This former a16z partner and solo VC has backed 6 unicorns. Now he's raised $50 million to invest in hard tech

Zal Bilimoria, a former partner at Andreessen Horowitz, has successfully raised $50 million for his latest venture fund with just five phone calls. This new fund elevates his total assets under management to nearly $300 million and enables him to continue making investments ranging from $1 million to $2 million in pre-seed and seed-stage startups. Bilimoria identifies as a generalist hard-tech investor, passionate about startups that address significant challenges in the physical world. His focus includes biotech firms innovating in fertility and immunity, as well as ventures in robotics, energy, aerospace, critical materials, and AI infrastructure. This renewed enthusiasm for hard tech and AI applications follows a prolonged period during which venture capital predominantly flowed into software. Highlighting the trend, Jeff Bezos' latest venture, Prometheus, which specializes in physical AI applications for manufacturing and other sectors, recently achieved a valuation of $38 billion. In April alone, ventures in physical AI attracted approximately $5.3 billion in funding, according to Crunchbase data. Bilimoria has been dedicated to hard-tech investments for over a decade, well before it became a popular focus among investors. "I've been doing hard-tech investing for a dozen years," he stated. "It's exciting to see so many investors joining the space, as there are vast opportunities to create substantial businesses." Before embarking on his investment career, Bilimoria worked as a product manager at major companies like Google, Netflix, and LinkedIn. He played a pivotal role in launching Andreessen Horowitz's first bio fund in 2015, marking a significant shift for a firm traditionally recognized for its software investments. Shortly after this initiative, he founded Refactor Capital, named to reflect the process of restructuring existing code to improve efficiency and usability. Bilimoria's mission has consistently been to support entrepreneurs who are 'refactoring the real world.' His firm has notably invested in six unicorns, such as Solugen, a green-chemicals producer, and Astranis, a satellite technology company. He seeks founders who attract three key groups: customers, talent, and investors. In the past year, Bilimoria accelerated his investment activity, engaging with 11 startups—exceeding his typical annual target of seven to eight deals. Although he initially planned to raise Refactor's next fund later this year, he opted to gauge interest among existing limited partners sooner, leading to the swift completion of the fund's $50 million target. Bilimoria attributes much of his success to his solo approach to venture capital. Despite suggestions from limited partners to expand his team, he preferred to concentrate on nurturing startup founders rather than managing a larger firm. This hands-on investment style has earned him the moniker 'Better Call Zal' among some of his portfolio founders, referencing the popular TV show about a lawyer known for helping those in need. The nickname originated when a founder seeking advice during a critical fundraising round updated Bilimoria's contact name in his phone after a day filled with inquiries. "That is the call sign I was built for," Bilimoria remarked, emphasizing his commitment to spending quality time with his founders.