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Pear VC is a seed-stage venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California, founded in 2013 by Pejman Nozad and Mar Hershenson under the name Pejman Mar Ventures. 1 The firm rebranded as Pear VC in 2016 when it raised a $75 million fund. 2 As of 2023, Pear managed approximately $800 million in assets across four funds. 12
Pejman Nozad emigrated from Iran to the United States, where he lived in an attic above a yogurt shop before taking a job selling Persian rugs at a store on University Avenue in downtown Palo Alto. 10 He had previously worked as a sports journalist and played professional soccer in Iran. 5 Through the rug store's proximity to Sand Hill Road clientele, Nozad began angel investing in the early 2000s and built a track record over 15 years before co-founding the firm. 10 He received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2014 and has been included on the Forbes Midas List from 2021 through 2025, ranking #1 on the Forbes Midas Seed List three consecutive years (2023, 2024, 2025). 5
Mar Hershenson holds a PhD in engineering and was named an MIT Technology Review Innovator Under 35. 1 Before entering venture capital, she founded three companies: Barcelona Design (analog circuit design), Sabio Labs (semiconductor software), and Revel Touch (mobile commerce, which raised $10 million in 2012). 1 Hershenson ranked #29 on the Forbes Midas List in 2021 and #30 in 2022. 1
Pear focuses on pre-seed and seed-stage companies, writing checks between $250,000 and $3 million. 8 The firm invests across enterprise software, SaaS, fintech, AI, healthcare, biotech, climate tech, and deep tech/hardware. 4 Its 10-person investment team includes vertical specialists in each sector. 4
The firm operates a two-part structure: a venture investing arm and an accelerator called PearX, launched in 2014. 1 By 2021, the accelerator had worked with 80 companies. 9 Roughly 50% of Pear's portfolio companies were started by student founders, a proportion supported by programs like Pear Dorm, which runs fellowship and entrepreneurship programs at Stanford, Harvard, MIT, and UC Berkeley. 8 Student fellows in these programs receive up to $25,000 in check-writing authority to invest in peer startups. 8 In 2015, the firm sponsored a $250,000 startup competition at UC Berkeley. 1
Pear's earliest and most publicized bet was DoorDash. Nozad invested $1.9 million in the food delivery company before its launch; that stake was worth roughly $440 million at DoorDash's December 2020 IPO. 3 Other seed investments include Guardant Health (cancer genomics, IPO as GH), Gusto (payroll software), AppLovin (mobile advertising), Vanta (security compliance), Branch (deep linking), Aurora Solar, Dropbox, SoundHound, and Course Hero. 4 5
As of 2025, the firm reports 3 IPOs, 7 portfolio companies valued above $1 billion, and more than 200 companies seeded over its history. 4
Pear closed its largest fund at $432 million in May 2023, oversubscribed against an initial target. 6 7 Limited partners in prior funds have included the Inasmuch Foundation, the Los Angeles Fire & Police Pension System, the Richard King Mellon Foundation, and the Passport Foundation. 7 The fund targeted pre-seed and seed investments with a particular emphasis on artificial intelligence. 1
In March 2022, Matt Birnbaum, formerly head of talent acquisition at Instacart, joined Pear as head of talent. 13 The firm offers portfolio companies a suite of founder services including a design studio (Pear Studio), talent recruitment, fundraising support, go-to-market strategy, and PR/marketing assistance. 4
Pear runs several community programs beyond its investment activities: Female Founders Circles, Persian Founders Circles, and an AI Researcher Grant. 5
During the Silicon Valley Bank crisis in March 2023, Pear was among the venture firms that urged portfolio companies to withdraw their deposits before the bank collapsed on March 10. 11
Stanford Graduate School of Business developed a teaching case study on Pear VC's model of combining venture investment with an accelerator. 14
Pear VC is a seed-stage venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California, founded in 2013 by Pejman Nozad and Mar Hershenson under the name Pejman Mar Ventures. 1 The firm rebranded as Pear VC in 2016 when it raised a $75 million fund. 2 As of 2023, Pear managed approximately $800 million in assets across four funds. 12
Pejman Nozad emigrated from Iran to the United States, where he lived in an attic above a yogurt shop before taking a job selling Persian rugs at a store on University Avenue in downtown Palo Alto. 10 He had previously worked as a sports journalist and played professional soccer in Iran. 5 Through the rug store's proximity to Sand Hill Road clientele, Nozad began angel investing in the early 2000s and built a track record over 15 years before co-founding the firm. 10 He received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2014 and has been included on the Forbes Midas List from 2021 through 2025, ranking #1 on the Forbes Midas Seed List three consecutive years (2023, 2024, 2025). 5
Mar Hershenson holds a PhD in engineering and was named an MIT Technology Review Innovator Under 35. 1 Before entering venture capital, she founded three companies: Barcelona Design (analog circuit design), Sabio Labs (semiconductor software), and Revel Touch (mobile commerce, which raised $10 million in 2012). 1 Hershenson ranked #29 on the Forbes Midas List in 2021 and #30 in 2022. 1
Pear focuses on pre-seed and seed-stage companies, writing checks between $250,000 and $3 million. 8 The firm invests across enterprise software, SaaS, fintech, AI, healthcare, biotech, climate tech, and deep tech/hardware. 4 Its 10-person investment team includes vertical specialists in each sector. 4
The firm operates a two-part structure: a venture investing arm and an accelerator called PearX, launched in 2014. 1 By 2021, the accelerator had worked with 80 companies. 9 Roughly 50% of Pear's portfolio companies were started by student founders, a proportion supported by programs like Pear Dorm, which runs fellowship and entrepreneurship programs at Stanford, Harvard, MIT, and UC Berkeley. 8 Student fellows in these programs receive up to $25,000 in check-writing authority to invest in peer startups. 8 In 2015, the firm sponsored a $250,000 startup competition at UC Berkeley. 1
Pear's earliest and most publicized bet was DoorDash. Nozad invested $1.9 million in the food delivery company before its launch; that stake was worth roughly $440 million at DoorDash's December 2020 IPO. 3 Other seed investments include Guardant Health (cancer genomics, IPO as GH), Gusto (payroll software), AppLovin (mobile advertising), Vanta (security compliance), Branch (deep linking), Aurora Solar, Dropbox, SoundHound, and Course Hero. 4 5
As of 2025, the firm reports 3 IPOs, 7 portfolio companies valued above $1 billion, and more than 200 companies seeded over its history. 4
Pear closed its largest fund at $432 million in May 2023, oversubscribed against an initial target. 6 7 Limited partners in prior funds have included the Inasmuch Foundation, the Los Angeles Fire & Police Pension System, the Richard King Mellon Foundation, and the Passport Foundation. 7 The fund targeted pre-seed and seed investments with a particular emphasis on artificial intelligence. 1
In March 2022, Matt Birnbaum, formerly head of talent acquisition at Instacart, joined Pear as head of talent. 13 The firm offers portfolio companies a suite of founder services including a design studio (Pear Studio), talent recruitment, fundraising support, go-to-market strategy, and PR/marketing assistance. 4
Pear runs several community programs beyond its investment activities: Female Founders Circles, Persian Founders Circles, and an AI Researcher Grant. 5
During the Silicon Valley Bank crisis in March 2023, Pear was among the venture firms that urged portfolio companies to withdraw their deposits before the bank collapsed on March 10. 11
Stanford Graduate School of Business developed a teaching case study on Pear VC's model of combining venture investment with an accelerator. 14
