Not to be outdone by the return of his former rival, Amol Sarva is resurfacing with an audacious venture of his own.
Sarva, who became known in the real estate world as the co-founder of Knotel, is one of the founders behind Life Extension Ventures, TechCrunch reported. Life Extension Ventures is a $100 million fund with plans to back companies focusing on the science of “longevity for people and [the] planet.”
The fund is focused on finding projects in people, animals, agriculture, food, energy and transportation. AI, direct-to-consumer, web3, infrastructure-as-a-service, platforms and marketplaces are also on the table.
Sarva studied cognitive science at Stanford and Columbia universities. He also made previous angel investments in DNA databank Galatea Bio, computerized cell morphology company DeepCell and API platform Particle Health.
Life Extension Ventures, based in New York, is co-founded by Pixable and CoverWallet founder Inaki Berenguer.
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Sarva’s flex-office provider once rivaled WeWork, but was ultimately done in by the pandemic. Even before nationwide lockdowns, leasing was dropping and vacancies were rising, diminishing the prospects for a company valued at $1.6 billion in August 2019.
Knotel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year and set a transaction in motion to be sold to Newmark Group. On his way out the door, Sarva took shots at his company’s new overlords, accusing the brokerage of using the bankruptcy process to take over and damaging company relationships.
“The process made clear to me that I would not choose to be part of the new owners’ way of moving forward,” Sarva wrote in a letter. “Only to confirm that judgment, they have literally hired a group of Adam Neuman[n]–era WeWork bros to lead the company forward.”
That parting shot at the WeWork co-founder makes the timing of Sarva’s publicity push for Life Extension Ventures even more interesting. Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz announced earlier this week it was investing $350 million in Flow, Neumann’s multifamily market venture.
Flow is valued at more than $1 billion, despite not officially launching yet.
— Holden Walter-Warner