Key Takeaways
- • Matter Venture Partners closed Fund II at $450 million, a 50% increase from its inaugural $300 million fund raised in 2023, signaling strong institutional confidence in the firm's HardTech investment thesis.
- • The fund targets early-stage companies across semiconductors, robotics, Physical AI, AI infrastructure, quantum computing, advanced manufacturing, energy, and AI for science—sectors experiencing accelerating demand driven by AI adoption and computing infrastructure buildout.
- • Founded by Wen Hsieh (former General Partner at Kleiner Perkins leading its HardTech practice for 17 years), Haomiao Huang (repeat tech entrepreneur and engineer), and Mel Tang (former CFO of Ring and Demand Media), the partnership combines deep technical expertise with operational scaling experience.
- • Matter's value proposition centers on providing HardTech founders with ecosystem support beyond capital, including judgment, industry relationships, and mentorship across the complex challenges of technical development, manufacturing, supply chains, and commercialization.
- • The fund closes on a market backdrop of rapidly escalating investor interest in HardTech as artificial intelligence drives demand for faster chips, higher data-center capacity, improved computing efficiency, and autonomous systems capable of reliable real-world operation.
Summary
Matter Venture Partners announced the close of its second fund at $450 million on September 16, 2026, representing significant growth from the firm's inaugural $300 million fund launched in 2023. The fund will deploy capital across early-stage HardTech startups spanning semiconductors, robotics and Physical AI, AI infrastructure, quantum computing, advanced manufacturing, energy building blocks, and AI for scientific advancement.
The Los Altos-based firm was founded in 2023 by three executives with substantial track records in technology investing and operations. Wen Hsieh spent 17 years at Kleiner Perkins, where he led the firm's HardTech practice as General Partner. Haomiao Huang is a repeat tech entrepreneur and engineer who collaborated with Hsieh at Kleiner Perkins before co-founding Matter. Mel Tang brings operational expertise from his tenure as CFO of Ring and Demand Media, having guided technology businesses through critical scaling phases. The team has since expanded globally with additions of technical depth, operating experience, and industry relationships.
Matter's positioning reflects a structural shift in venture capital toward HardTech investment, driven by AI's outsized computational demands. The proliferation of AI applications has created urgent requirements for faster semiconductor architectures, expanded data-center infrastructure, more efficient computing systems, and intelligent autonomous machines capable of navigating complex physical environments. The firm's thesis emphasizes that successful HardTech company-building requires far more than capital deployment—it demands seasoned judgment, years of relational capital with industry partners, technical acumen, and operational guidance through simultaneous navigation of R&D, manufacturing, supply chain optimization, commercialization, and customer delivery.
The $450 million close positions Matter as one of the more substantial early-stage HardTech specialists in the current market. The 50% fund-over-fund growth from Fund I to Fund II indicates strong LP confidence in the team's early deployment record and thesis execution, particularly as institutional capital increasingly recognizes HardTech as foundational to the AI infrastructure build-out cycle.
The Los Altos-based firm was founded in 2023 by three executives with substantial track records in technology investing and operations. Wen Hsieh spent 17 years at Kleiner Perkins, where he led the firm's HardTech practice as General Partner. Haomiao Huang is a repeat tech entrepreneur and engineer who collaborated with Hsieh at Kleiner Perkins before co-founding Matter. Mel Tang brings operational expertise from his tenure as CFO of Ring and Demand Media, having guided technology businesses through critical scaling phases. The team has since expanded globally with additions of technical depth, operating experience, and industry relationships.
Matter's positioning reflects a structural shift in venture capital toward HardTech investment, driven by AI's outsized computational demands. The proliferation of AI applications has created urgent requirements for faster semiconductor architectures, expanded data-center infrastructure, more efficient computing systems, and intelligent autonomous machines capable of navigating complex physical environments. The firm's thesis emphasizes that successful HardTech company-building requires far more than capital deployment—it demands seasoned judgment, years of relational capital with industry partners, technical acumen, and operational guidance through simultaneous navigation of R&D, manufacturing, supply chain optimization, commercialization, and customer delivery.
The $450 million close positions Matter as one of the more substantial early-stage HardTech specialists in the current market. The 50% fund-over-fund growth from Fund I to Fund II indicates strong LP confidence in the team's early deployment record and thesis execution, particularly as institutional capital increasingly recognizes HardTech as foundational to the AI infrastructure build-out cycle.
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