SOSV

Check the location rule first

• SOSV NY, SOSV SF and HAX all run in the United States, and SOSV expects founders to spend real time on site.
• SOSV's pages are not consistent about how much. One says you do not need to be there full time but should attend two week-long bootcamps; another says it will probably not invest if you cannot come to the US for the residency.
• If you cannot travel, ask the team before you apply.

Choose the right programme

• Therapeutics, diagnostics, biology-based tools: SOSV NY.
• Wider deep tech, such as industrial, biomanufacturing, food and agriculture: SOSV SF.
• Hard tech, such as energy, compute, transportation, manufacturing: HAX. You can pick Newark or the coming Plasma Forge in Princeton.
• The form at the SOSV application page lets you choose New York, San Francisco or both.

How applications work

• Apply online. Reviews are rolling, so there is no deadline to plan around.
• Someone on the team reads your application. If you are shortlisted you are interviewed, and an offer is to join the next cohort.
• You do not need an introduction. SOSV says contacting its partners does not help.
• For HAX, have a pitch deck link, your cap table and your fundraising history ready.

What SOSV looks for

• Deep tech only. Enterprise software, fintech, blockchain, crypto, cyber security and ecommerce are out.
• At least two founders. A single founder should find a co-founder first.
• A pre-seed company: no venture-backed seed or Series A, a small team and little revenue.
• A well-thought-out idea with the technology worked out at least in principle.
• An ownership position SOSV can accept. It has strict ownership requirements, even if you raised earlier at a higher price.

Before you accept an offer

• SOSV invests through a SAFE, so it takes equity. Read the terms with a lawyer.
• Ask whether there is any fee, and what any extra cash investment on top of the programme investment would mean for your ownership.
• Applying does not guarantee an investment.

SOSV is a venture capital firm that invests in deep-tech startups at pre-seed and runs in-person residency programmes for them in the United States. Its legal name is SOSV Investments LLC, and Sean O'Sullivan founded it in 1995 after the IPO of MapInfo, the digital-mapping company he co-founded. It runs three programmes: SOSV NY in New York, SOSV SF in San Francisco, and HAX, whose home is in Newark, New Jersey.

SOSV is not an Indian programme and has no India-specific intake. Founders from India can apply, but the programmes run in the US, and SOSV expects founders to be on site for at least part of the residency. Read the section on applying from India before you spend time on an application.

How the programmes work

Each programme combines a pre-seed investment with a residency. SOSV invests through a SAFE, which means it takes equity in your company. The pages we read state no separate programme fee, so the cost of the residency is tied to that investment. Ask the team to confirm the terms in writing before you accept.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. There are no fixed batch dates or deadline. You apply online, a shortlisted company is interviewed, and an offer is to join the next cohort. SOSV says that contacting its partners directly does not help your application.

SOSV says it reviews thousands of pre-seed pitches a year and funds about 60 of them. Its homepage describes about 60 pre-seed investments a year plus around 150 follow-on investments, and its pages give different counts of how many new startups it funds each year. It invests in later rounds only in companies it has already backed at pre-seed.

The three programmes

SOSV NY focuses on healthcare and engineering biology, with wet labs on site. It suits therapeutics, diagnostics and biology-based tools.

SOSV SF is where IndieBio began. IndieBio launched in 2015 as the first venture-backed biotech accelerator in Silicon Valley with labs on site for scientists. SOSV SF now covers a wider range of deep tech: physical AI, industrial technology, biomanufacturing, therapeutics, healthcare, and food and agriculture.

HAX is SOSV's hard-tech programme for founders working where science meets engineering. Typical areas are energy, advanced compute, transportation, health tech and manufacturing. It offers a six-month residency anchored by a 35,000 square foot headquarters in Newark. The application form offers two locations, Newark and the coming HAX Plasma Forge in Princeton. HAX also has engineering and supply-chain specialists in Pune and Shenzhen. HAX reports 440 startups on its own homepage.

Older pages still use the name IndieBio for the New York and San Francisco programmes, and mention HAX in Shenzhen. The current application pages list SOSV NY, SOSV SF and HAX.

SOSV also runs RETVRN, a 24-week exit-planning programme for mature companies already in its portfolio, usually about eight years old or more. You cannot apply to it as a new founder.

Who can apply

SOSV invests in deep tech only. It does not fund enterprise software, fintech, blockchain, crypto, cyber security or ecommerce. It wants a well-thought-out idea with the technology worked out at least in principle, and a good team. You need at least two founders, and a single founder has to find a co-founder first.

SOSV expects companies to be at pre-seed: no venture-backed seed or Series A round yet, usually a small team of fewer than ten people, and little revenue. It also has ownership requirements for each investment, so a company that has already raised at a high price may not fit even if the technology does.

HAX asks you to confirm that the company is building a hard-tech product, and asks for a pitch deck, your cap table and your fundraising to date.

Applying from India

The answers on this point differ, so read them together. SOSV's application guidance says anyone from anywhere can apply, and that some programmes ask you to take part in person. The SOSV SF page says you do not need to be there full time, but you are asked to attend at least two week-long bootcamps a few months apart. SOSV NY expects its founders to join in person. Another page puts the residency at four to six months, and answers a founder who cannot come to the United States with "probably not". Plan on spending real time in the US, and ask the team early if you cannot.

Facilities and support

SOSV NY has wet-lab infrastructure on site and says it brings technical, regulatory and commercial expertise to bring products towards the clinic or market. SOSV SF has labs on site for scientists. HAX's residency is built around its Newark headquarters.

Scale

SOSV's homepage reports 800 or more active portfolio companies, though its investor page says the portfolio has over 1,000 companies. It reports that 44 percent of its founders hold PhDs and that 32 percent of portfolio companies have at least one female founder. These are SOSV's own figures. It says its founders come from many countries, though its pages give different counts of nationalities.

Who runs it

Sean O'Sullivan, its Managing General Partner, founded SOSV. It lists offices in San Francisco, New York and Newark, plus Cork, Pune, Shenzhen and Tokyo. No single head-office address is published.