Reach Capital has closed its fifth venture fund with$265 million in commitments, giving the early-stage investment firm additional capital to back startups applying artificial intelligence across education, healthcare and the future of work.
The new vehicle, Reach V, was oversubscribed and attracted both returning and new limited partners, including university endowments, pension funds, foundations, community organizations, family offices and founders of companies previously backed by Reach.
Investors in the fund include Capricorn Investment Group, College Board, Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions, the LEGO Foundation and the San Francisco State University Foundation.
Reach plans to use the fund to invest in early-stage founders developing technology intended to improve how people learn, access healthcare and participate in the workforce. The strategy reflects the firm’s view that AI is creating opportunities to redesign systems central to human development while making services more accessible and effective.
“The systems that shape how people learn, stay healthy, and build meaningful lives are being reimagined in real time,” said Jennifer Carolan, co-founder and general partner of Reach Capital. “AI gives this generation of founders an extraordinary opportunity to make those systems more accessible and effective.”
Founded in 2015, Reach has built its investment strategy around businesses serving learning, health and work. The firm now has more than $1 billion in assets under management across five funds and has backed more than 180 companies.
Its portfolio includes education technology companies ClassDojo and Desmos, early-childhood products company Lovevery, healthcare businesses Cartwheel, Coral Care and Stepful, and workforce and technology companies including Handshake, Replit and WorkWhile.
Reach V positions the firm to continue investing as generative AI and related technologies reshape many of those markets. In education, AI is changing approaches to tutoring, curriculum development and personalized learning. Healthcare applications range from administrative automation to patient access and clinical support, while workplace technologies are increasingly incorporating AI into training, recruiting and productivity tools.
Reach’s strategy centers on finding companies where those technological shifts can translate into measurable improvements in access and opportunity rather than treating AI as a standalone investment category.
“Reach V allows us to keep doing what we do best: partnering early with mission-driven founders who understand these problems deeply and are building toward measurable, lasting change,” Carolan said.
The firm’s sector specialization also differentiates it within an increasingly competitive AI investment environment. Rather than investing broadly across artificial intelligence infrastructure and applications, Reach is concentrating on sectors where it has spent more than a decade developing investment expertise and founder networks.
Reach said its funds have consistently ranked in the top quartile of industry benchmarks, arguing that companies designed around positive social outcomes can also generate competitive financial returns.
The participation of institutions such as the LEGO Foundation and College Board also reflects the firm’s longstanding connections to education, while its broader limited-partner base gives Reach exposure to institutional investors beyond the sector.
The $265 million close provides Reach with substantial capital to continue making early-stage investments at a time when startups are experimenting with new AI-driven business models across education, healthcare and employment.
For Reach, the investment thesis is ultimately broader than AI itself. The firm is betting that the technology can enable a new generation of companies addressing longstanding challenges around access to education, quality healthcare, skills development and economic opportunity.
Reach Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm investing in companies focused on learning, health and work. Founded in 2015, the firm has backed more than 180 companies and manages more than $1 billion across five funds. Its portfolio includes ClassDojo, Desmos, Lovevery, Cartwheel, Coral Care, Stepful, Handshake, Replit and WorkWhile.
