RA Capital Management

RA Capital Management is a thesis-driven, evidence-based multi-stage investment firm focused primarily on healthcare and life sciences, investing across private and public markets from company formation through commercialization. The firm underwrites scientific and technical validation rather than company age, using deep internal research capabilities such as TechAtlas and incubation through Raven to build high-conviction positions globally.

Evaluation weights

How much weight this firm places on each dimension. Totals 100%.

Product-led · 37%

Metrics

18%

Revenue, growth, and unit economics

Market

30%

Size, timing, and competitive landscape

Team

15%

Founder experience and execution ability

Product

37%

Differentiation and technical quality

Strong bias toward evidence and falsifiable milestones over stage labels
Willingness to write very large checks when internal conviction is high
Preference for complex science that can be underwritten through deep diligence
Avoids ambiguous validation stories and late-stage risk without clear de-risking path

Pitch difficulty

How hard it is to get a meeting and close funding from this firm.

Funded / yr

Deals closed in a typical year.

Led / yr

Rounds led in the last 12 months.

Pitches / yr

~37180

Decks reviewed in a typical year.

Acceptance rate

0.2%

Share of pitches that get funded.

Estimated — public data is not fully disclosed.

Why it's hard

Deep research-led underwriting via TechAtlas and iterative diligence
High bar for scientific/technical validation and clear next milestones
Avoidance of ambiguous, long-duration, late-stage risk without clean evidence
Concentrated ability to lead very large rounds only when conviction is exceptional

RA Capital is highly selective because it combines broad stage flexibility with unusually deep, thesis-driven diligence and reserves large capital commitments for opportunities with exceptional scientific validation and a crisp path to further de-risking. Its focus on internal conviction, data quality, and milestone clarity makes the bar especially high even though the firm can invest across many stages.

Green flags

What drives a yes for this firm.

Strong scientific or technical validation with credible supporting data
A clear, time-bounded and capital-efficient path to the next validation milestone
Large healthcare or life-science opportunity with differentiated underlying science
Conviction generated through deep internal research and assumption-testing
Management teams capable of executing through clinical, regulatory, and commercial inflection points

Red flags

What kills deals and gets a fast no.

Unclear or speculative validation pathway with no decisive next experiment or trial
Relying on post-hoc or weak evidence to justify a major late-stage bet
Capital needs that are huge relative to the amount of risk retired
Subsidy-dependent economics, especially in Planetary Health opportunities
Management teams that are opaque, defensive, or unable to engage deeply on the data

How to win

Patterns that lead to successful pitches.

Lead with the core data package and explain exactly what has been validated already
Show a milestone-based financing plan that ties capital to uncertainty reduction
Demonstrate why the science or product is genuinely differentiated versus alternatives
Present a realistic regulatory, clinical, or commercialization path rather than a broad vision deck
Bring a syndicate and governance approach compatible with long-term, evidence-based company building

Fund strategy & identity

Who they are and how they operate.

Invests across the full company lifecycle from discovery to public-market follow-ons
Anchors or participates in large private rounds when scientific conviction is strong
Evaluates opportunities by validation status and the time/capital needed to reach key inflection points
Uses equity, debt, royalty, and hybrid structured capital solutions for later-stage situations
Maintains global scope with no strict geographic constraints

Firm identity

Evidence-based healthcare and life-science specialistMulti-stage investor spanning private and public marketsHigh-conviction, flexible check writer and deal structure providerResearch-heavy firm with internal diligence infrastructure via TechAtlasCompany formation and incubation participant through Raven

Investment focus

Industries, themes, and typical ARR expectations.

Industries

Biotech & Life SciencesMedical Devices & DiagnosticsHealthcareAI/MLClimate & Energy

Investment themes

Novel therapeutics and next-generation drug modalitiesCell therapy, in-vivo engineering, and precision oncologyAI-enabled drug discovery and biology platformsMedical devices, diagnostics, services, and research toolsClear regulatory and clinical validation pathways in biotechCommercial-stage healthcare companies with strong evidence basePlanetary Health solutions in critical minerals, energy, manufacturing, agriculture, and environmental services

Typical check by stage

Seed$1M-$10M

Series A$20M-$60M

Series B$30M-$75M

Series C$10M-$50M

Growth$25M-$75M

Typical ARR by stage

Pre Seed$0

Seed$0

Series A$0

Series B$0

Series C$0

Growth$0-$10M

Investment thesis

Core beliefs and strategy behind their investing approach.

