Funding the future of
psychedelic medicine.
Empath Ventures is a VC fund that invests in early-stage
psychedelics startups.
Psychiatry May Never Be the Same”
The mental health crisis is out of control
People suffer from
mental health issues
Global economic cost
of poor mental health
Increase in "deaths of despair"
over last 20 years
Empath's Portfolio
Team
Brom was raised in a military family, which gave him an extreme view into the challenges of mental health at a young age. Brom first experienced psychedelics nearly a decade ago. Psychedelics helped him process traumas and stay emotionally healthy while pursuing a high-pressure hedge fund career, CFA Charter, and Master’s from Georgia Tech.
Prior to founding Empath, Brom spent 7 years as a portfolio manager and quantitative researcher - most recently as a Global Macro PM at Crabel Capital Management, a quant fund with $9B AUM.
After leaving Crabel in 2020, Brom started a podcast that covers the psychedelics industry from an investing, scientific, and cultural impact perspective. The research that went into this podcast and the connections it established laid the groundwork for what would become Empath Ventures.
Arye is a General Partner at MarsBio, a seed stage venture fund based in Los Angeles that invests in biotech and deeptech companies.
He holds a degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from UCLA and began his startup career as a founding member of ImaginAb, a UCLA spinout with several drug candidates in clinical trials.
Arye leverages his deep experience operating and investing in drug development to support technical due diligence at Empath.
Arye has a life-long interest in psychedelic pharmacology and is most interested in startups developing novel psychedelic molecules.
Danielle is a cofounder and General Partner of 1517 Fund, an early-stage vc that invests in hackers, makers and scientists working outside of universities and tracked institutions. 1517’s portfolio includes unicorns like Loom and Luminar.
Prior to 1517, Danielle was a founding team member and Program Director of The Thiel Fellowship. Danielle worked alongside Peter Thiel for nearly 5 years in this role, identifying and mentoring young founders. 10 years and 226 Fellows later, Thiel Fellowship companies are worth over $30 Billion, not including 2014 Thiel fellow Vitalik Buterin’s Ethereum.
Nancy is a Managing Partner at Alumni Ventures, a Venture Partner at Gaingels and Republic, and founder of multiple companies, including a mental health nonprofit.
Nancy holds two masters degrees including an MBA from Duke, and brings a wealth of expertise as both a founder and investor to Empath.
Nancy is a mental health and psychedelic medicine advocate and has spoken at Psychedelic conferences such as Wonderland Miami.
Vaughn is a partner at Blue Bear Capital and investor in frontier technologies.