Melinda Gates – Startup Investor Profile

Melinda Gates is redefining what a ‘smart betâ in venture capital looks like through Pivotal Ventures. She aims to increase funding to businesses founded solely by women and invests in women-led funds and early-stage companies. Her investment focus areas include family planning, vaccines, and education. Gates provides flexible funding from Series A+ venture funding to private placements. She partners with visionary entrepreneurs globally, aiming for positive societal change. Her investments target long-term strategic partnerships with a commitment to gender equity. Previous investments include organizations such as Surf Bio, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, and Vedanta Biosciences. Melinda Gates’ professional career includes philanthropy, leadership at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and advocacy for women and girls globally. Her partnership style fosters collaboration with diverse organizations for impactful change.

Location: Seattle, WA

Country: United States of America

Investment Regions:

Investment Stages: pre-seed, seed

Website:

AI Reasoning: I found a recent funding commitment by Melinda French Gates via Pivotal Ventures on Sep 10, 2025: a $100 million partnership with Wellcome Leap to fund women’s health research (programs launching 2026). This is an active investment/commitment less than 3 months before the reference date, indicating very recent activity. Example named organization involved: Wellcome Leap (joint program). The date difference from Sep 10, 2025 to the reference point is under 3 months, so the tag is very-active.

Low Activity – Only known angel investments more than 12 months ago.

Active – Known angel investments between the last 12 and 6 months.

Very Active – Known angel investments in the last 6 months.