Ela Madej is the Founding Partner of Fifty Years, an early-stage venture capital firm she co-founded in 2015 with Seth. See sector focus and contact routes.
Ela Madej is the Founding Partner of Fifty Years, an early-stage venture capital firm she co-founded in 2015 with Seth Bannon in San Francisco, after previously serving as a Partner at the Polish VC fund Innovation Nest and as Chief Operating Officer at Amicus. Her investment thesis targets pre-seed and seed-stage companies using deep technology to solve humanity’s biggest challenges, with focus sectors including synthetic biology, climate tech, space tech, autonomous vehicles, health tech, and food tech. While specific check sizes and lead/follow behavior are not publicly detailed, Fifty Years typically incubates or co-creates companies and provides extensive support to scientist-founders transitioning to entrepreneurship. Notable portfolio companies include Solugen (a bio-based chemicals unicorn), Upside Foods (cultivated meat), Opentrons (lab automation), and Astranis (satellite connectivity). Madej distinguishes herself by running Impact.tech, a platform for technologists in Silicon Valley who want to combine purpose with profit, and she emphasizes building values into technology to create positive impact. She is also a Y Combinator alum (YC S12) a
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