Masha Bucher believes the future of humanity depends on more than just technological innovation — it requires ushering a new renaissance. The founder of Day One Ventures has built a $500 million AUM venture capital firm on this conviction, backing companies developing everything from asteroid mining and climate solutions to brain preservation and genetic screening technology.
Her latest fund, a $150 million Fund III, represents one of the largest raised by a solo female general partner in venture capital.
“I think tech entrepreneurs have the highest capacity to influence the future,” Bucher told Forbes recently. “The challenge is ensuring that acceleration in technology doesn’t create a disconnect with society.”
Building the Fund
Bucher’s path isn’t typical for a Silicon Valley VC. She began her career in communications, serving as vice president of communications at Acronis when she was just 23, managing PR activities across 18 countries for the Goldman Sachs and BlackRock-backed data protection company. She later founded a PR studio that grew to eight-figure revenue, working with startups through their journey to initial public offering or acquisition.
“I got lucky by finding my life’s work and calling very early on, when I was 27,” Bucher said.
Her PR background provided unique insights into the startup ecosystem, allowing her to spot promising companies before they hit the mainstream radar. She parlayed this expertise into angel investing, achieving returns with an 11 times distributed-to-paid-in ratio and a 113% net internal rate of return.
Day One Ventures’ first fund reached a 1 times distribution to paid-in capital within three years, backed by investments in companies like Truebill, which Bucher backed at a $15 million valuation before its acquisition by Rocket for approximately $1.3 billion. The second fund’s net internal rate of return of 48% stands six times higher than the median for comparable funds in North America.
Day One Ventures’ Portfolio
Day One’s portfolio includes companies like World, co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, which is developing a global digital currency and identity authentication system. Another portfolio company, Living Carbon, combines biotechnology with reforestation to address climate change, while Rainmaker uses drone technology and cloud-seeding to tackle water scarcity.
“My inspiration is to back the most important technologies for the future, for humanity, and for humans,” Bucher said. This focus on human-centric technology is the driving force behind Day One’s latest fund, which introduced a specific “Future of Human” investment category. The category encompasses everything from embryo genome sequencing to brain-computer interfaces.
But Bucher recognizes that technological advancement alone isn’t enough. “There are three agents of influence that are the connective tissue between society and tech: media, art and culture, and policymakers,” she said.
This idea has led her to create regular gatherings bringing together technologists and artists, fostering dialogue between these traditionally separate spheres.
In 2022, Day One Ventures partnered with OpenAI to present Artificial Imagination, the first major gallery exhibition of DALL-E-generated artwork. The show featured boundary-pushing artists like Alex Reben, Refik Anadol, and August Kamp, who used the artificial intelligence image-generating platform as a new creative medium.
“It was the first time AI-created art was shown in the space of a prominent gallery,” said Bucher. “The exhibition helped legitimize a new art form.” She went on to explain that she sees generative AI as following photography’s path — a technological innovation that becomes a powerful artistic tool.
‘We’re Trying To Change the Future of Humanity’
The influence of art on Bucher’s worldview runs deep. She cites artists like Heidi Bucher, Hilma af Klint, and James Turrell as transformative influences on her understanding of existence.
Artists have “totally changed my life, my worldview, my understanding of my own existence, the way I feel in the world,” said Bucher.
Her appreciation for art’s power to shape perception and understanding has also influenced her approach to technology investment.
“I do believe in inspiration as a driving force much more than in violence or limitations,” Bucher shared. “We’re trying to change the future of humanity and technology through connecting them to the most interesting, talented artists.”
This approach appears to be working. Day One Ventures now manages a portfolio of companies valued at more than $115 billion in aggregate. The firm has backed eight unicorns early in their development and achieved 22 exits, including one IPO.
The success stems partly from Bucher’s ability to identify founders working on transformative technologies early in their development. Her portfolio includes investments in entrepreneurs like Job van der Voort of Remote.com, Suhail Doshi of PlaygroundAI, and Richard Socher of you.com, among others.
Looking ahead, Bucher aims to be a catalyst in bolstering public acceptance for revolutionary technological advancement. She points out that just 10% of Americans believe AI helps more than it hurts, while 80% were skeptical of cryptocurrency even at its peak. But these are the kinds of opinions she believes can be changed through art, culture, and storytelling.
Through Day One Ventures, Bucher is attempting to create what she calls “a new renaissance” — a convergence of technology, art, and human potential.
“What’s been happening in the last year is that as technology has been accelerating, the disconnect between the tech world and tech society has only been increasing,” she said. “I see our firm’s mission as a connected uniter. I think it’s extremely important to connect the tech sector back to society.”