RA Capital Management is a multi‑stage venture capital firm that concentrates on healthcare and life‑science companies, including drugs, medical devices, diagnostics, services, and research tools. It invests across the full lifecycle—from discovery and company formation (through its Raven incubator) to commercialization and public markets—both in private and public securities. The firm’s thesis‑driven, evidence‑based process evaluates how validated a concept is and the time‑and‑capital required to achieve validation, rather than relying solely on company stage. Geographically, its portfolio spans the globe, with no strict regional limits. In addition to healthcare, RA has launched a Planetary Health Fund that targets capital‑efficient, market‑driven solutions in critical minerals, energy, manufacturing, agriculture, and environmental services, seeking near‑term deployment and profitability without heavy reliance on subsidies. Core beliefs include originating conviction through data‑driven analysis (TechAtlas), challenging assumptions, and maintaining flexibility to change views. RA avoids investments where validation pathways are unclear or where companies rely heavily on policy subsidies, and it steers clear of late‑stage, high‑risk bets that lack a clear route to commercial validation.

Decision patterns

How they evaluate and make investment decisions.

RA Capital invests when a company demonstrates strong scientific or technical validation and a clear, data‑driven path to further validation, emphasizing the amount of time and capital required to reach that point. The first meeting, typically led by a TechAtlas associate, gathers high‑level context; a second, often confidential meeting refines the view of what data are needed to reach a decision, and the process can be compressed to one‑to‑two weeks for time‑sensitive deals. Deal‑breakers include late‑stage, high‑risk scenarios such as a public company pursuing a Phase 3 trial based on post‑hoc analysis of a failed Phase 2 study, or any situation where the validation pathway is ambiguous. In early diligence, technology, data, and business model dominate; as the process advances, the team places increasing weight on the founders and management team, especially when RA intends to take board seats or provide operational support. The firm prefers co‑investors who conduct deep diligence and can write large checks, aligning with its long‑term value‑creation focus and reducing the likelihood of short‑term exit pressure.

Risk appetite

RA Capital demonstrates an aggressive, high‑conviction risk posture. It is prepared to invest from the seed stage through commercial‑stage financings, including IPOs and follow‑ons, and can lead, co‑lead, or participate as a follower. Check sizes vary from sub‑$1 million in early seed rounds to more than $75 million in a single round, and the firm has taken ownership stakes as high as 30 % of a public company. The launch of its Structured Capital platform, which offers equity, debt, royalty, and hybrid solutions, further illustrates comfort with later‑stage credit and structured risk. While flexible, the firm applies a rigorous, data‑driven diligence process to ensure that large exposures are only made when conviction is strong.

Notable investments

Key portfolio companies and why they fit the thesis.

Capstan TherapeuticsLead
In‑vivo CAR‑T platform with strong scientific upside; RA led a large Series B to advance pipeline translation.
Outpace BioLead
AI‑powered cell therapy engineering for solid tumors; RA led the $144M Series B to drive first‑in‑human progress.
Superluminal MedicinesLead
Generative biology/chemistry/ML “membrane” company; RA led the $120M Series A, matching its platform biotech focus.
ILiAD BiotechnologiesLead
Next‑gen whooping cough vaccine; RA led the $115M Series B to support pivotal development.
Slate MedicinesLead
Anti‑PACAP migraine prevention therapies; RA co‑led the $130M Series A to advance a novel pathway.
Convergent TherapeuticsLead
Radiopharmaceuticals for solid tumors; RA co‑led the $90M Series A, aligning with its radiopharma track record.
EvommuneLead
Chronic inflammatory disease pipeline; RA co‑led the $115M Series C to scale clinical programs.
IDRxLead
Precision oncology targeting GIST; RA led the $120M Series B, a classic precision‑oncology leadership round.
Pahr TherapeuticsLead
Platform for pulmonary arterial hypertension; RA co‑led the $14M Seed, showing early‑stage company building.
Ventricle HealthLead
Virtual cardiology care network; RA led the $8M Seed, illustrating selective health‑tech bets with clinical impact.

