Darsh Patel

I'm an investor at Bessemer Venture Partners focusing on investments in fintech + crypto, data infrastructure, supply chain + logistics, enterprise software, and consumer internet. To get a look at where I've worked and built in the past, feel free to click on my LinkedIn above.

Currently, my primary interests lie in novel and emerging technology. I've been fortunate enough to be surrounded by and work with some super talented early-stage investors, and that's culminated in an obsession with continued innovation as it relates to software and infrastructure. Currently I'm interested in a few sectors that are at a critical juncture in their life cycles. This includes startups working on B2B marketplaces + payments, climate tech, ML/data/cloud-native infrastructure, open source software (OSS), supply chain / procurement, construction, DeFi, and the future of insurance.

I'm also broadly interested in the tech-enabled future of healthcare. I've spent time with academics at the forefront of drug/gene delivery, immunoengineering, synthetic biology, and other molecular and cellular biotechnologies, and I'm interested in the continued development of novel therapeutics to tackle humanity's most puzzling biological quandaries like cancer and aging, particularly as they relate to the commoditization/increased accessibility of potentially generation-defining procedures. I think those at the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative put it best: we should aim to cure, prevent, or manage all diseases by the end of the century. Translation is being duly outpaced by academia, and shared responsibility must be taken by those in venture and scientists at the cutting edge of novel therapeutics to ensure that only the most verified and consistently replicable therapies are drawing the necessary funding.

More generally, I've been pondering the quantification of humanity's progress and societal antifragility. In that vein, I've been digging into the following:

• 1. Democratizing Access: The internet has been absolutely incredible in increasing access to information. Believe it or not, there was once a time where search engines, forums, and thousands of experts sharing their thoughts and opinions on blogs weren't at our disposal when looking to find something that we want to learn more about. Democratizing access is perhaps a phrase that has become far too ubiquitous in today's tech and innovation ecosystem, but I firmly believe that supporting institutions and brands that 1. make things that previously required payment free, 2. make things that used to be costly cheap, or 3. make things that previously had high friction to adopt much more convenient to use are those that will endure and be remembered as uplifting society and contributing to our continued progress.
• 2. Learning and Preserving Knowledge: The sharing of knowledge between peers, and more challengingly between generations is slowly being facilitated to a greater degree by technological innovation. However, we as a society still struggle to separate signal from noise and keep important insights immortalized in some way, shape, or form. New productivity tools such as Roam Research, Notion, and Mem Labs are contributing to knowledge organization/neural mapping, but I'm still on the lookout for builders working on something in the information permanence space. Educational institutions as a whole are also quickly becoming obsolete, with the alternative learning models offered by Lambda/Make School, Minerva, and Sora Schools becoming more and more enticing by the day by offering greater malleability for learner interests and creativity while still delivering the most essential knowledge for success in today's society.
• 3. Skin in the Game: Of Nassim Nicholas Taleb's theses, this is the one I subscribe to most strongly. Essentially, Taleb posits that having measurable risk when taking a major decision is necessary for fairness, efficiency, and risk management. Actors must bear some of the cost when they fail. An example that immediately comes to mind is the 2008 financial crisis, where several actors paid no financial penalty when their institutions had to be rescued by U.S. taxpayers due to overreach. This is a sort of "trade" with upside gain but no or limited downside risk. Another example would be a political war hawk that bears no risk whatsoever of dying in a war they agitate for. Societal progress perhaps offers the most sound argument for SITG -- those who err and have SITG are forced to rectify their actions and "right the ship" so to speak, or alternatively, be replaced. Eventually, this should eliminate actors taking part in needlessly reckless actions and contribute overall to more responsible governance, commerce, and institutions.

In addition to everything outlined above, I've been meaning to learn more about crypto protocols + the infrastructure necessary to scale crypto-native business models as well as deep space manufacturing + exploration; if you're an expert or are building in these spaces, I'd love to learn from you (or please feel free to share any resources you think I'd benefit from).

Outside of work, I love all things outdoors, whether it be hiking, biking, skiing, running, cliff-jumping, or Spikeball. I'm also a huge fan of New York sports, and have been rooting for the Yankees and Knicks since before I could walk. I'm an amateur photographer and am always looking to explore new urban developments/scenic overlooks. When not outside, I'm probably reading just about anything I can get my hands on or trying to curate the perfect playlist.

If you'd like to chat for any reason, feel free to e-mail me here.

This website, like myself, is always iterating (yes, this means a blog is eventually on the way).

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