A New Playbook for Deep Tech Fund Investing

About this episode

This week on Swimming with Allocators, Wes Panek joins Earnest and Alexa to share his unconventional journey from consulting and international development to venture capital, and ultimately to his current role as an LP at the Astera Institute, a multi-billion-dollar foundation focused on deep tech and frontier science. Wes explains how his family background shaped his desire to make markets work for everyone, what he learned evaluating hundreds of emerging managers at Screen Door, and why he believes there is no single playbook for success in venture. He breaks down how and why Astera is adding fund investing alongside grants and research, the structural advantages of foundations backing deep tech funds, and the gaps he sees in LP coverage of technical managers. Wes also offers practical lessons on building a new fund-of-funds program from scratch, including the importance of deploying capital sooner, being highly selective with time, and leveraging flexibility without losing discipline. For LPs and GPs interested in deep tech, he shares advice on underwriting technical strategies without a PhD, the rare “unicorn” profile of ideal managers, and concrete qualifiers for funds that might be a fit for Astera’s capital. Additionally, Chuck Daly of Sidley explains how today’s SEC and global regulators are refocusing on core anti-fraud, valuation, conflicts of interest, and disclosure principles for venture managers, with growing state and international scrutiny—especially around process, governance, and ESG — outside the US.

Highlights from this week’s conversation include:

• Wes’s Journey From Consulting to International Development and Venture (0:35)  

• Learning GP–LP Dynamics and Two Customers in Venture (3:55)  

• Mission of Astera Institute and Focus on Frontier Tech (5:54)  

• Adding Fund Investing and Deep Tech Focus at Astera (7:19)  

• Designing Astera’s Deep Tech Fund Strategy as an Experiment (11:05)  

• Regulatory Priorities for VC Managers: Communication and Anti Fraud (15:45)  

• SEC Expectations on Valuation Process and Consistency (20:21)  

• Global Regulatory Trends and ESG Focus for Venture (23:20)  

• Foundation vs Fund of Funds: Flexibility, Risk, and Time Horizon (28:36)  

• How Astera Underwrites Deep Tech Funds and Direct Investments (29:09)  

• Do LPs Need To Be Technical and How To Skill Up (34:43)  

• Ideal Traits of Deep Tech GPs and Wes’s Bias Toward Technical Founders (39:52)  

• Fund Parameters Wes Backs: Size, Stage, and Themes (43:20)  

Astera Institute is a philanthropic organization dedicated to advancing frontier science and technology for the benefit of humanity. The Institute supports in-house scientific research, grantmaking, direct investments, and fund investing to accelerate progress in areas such as artificial intelligence, neuroscience, energy, and other deep-tech domains.

Learn more at asterainstitute.org.  

Sidley Austin LLP is a premier global law firm with a dedicated Venture Funds practice, advising top venture capital firms, institutional investors, and private equity sponsors on fund formation, investment structuring, and regulatory compliance. With deep expertise across private markets, Sidley provides strategic legal counsel to help funds scale effectively. Learn more at sidley.com.

Swimming with Allocators is a podcast that dives into the intriguing world of Venture Capital from an LP (Limited Partner) perspective. Hosts Alexa Binns and Earnest Sweat are seasoned professionals who have donned various hats in the VC ecosystem. Each episode, we explore where the future opportunities lie in the VC landscape with insights from top LPs on their investment strategies and industry experts shedding light on emerging trends and technologies. 

The information provided on this podcast does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this podcast are for general informational purposes only.

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