Co-invested with

Other firms in this catalog who've backed the same companies.

No catalog overlap found yet. Co-investors are derived from each firm's notable investments — connections may surface as more firms are added.

Partners

Full firm roster — key partners, partners, and the wider team.

Key partners

Peter Kolchinsky

Managing Partner

RA Capital Management

Founder and Managing Partner at RA Capital Management, focused on public and private life sciences investments.

Biotech/therapeutics investingFirm leadership

Rajeev Shah

Managing Partner and Portfolio Manager

RA Capital Management

Managing Partner and Portfolio Manager at RA Capital Management, focused on public and private healthcare and life-sciences investments.

Firm leadershipPublic/private healthcare investing

Derek DiRocco, PhD

Partner

RA Capital Management

Partner at RA Capital Management focused on public and private healthcare investments.

Public and private investmentsSolid tumor oncology

Jake Simson, PhD

Partner

RA Capital Management

Partner at RA Capital Management investing across public and private healthcare companies.

Public and private investmentsSolid tumor oncology

Joshua (Josh) Resnick, MD

Partner

RA Capital Management

RA Capital Partner focused on early-stage healthcare investing and new company creation.

Company formation (Raven)Early-stage therapeutics

Partners

Rebecca Silberman, Ph.D.

Investment Director

RA Capital Management

RA Capital investment director focused on early-stage biotech and company creation.

biotechnologycompany creationearly-stage investingportfolio strategyventure investing

Megan Lipscey

Investment Director, Invest Venture

RA Capital Management

RA Capital venture investment director focused on biotech diligence.

biotechnologyclinical medicinegastroenterologytherapeuticsventure diligence

Laura Stoppel

Partner

RA Capital Management

RA Capital partner investing across public and private biotech companies.

BiotechnologyCell therapiesHematologic malignanciesNeurodevelopmental disordersPrivate investmentsPublic investments

Laura Tadvalkar

Managing Director

RA Capital Management

RA Capital venture MD focused on biotech company creation and early-stage investments.

biotechnologycompany creationearly-stage investinglife sciencestherapeutics

Jonathan Pritz

Investment Director

RA Capital Management

Venture investment director supporting biotech theses and portfolio strategy.

BiotechnologyCompetitive strategyInvestment thesesPipeline strategyVenture investing

Matthew Hammond

Partner

RA Capital Management

RA Capital partner investing across public and private life sciences companies.

board governancelife sciencesprivate biotechpublic biotechtherapeutics

Jeremy Lack

Senior Managing Director and Partner, Structured Capital

RA Capital Management

Structured capital partner focused on commercial-stage healthcare financing.

Biopharma financingCommercial-stage life sciencesHealthcare creditHealthcare investmentsStructured capital

Brent Sanders

Chief Information Officer

RA Capital Management

CIO overseeing RA Capital's IT, security, development, data, and AI capabilities.

AI capabilitiesCybersecurityData infrastructureInformation technologyTechnology operations

Monica Stanciu, PhD

Director

RA Capital Management

TechAtlas director supporting RA Capital's strategic research and diligence work.

biotech diligencecompetitive landscapesoncologystrategic researchTechAtlas

Nandita Shangari

Managing Director

RA Capital Management

RA Capital venture MD with prior Novartis Venture Fund and Kymriah program experience.

biotechnologycell therapycompany creationearly-stage financingpharmaceuticals

Tess Cameron

Managing Director

RA Capital Management

RA Capital venture MD with biotech finance and corporate transactions experience.

biotechnologycorporate transactionsportfolio company supportstrategic financeventure investing

Zach Scheiner

Partner

RA Capital Management

RA Capital partner investing across public and private biotech companies.

dermatologymedical devicesneurologyophthalmologyprivate biotechpublic biotech

Alyssa Larson

Director, Healthcare Specialist - Investor Relations

RA Capital Management

TechAtlas director supporting healthcare diligence and investor relations.

