Material Impact Fund is among the first venture firms to focus exclusively on materials science as its core investment strategy, building around the thesis that nearly every major disruptive innovation can be traced back to advances in materials science rather than organizing around traditional sectors like software or climate. The fund operates as "first money in for first-of-their-kind innovations," often spinning technologies out of universities and acting as initial operators to literally build companies from the lab bench up, while being deeply hands-on and selective with about 30 portfolio companies.