Pear VC Raises $333 Million for Fifth Fund as Assets Surpass $1.1 Billion

Pear VC’s fifth fund has $333 million in capital, bringing the firm’s assets under management to more than $1.1 billion as it continues backing early-stage companies and operating founder programs.

Co-founders Pejman Nozad and Mar announced Pear Fund V on Oct. 14. They also named Arash Afrakhteh, Ajay Kamat and Shravan Reddy as general partners.

Nozad and Mar discussed founding a venture firm about 13 years ago at Coupa Café in Palo Alto. Their stated premise was to meet founders before others recognized their potential.

Afrakhteh joined Pear in 2020 and invests in enterprise and business-to-business companies focused on artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud and data infrastructure. He co-founded Cariden Technologies, which Cisco acquired in 2012.

Kamat joined Pear in 2015 and focuses on consumer, fintech and health care investments. He co-founded and led Wedding Party, a Pear-backed company later acquired by Instacart.

Pear’s portfolio includes DoorDash, Gusto, Guardant Health, Vanta and Listen Labs. The firm also runs PearX, university programs, hackathons and a founder community, alongside two studios, an engineering team and founder services. Its pre-seed and seed businesses review thousands of opportunities each year.