BiochemistryCompetitive landscapesHealthcare diligenceInvestor relationsTechAtlas

Emily Minkow

Managing Director

RA Capital Management

Venture managing director leading biotech investments and company creation.

Biopharma strategyBiotech company creationBusiness developmentGene therapyVenture investing

Jenna Hebert, PhD

Investment Director, Invest Venture

RA Capital Management

Venture investment director focused on biotech due diligence and early-stage opportunities.

BiotechnologyDue diligenceEarly-stage investmentsNeuroscienceVenture investing

Alexander Martinez-Forte

Director, Quantitative Research & Strategy

RA Capital Management

RA Capital director leading quantitative analyses for investment decisions and portfolio management.

Data scienceFinancial riskHealthcare investingInvestment analyticsPortfolio managementQuantitative research

Allison Harrigan

Senior Director Corporate Development

RA Capital Management

Raven corporate development leader focused on biotech company creation.

Biotech strategyBusiness developmentCompany creationCorporate developmentDrug discovery

Team

Eric Wei

Associate, Structured Capital

RA Capital Management

Structured capital associate focused on healthcare and life sciences deals.

BiopharmaHealthcareLife sciencesLSTDxM&AStructured capital

Vincent Miao

Senior Associate, HTS

RA Capital Management

HTS senior associate evaluating healthcare technology and life-science investment opportunities.

BiotechnologyDiagnosticsHealthcare technologyLife science toolsMedical devices

Elena Rubini

Associate

RA Capital Management

TechAtlas associate focused on therapeutic diligence and pipeline strategy.

Competitive landscapesHealthcare investment bankingInvestment diligencePipeline strategyTherapeutics

Dawei Zhang

Associate

RA Capital Management

TechAtlas associate focused on therapeutic diligence, competitive landscapes, and portfolio strategy.

Competitive landscapesInvestment diligencePortfolio strategyProgram strategyTherapeutics

Davis Buchanan

Associate, Structured Capital

RA Capital Management

Structured Capital associate supporting healthcare sourcing, diligence, and deal execution.

deal executionhealthcare creditmedical devicesportfolio monitoringstructured capital

Kerry Klemmer

Associate

RA Capital Management

Planetary Health Associate focused on climate solutions, atmospheric modeling, and competitive landscapes.

Atmospheric modelingClimate technologyComputational fluid dynamicsPlanetary healthWind energy

Jacqueline Rhuda

Analyst, Quantitative Research & Strategy

RA Capital Management

Quantitative research analyst supporting RA Capital's investment decisions.

Healthcare dataInvestment analyticsInvestment strategyProcess improvementQuantitative research

Ami Thakrar, PhD

Associate

RA Capital Management

TechAtlas associate focused on biotech diligence and program strategy.

biotechnologycompetitive landscapesmedical engineeringprogram strategyTechAtlas

Xinzhe Fang

Associate

RA Capital Management

TechAtlas associate focused on biotech investing, business development, and program strategy.

BiotechnologyBusiness developmentProgram strategyRare diseaseTherapeutics

Tyler Carney

Associate, Structured Capital

RA Capital Management

Structured Capital Associate focused on healthcare sourcing, diligence, modeling, and execution.

Healthcare ITHealthcare servicesMedical devicesPortfolio monitoringStructured capital

Tim Howard, PhD

Senior Infectious Disease Associate

RA Capital Management

Senior Infectious Disease Associate focused on biotech diligence and program strategy.

BiotechnologyCompetitive landscapesInfectious diseaseProgram strategyTherapeutics

Sahiba Baveja

Associate, Structured Capital

RA Capital Management

Structured Capital Associate supporting healthcare sourcing, diligence, modeling, and execution.

BiotechnologyDeal executionDigital healthHealthcare financeStructured capital

Alana MacDonald, Ph.D.

Senior Associate

RA Capital Management

Senior TechAtlas associate focused on biotech diligence, landscapes, and portfolio strategy.

biotechnologycompetitive landscapesportfolio strategyTechAtlastherapeutics

Matt Renna

Managing Partner

RA Capital Management

Healthcare investor and former RA Capital Senior Equity Analyst, now Managing Partner at Westfield.

