly. |
| Canva | Chan was early investor (through Felicis). FPV portfolio company. | Canva is one of the largest private tech companies globally. Chan’s track record. |
| Flexport | FPV portfolio company. | Flexport CRO Braverman → Saga Ventures (Max Altman’s fund). Same connection as Cherubic. |
| Benjamine Liu | Chan listed Liu’s blog on FPV website. | FPV’s website hosts Liu’s bio — suggesting a deeper relationship than typical fund-portfolio interaction. [6] |
| Formation Bio board | Unknown if Chan holds a board seat or observer role. | The continuous personal relationship across fund change suggests governance involvement. |
Investigative Findings
Finding 1: The Cross-Fund Personal Conviction
Wesley Chan’s investment in this company spans three rounds over six years across two different funds. [1][4] This level of personal conviction — continuing an investment through a career change — is unusual and suggests Chan is not just following Sequoia/Thrive into rounds, but has an independent thesis about the company’s value.
The question: what does Chan know about TrialSpark/Formation Bio’s trajectory that sustains this level of personal commitment? His Google Analytics background suggests he values data infrastructure — and Formation Bio’s evolution from clinical trial platform (data collection) to AI-native pharma company (data application) maps directly onto a data-infrastructure-to-data-application investment thesis.
Finding 2: The LP Structure
FPV’s LPs are described as “mission-driven endowments for charities, foundations, and universities.” [2][3] This means nonprofit institutional money is flowing through FPV into Formation Bio. If university endowments and charitable foundations are LPs in FPV, their endowment returns are partially generated by Formation Bio’s pharmaceutical operations — which include the infrastructure originally built with Altman’s nonprofit grant through Project Covalence.
Nonprofit money (OpenResearch → TrialSpark via Project Covalence) and nonprofit money (endowment LPs → FPV → Formation Bio) enter the same company through different doors. The company converts both streams into commercial pharmaceutical value.
Finding 3: The a16z Co-Investment Pattern
FPV and a16z are frequent co-investors per Tracxn. [4] a16z led the Formation Bio Series D where FPV participated. This suggests FPV and a16z have a systematic co-investment relationship — not just on Formation Bio but across multiple deals. The pattern means FPV’s participation in the Series D may have been facilitated by the a16z relationship rather than (or in addition to) Chan’s independent conviction.
Nodes / Open Questions
- Does Chan hold a board seat or observer role at Formation Bio? The continuous six-year personal investment suggests governance involvement.
- What is FPV’s LP composition? Which specific universities, hospitals, foundations are LPs? Do any of them have relationships with OpenResearch, UBI Charitable, or other Altman-network entities?
- Did Chan exit Felicis’s TrialSpark position when he left for FPV, or does Felicis still hold? Both Felicis and FPV may currently hold Formation Bio equity — Chan’s positions in two funds simultaneously.
- The Google Analytics → Clinical Trial Data pipeline: Chan built the world’s most important web analytics product. Formation Bio built an AI-powered clinical trial analytics platform. Is Chan’s investment thesis literally “Google Analytics, but for drug trials”?
- FPV’s biotech portfolio overlap: Enveda Biosciences and Strand Therapeutics are also FPV portfolio companies. Do they overlap with Formation Bio’s drug development activities or partner network?
Sources
- [Archive] RocketReach — FPV Ventures profile (Wesley Chan Managing Partner, Formation Bio portfolio): https://rocketreach.co/fpv-ventures-profile_b7953c54c24cbc8c
- [Archive] LinkedIn — FPV Ventures ($450M fund, mission-driven founders, Canva/Flexport): https://www.linkedin.com/company/fpvventures
- [Archive] VCSheet — FPV Ventures fund breakdown ($450M, Wesley Chan/Pegah Ebrahimi, Bill Campbell coaching): https://www.vcsheet.com/fund/fpv-ventures
- [Archive] Tracxn — FPV Ventures (founded 2022, 35 companies, 4 unicorns, a16z co-investor): https://tracxn.com/d/venture-capital/fpvventures/__p9azRlt70rxCRPIzXmmWmKNHMSAAoXYpzFrHBqFVyGs
- [Archive] Crunchbase — FPV Ventures (Pegah Ebrahimi + Wesley Chan co-founders): https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/fpv-ventures
- [Archive] FPV Ventures — Benjamine Liu bio page hosted on FPV site: https://fpvventures.com/benjamine-liu/
- [Archive] Prior investigation sessions — Wesley Chan at Felicis in TrialSpark Oct 2018 venture round AND Sep 2021 Series C. FPV in Formation Bio Jun 2024 Series D. Confirmed from Crunchbase.
This analysis does not constitute evidence of illegal action. The opinions expressed here are the professional opinions and analytical conclusions of the author, a published corporate ethics researcher and analyst specializing in business leadership ethics, governance structures, and nonprofit compliance. Readers are encouraged to examine the primary sources cited above and draw their own conclusions.
A conflict does not become less important because it was routed through a quieter entity. It becomes more important to map.
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