Zeal Capital Partners, a leading Washington, D.C.-based venture capital firm, announced the closing of Zeal Fund II. This brings Zeal’s total assets under management (AUM) to $186 million across three funds, highlighting the firm’s disciplined approach to identifying and scaling high-potential opportunities across financial technology, healthcare, and the future of learning and work.
The closing of Zeal Fund II marks a significant expansion of the firm’s institutional investor base. Zeal’s limited partners now include Citi Impact Fund, M&T Bank, MassMutual, Wells Fargo, Zaffre Investments, and Spelman College.
This milestone demonstrates strong alignment with leading financial institutions, university endowments, pension funds, healthcare and insurance companies, and general partners from some of the most respected venture capital firms, such as Scott Sandell, Executive Chairman & Chief Investment Officer at NEA, and Jason Green, Founder & General Partner (Emeritus) of Emergence. And nearly 80% of Zeal’s Fund I investors, including Capricorn Investment Group and Hampton University, continued their investment partnership in Zeal Fund II.
Zeal Fund II will invest in about 25 early-stage companies over a four-year investment period, with a strategy designed to lead or co-lead seed-stage financings. The mandate will target initial check sizes between $1 million and $2.3 million, with the option to serve on the Board of Directors when appropriate to support the growth of portfolio companies. Zeal Fund II will reserve 50% of its committed capital for follow-on investments, ensuring the firm can continue backing its highest-performing companies through subsequent stages of growth and expansion.
Zeal has backed over 40 companies led by management teams reimagining the building blocks of wealth, health, learning, and work. And to date, Zeal Fund II has invested in five companies, including Seven Starling, a maternal mental health platform, and Debbie, an innovative B2B fintech company focused on rewarding savings, debt repayment, and other positive financial behaviors. Zeal also led the $8 million Series A in Rising Team to scale leadership development and team performance in the modern workplace.
KEY QUOTES:
“The systems-level challenges that have long felt insurmountable — including access to education, economic mobility, financial health, and healthcare — are now among the largest and most urgent market opportunities. As innovation accelerates with AI and broader technological shifts, the capital we continue to deploy is critical to scaling solutions that not only deliver outsized returns but also reimagine the very structures that shape our society. Our growth reflects the maturity of our investment platform and our firm’s enduring belief that Inclusive Investing defines market leadership.”
Nasir Qadree, Founder and Managing Partner
“In a market that rewards discipline, efficiency, and resilience, the confidence of our limited partners allows us to champion bold founders who are building enduring companies. We are committed to continuing to deepen our expertise across our three categories, and championing visionary founders who are addressing challenges within critical systems and poised to become tomorrow’s market leaders.”
