New deep tech fund Wave Function Ventures raises $15 million

When Jamie Gull graduated from Stanford University successful 2007 with a master’s grade successful aeronautics, determination was 1 spot helium wanted to spell next: the desert.

The Mojave desert, to beryllium specific. A institution called Scaled Composites had spent years processing experimental craft retired connected that arid land, and Gull wanted in.

He could person tried to get a much accepted aerospace job, but Gull was disquieted he’d “work 5 years connected a latch” — a communal gag astir those bigger, slow-moving companies. But astatine Scaled Composites? “I knew I would physique something, and I would bash it quickly, and I would beryllium a assemblage postgraduate who would ain an existent outcome,” helium said.

Two years later, Gull jumped to SpaceX, wherever helium helped marque the Falcon 9 rocket reusable — a large milestone successful that company’s history, and the instauration connected which it has built an enormously invaluable business.

Now, Gull is gearing up for a caller challenge: launching an early-stage heavy tech money called Wave Function Ventures. Just past week, helium closed Wave Function’s archetypal money of $15.1 million, and he’s already disconnected and running.

Gull has made 9 investments successful startups that span industries similar atomic vigor (Deep Fission), humanoid robotics (Persona AI), and, of course, aerospace (Airship Industries). He told TechCrunch helium expects to bash astir 25 effect oregon pre-seed investments retired of this fund. (Gull declined to sanction the anchor LP, and said the remainder of the money was filled by precocious nett worthy individuals, with enactment from different funds and “large household offices.”)

Wave Function’s emergence comes astatine a clip erstwhile heavy tech backing is connected the rise, buoyed successful portion by the accrued attraction connected fields similar aerospace and defense. It’s capable of a inclination that earlier this year, a caller Silicon Valley-based heavy tech money called Leitmotif broke screen with $300 cardinal successful superior from the Volkswagen Group, portion of a bid to assistance up hardware and manufacturing startups successful the United States and Europe.

It’s the benignant of situation that seems ripe for idiosyncratic with a inheritance similar Gull’s — and not conscionable his past arsenic an accomplished aerospace engineer.

Near the extremity of his clip astatine SpaceX successful 2016, Gull started angel investing, making bets connected companies similar Boom Supersonic, K2 Space, and Varda. He besides co-founded electrical vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) startup Talyn Air arsenic portion of Y Combinator’s Winter 2020 batch, and became a task spouse astatine YC’s Pioneer Fund — a presumption helium inactive holds. (Talyn was acquired successful 2023 by different eVTOL company, Ampaire.)

Gull wants to enactment each this varied acquisition — doing accelerated prototyping, founding a startup, angel investing — to usage astatine Wave Function.

“I tin truly leverage that to assistance each my founders get done those aboriginal stages erstwhile things are similar the astir uncertain, and past assistance them physique their companies,” helium said.

Gull besides believes heavy tech is going to beryllium a spot for large returns successful the adjacent 10 to 20 years. Startups successful this abstraction whitethorn necessitate much superior up front, helium said, but they tin leverage non-venture backing (like authorities contracts oregon asset-backed lending) to standard and found a much coagulated moat than bundle companies.

Getting to those large returns volition instrumentality clip and Gull is good with that. While helium began his vocation arsenic an anxious builder, helium besides knows the worth of patience.

When helium was astatine Scaled Composites 15 years ago, 1 of the projects helium worked connected was Stratolaunch, the largest level successful the satellite astatine the time. It was specified an enormously analyzable craft that it remained successful improvement agelong aft Gull moved to SpaceX and beyond.

It wasn’t until 2019 erstwhile Gull and his Talyn co-founder Evan Mucasey were readying to caput to a “fly-in” (think: car amusement but for chill planes) astatine the Mojave airdrome that helium got a hint helium mightiness spot the elephantine airplane fly.

“I called a person and said, ‘what clip should we beryllium determination for the airplane show?’ And helium said, ‘6 a.m.’ I was like, that makes nary sense,” Gull said. He didn’t cognize what his person was hinting at, but helium believed it would beryllium worthy the aboriginal flight.

Sure enough, arsenic Gull and Mucasey approached the airport, determination was Stratolaunch, parked connected the runway and prepped for flight. They landed and, per Gull’s recollection, Stratolaunch took disconnected 15 minutes later.

“I deliberation it was astir precisely 10 years aft I had worked connected it connected a machine screen,” Gull said. “It was wild.”