Priya Yadav of Mass Ventures on Deep Tech Investing and Massachusetts’ Startup Advantage

By-Hank Stolz

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WORCESTER, MA- Priya Yadav, Vice President of Investments at Mass Ventures, joined host Zak Dutton of Auxilium to discuss the role Mass Ventures plays in strengthening the Massachusetts start-up ecosystem and supporting early-stage deep tech companies.

Yadav began by outlining her career transition from senior engineering leadership at Intel to becoming a deep tech investor. She explained that her technical background informs how she evaluates emerging technologies, founder readiness, and market viability.

She described Mass Ventures as a quasi-public venture firm with a distinct mission: fostering economic development in Massachusetts by investing in early-stage deep tech and academic spinout companies. Unlike traditional venture capital firms, Mass Ventures focuses on bridging a critical funding gap—supporting companies before they are fully ready for institutional equity investment.

Yadav detailed the firm’s investment criteria and hands-on support model, emphasizing that Mass Ventures works closely with founders to help de-risk technology, refine strategy, and prepare for future funding rounds. This includes guidance on pilot customers, commercialization pathways, and alignment with the broader innovation ecosystem.

During the conversation, Yadav and Dutton highlighted what makes Massachusetts uniquely powerful for deep tech and life sciences startups: access to non-dilutive capital, dense talent pools, world-class universities, early pilot customers, and a highly interconnected support network.

Yadav advised founders to approach the ecosystem strategically starting with university resources and non-dilutive grants to validate technology before seeking equity investment. She stressed that customer discovery is the single most important activity for founders before fundraising.

“The single most valuable thing founders can do before trying to go and have funding conversations is basically get out there, get out of the lab, talk to customers,” Yadav said.

She concluded by explaining that the founders who succeed in Massachusetts are those who treat the state not just as a location, but as an active partner in their journey from lab to market. Key qualities Mass Ventures looks for include intellectual honesty, coachability, grit balanced with pragmatism, and a mission-driven yet business-minded approach.