Future

Future is a San Francisco-based digital health and wellness company that develops personalized, adaptive fitness coaching products focused on longevity and lasting behavioral change. The platform pairs individual users with remote personal trainers who design customized workout regimens and provide daily accountability through a dedicated mobile application. By leveraging data from wearable devices and emphasizing real-life adaptability, the organization aims to make professional health coaching more accessible and affordable for consumers struggling with habit formation. The enterprise has raised more than $110 million in total venture capital funding to date, securing financial backing from prominent institutional investors including Kleiner Perkins, Trustbridge Partners, and Optum Ventures. Operating primarily within the consumer wellness sector, the business utilizes continuous encouragement and structured timing to optimize individual physical performance. Future was established in 2017 by co-founders Rishi Mandal and Justin Santamaria.

High-Level Overview

Future Planet Capital is an impact-led venture capital firm that invests in high-growth companies from top universities and innovation centers, targeting UN Sustainable Development Goals like climate change, education, health, security, and sustainable growth.[1] Its mission is to connect major investors with innovative minds, managing over $400M in assets and deploying $200M via co-investments, with a track record of founding investments in 8 unicorns and 60+ profitable exits over 25 years.[1] Future Ventures, a seed and early-stage VC firm, backs mission-driven founders in frontier technologies, with notable early investments in SpaceX, Tesla, Planet Labs, and others representing $1.7T in value creation.[2][4]

Both firms significantly impact the startup ecosystem: Future Planet Capital supports 140 portfolio companies, often university spinouts, fostering deep tech solutions to global challenges.[1] Future Ventures, led by Steve Jurvetson and Maryanna Saenko, focuses on disruptive ideas in transport, life sciences, and beyond, enabling reinvention of industries through purpose-driven innovation.[2][4]

Origin Story

Future Planet Capital, founded in the UK with a global reach, evolved from 25 years of managing deep tech funds for the UK government, British Business Bank, sovereign wealth funds, and pension funds.[1] It leverages a unique algorithm tracking 500,000+ inputs to identify top innovators, building on its expertise in science, innovation, and venture investing.[1]

Future Ventures was established in 2018 in California by Steve Jurvetson, a serial investor honored as "Venture Capitalist of the Year" by Deloitte and Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship, and Maryanna Saenko, who targets frontier tech like nuclear fusion and AI applications.[2][4] Jurvetson's early bets on visionaries like SpaceX and Tesla marked pivotal moments, while Saenko's focus on technologies that "make the world better" shaped its purpose-driven ethos.[2]

Core Differentiators

Future Planet Capital stands out through:

• Unique investment model: Algorithm-driven scoring of 500,000+ inputs for systematic benchmarking of innovative companies aligned with UN SDGs.[1]
• Network strength: Ties to top universities, governments, and institutional investors, enabling co-investments and global reach.[1]
• Track record: Founding investor in 8 unicorns, 60+ exits, and managing deep tech funds for public entities.[1]
• Operating support: Combines science expertise with venture skills to scale university spinouts and growth companies.[1]

Future Ventures differentiates via:

• Investment focus: Seed/early-stage in mission-driven founders reinventing industries, e.g., fusion, space, and biotech.[2]
• Founder-centric approach: Led by proven partners with $1.7T value creation history, emphasizing boundary-pushing ideas.[2]
• Portfolio quality: Early stakes in IPOs/acquisitions like SpaceX, Tesla; 7 closed funds by 2025.[2][4]
• Thematic depth: Investments avoid exploitative tech, prioritizing positive impact in diverse sectors.[2]

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Both firms ride the wave of impact and frontier tech investing, capitalizing on megatrends like sustainability, AI, and deep tech amid global challenges.[1][2][6] Future Planet Capital aligns with UN SDGs, influencing university-to-market pipelines and government-backed innovation, especially as climate and health pressures intensify.[1] Future Ventures fuels "new industry formation" in space, energy, and life sciences, timing perfectly with breakthroughs in fusion and reusable rocketry.[2]

Market forces like institutional demand for ESG-aligned returns and tech democratization favor them—Future Planet's $600M+ deployment meets sovereign fund appetites, while Future Ventures' hits amplify VC's role in trillion-dollar value creation.[1][2] They shape the ecosystem by de-risking high-risk innovation, bridging academia/investors, and proving profitable impact is viable.[1][2]

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Future Planet Capital will likely expand its algorithm-fueled portfolio amid rising SDG investments, targeting more unicorns as deep tech matures.[1] Future Ventures, post-2025 fund closes, eyes AI-frontier synergies and space economy booms, building on its trillion-scale legacy.[2][4] Trends like sustainable tech mandates and fusion commercialization will propel them, evolving their influence toward larger funds and ecosystem orchestration—reinforcing that purpose-driven VCs forge tomorrow's industries.[1][2]