BiopharmaGrowth equityHealthcare investingLife sciencesPublic equities

Christopher Brown

Senior Associate, Planetary Health

RA Capital Management

RA Capital Planetary Health senior associate focused on competitive landscapes.

CatalysisClimate technologyCompetitive landscapesEnergy efficiencyMaterialsPlanetary health

Nick Picca

Senior Associate, Strategic Initiatives

RA Capital Management

Strategic Initiatives Senior Associate focused on healthcare technology and services.

Competitive landscapesHealthcare servicesHealthcare technologyPortfolio strategyStrategic initiatives

Breanna O'Reilly

Analyst

RA Capital Management

Investment analyst focused on biotech due diligence.

biomedical engineeringbiotechnologydue diligenceinvestment analysistherapeutics

Emory Werner, MD

Investment Director, Invest Venture

RA Capital Management

Venture investment director focused on biotechnology diligence.

BiotechnologyInvestment diligenceLife sciencesTherapeuticsVenture investing

Prithviraj Singha Roy

Analyst

RA Capital Management

Healthcare technology and services investor on RA Capital's Investment Team.

Healthcare servicesHealthcare technologyPrivate investmentsPublic investmentsStructured healthcare

Anurag Kondapalli

Principal

RA Capital Management

Principal investing across public and private healthcare technology and services companies.

healthcare serviceshealthcare technologyprivate investmentspublic investmentsstructured growth capital

Santiago A.

Associate

RA Capital Management

TechAtlas Associate with cancer biology, genomics, and biotech venture diligence experience.

BiotechnologyCancer immunologyCell therapyGenomicsVenture diligence

Neil P.

Associate

RA Capital Management

TechAtlas Associate and former deep-tech and healthtech venture investor.

BiotechnologyCompetitive landscapesDeep techHealthtechPortfolio strategy

Peter Balogh

Analyst

RA Capital Management

Investment Team Analyst focused on biotech diligence and portfolio pipeline strategy.

BiotechnologyDue diligenceLife sciencesPipeline strategyProgram strategy

Tobias Kaiser, PhD

Associate

RA Capital Management

TechAtlas Associate with biotech company-building, drug-development, and neuroscience experience.

BiotechnologyDrug developmentMolecular biologyNeuroscienceProgram strategy

Julie (Philippe) Gupta, PhD

Senior Associate, Corporate Development, Venture

RA Capital Management

Venture senior associate focused on therapeutics investing and portfolio strategy.

BiotechnologyCorporate developmentPipeline strategyPortfolio strategyTherapeuticsVenture investing

Gene Ng

Analyst-Equity

RA Capital Management

Former RA Capital equity analyst.

Healthcare investingLife sciencesPublic equities

Justin Waney

Vice President, Structured Capital

RA Capital Management

Structured capital VP focused on healthcare and life sciences investments.

Deal executionEquity investmentsHealthcare creditLife sciencesPortfolio monitoringStructured capital

Abigail (Lauterbach) Schmitz

Senior Associate

RA Capital Management

TechAtlas senior associate evaluating biotech opportunities and competitive landscapes.

biotech diligencecompetitive landscapesportfolio strategyTechAtlastherapeutics

Henry Stusnick

Analyst

RA Capital Management

Investment analyst focused on therapeutics diligence and portfolio strategy.

BiotechnologyCompetitive landscapesPortfolio strategyPublic and private investmentsTherapeutics

Victoria Blake

Associate

RA Capital Management

TechAtlas associate focused on biotech landscapes, genetic medicines, and portfolio strategy.

BiotechnologyGenetic medicinesProgram strategyRare diseaseTherapeutics

Nishi Jain

Associate

RA Capital Management

TechAtlas Associate focused on biotech diligence and therapeutic-area investment evaluation.

BiotechnologyCompetitive landscapesInvestment diligencePortfolio strategyTherapeutics

Maxwell DeNies

Analyst

RA Capital Management

Biotech investor and RA Capital analyst focused on diligence and pipeline strategy.

BiotechnologyCellular biologyCompetitive landscapesPipeline strategyTherapeutics

Shan Shan Wang

Associate Director

RA Capital Management

TechAtlas Associate Director focused on strategic diligence, vaccines, and gene therapies.

