George Zachary

Partner at CRV, Crv

Search every verified George Zachary interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. George Zachary, a general partner at CRV, has spoken publicly about how a health scare in 2015—when a large tumor was discovered and initially misdiagnosed as cancerous—shifted his investment focus toward bioengineering and healthcare. He stated that the experience made him feel empathy for patients without his network and resources, and he described his role as backing founders who aim to detect cancer early. Zachary said he started a bio practice at CRV despite lacking a biology background, hiring an expert to help. He has since invested in companies such as PillPack, which Amazon acquired, and a cell-based animal meat company, and he has discussed investing in a firm that uses stem cells and robotics to test drugs for central nervous system diseases. Zachary has also commented on the venture capital industry, noting that the average age of venture investors is around 40, meaning many have no experience of a market downturn, which he described as "scary" for limited partners. He criticized the application of probability in investing, saying that inexperienced investors mistakenly believe one in ten companies will be a hit. On the topic of Twitter, where he was an early investor, Zachary said the company has "almost no ability to control or know the amount of bots" and that it chose not to examine direct messages to detect bots because it would break its terms of service. He has also expressed concern about the potential for bioengineering to be used to create weapons targeting specific ancestries, and he described SoftBank's Vision Fund as a "hugely distorting force" in the market.