Black Diamond Ventures

Black Diamond Ventures (BDV) is a Los Angeles-based venture capital firm founded in 1998 by Chris Lucas, with an additional office in Silicon Valley. Over more than two decades, the firm has built a track record of hybrid, multi-stage investing in biotech, deep tech, and medical technology. BDV's portfolio of 40 companies has generated 5 IPOs and 16 acquisitions — a realization rate that reflects the firm's discipline in identifying companies at genuine inflection points. BDV leads rounds from Series A through growth stages, typically writing checks between $3 million and $25 million. The firm invests across AI and machine learning, materials science, semiconductors, medical devices, and health technology. Notable portfolio outcomes include Dexcom, the continuous glucose monitoring company that grew into a multi-billion-dollar public market leader; GlobalLogic, the digital engineering firm acquired by Hitachi for $9.5 billion; and Avinger, which went public with vascular imaging technology. Other portfolio companies include Ares Materials, Lyric Bio, and App Orchid. Black Diamond Ventures supports visionary founders pioneering market-transforming technologies with strategic and operational guidance rooted in more than 25 years of company building. Chris Lucas and the BDV team bring deep domain familiarity in the scientific and technical disciplines at the core of their portfolio, allowing the firm to add substantive judgment beyond what generalist capital can offer. The firm's long operating history through multiple market cycles gives it the perspective and conviction required to back high-risk, high-impact technology bets.