Gene therapiesOrphan diseasesStrategic diligenceTechAtlas researchVaccines

Walter Dauksher

Associate, Strategic Initiatives

RA Capital Management

Strategic initiatives associate supporting RA Capital research and diligence.

BiotechnologyCompetitive landscapesDue diligencePlanetary healthStrategic initiatives

Anish K. More

Vice President, Corporate Development

RA Capital Management

Raven corporate-development VP focused on investment evaluation and NewCo creation.

company creationcorporate developmenthealthcare servicesNewCosRaven

Alex Miller

Senior Associate, Venture

RA Capital Management

Venture senior associate focused on biotech diligence and portfolio strategy.

biotechnologyprogram strategyTechAtlastherapeuticsventure investing

Fuad Naser

Analyst

RA Capital Management

Investment analyst focused on HTS, medical devices, diagnostics, and life science tools.

DiagnosticsHealthcare servicesHealthcare technologyLife science toolsMedical devicesPublic and private investments

Kristopher Shuman

Associate, Quantitative Research and Strategy

RA Capital Management

Quantitative Research & Strategy Associate supporting RA Capital investment analysis.

Biotech marketsData analysisInvestment analysisQuantitative researchStrategy

Nicholas Surdel

Senior Associate, Strategic Initiatives

RA Capital Management

Strategic Initiatives Senior Associate focused on robotics and labor productivity.

Human-robot interactionLabor productivityQuantitative analysisRoboticsStrategic initiatives

Kelcee Everette, PhD

Associate

RA Capital Management

TechAtlas Associate focused on biotech diligence, genome editing, and portfolio strategy.

BiotechnologyCompetitive landscapesGenome editingPortfolio strategyTherapeutics

Adam Prince, MD

Senior Associate, Strategic Initiatives

RA Capital Management

RA Capital TechAtlas senior associate with cardiology and medical training.

biotech diligencecardiologyhealth innovationportfolio strategyTechAtlas

Meredith Collins

Associate Director, Research

RA Capital Management

Associate Director of Research leading RA Capital's TechAtlas research operations.

Commercial-stage analysisHealthcare diligenceResearch operationsTeam developmentWorkflow efficiency

Alex T. Zhang

Vice President, Structured Capital

RA Capital Management

Structured Capital VP focused on healthcare and life-sciences credit investments.

commercial-stage healthcarehealthcare creditlife sciencesprivate creditstructured capital

Alejandro Sevilla

Associate

RA Capital Management

Planetary Health associate focused on climate-tech landscapes and investment evaluation.

advanced batteriesclimate technologycompetitive landscapesenergy storageplanetary health

Caitlin Blinkhorn

Associate, Corporate Development

RA Capital Management

Corporate-development associate focused on biotech landscapes and investment evaluation.

biotechnologycompetitive landscapescorporate developmentportfolio strategyTechAtlas

Michael Chan

Primary Market Research Associate

RA Capital Management

Primary market research associate supporting healthcare investment teams with custom surveys.

Healthcare researchLife sciencesPrimary market researchQualitative researchQuantitative researchSurvey design

Sarah Y Neshat, PhD

Associate

RA Capital Management

TechAtlas Associate with biotech investing, gene therapy, and venture-creation experience.

BiotechnologyEarly-stage biotechGene therapyImmunomodulationOncology

Public voice

Notable statements and public positions.

“We are dedicated to evidence‑based investing in public and private healthcare and life science companies developing drugs, medical devices, diagnostics, services, and research tools.” – RA Capital website
“We judge how investible a company is not by the maturity of the company itself but by how validated the concept is and, if not validated, how much time and money it will take to validate it… we might not invest in a public company that is running a five‑year Phase 3 trial with a novel mechanism based on a post‑hoc analysis of a failed Phase 2 study.” – RA Capital FAQ
“Superluminal’s platform and team have demonstrated success, and we are pleased to continue to support the company’s further growth and development.” – Andrew Levin, MD, PhD, Partner & Managing Director, RA Capital (on leading Superluminal’s $120 M Series A)

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