Kern Venture Group

Kern Venture Group (KVG) is an industry-agnostic venture capital fund headquartered in Bakersfield, California's Central Valley, co-founded in 2018 by JP Lake and David Higdon. The firm was created to address the acute shortage of startup capital in California's Central Valley while leveraging the region's established strengths in agriculture, energy, manufacturing, and aerospace. The team of 19 people includes 12 partners. KVG leads rounds within its portfolio and has made 59 investments across early-stage through Series B companies. Fund III is targeting $20 million, with an initial $5 million or more secured from anchor investors Valley Strong Credit Union and the Ravi and Naina Patel Family Office, announced in October 2024. The portfolio spans 20 technology companies, 11 consumer businesses, 11 enterprise companies, and 8-plus hardware companies across high technology, aerospace and defense, automotive, energy, healthcare, and agriculture sectors. Notable holdings include Cambium (advanced materials, which raised a $100 million Series B led by 8VC — developing ultra-high-temperature polymers and carbon-carbon thermal protection systems for defense, aerospace, and energy), Everyset ($9 million raise, Forbes-featured), FanUp (seed round led by KVG), Vinergy, and DermaSensor (medical devices, most recent investment October 2025). The firm has achieved 2 exits, with Axiom Health recorded in July 2025 as the most recent. KVG's mission is to grow industries, bridge capital gaps, and ignite innovation through early-stage investment in regions that larger coastal funds routinely overlook. The founders bring networks across California agriculture, energy, and technology that give portfolio companies access to potential customers, pilots, and distribution channels unique to the Central Valley's industrial base.