Female Founders Fund (F3) is a New York–based venture capital firm investing exclusively in women-led startups. Founded in 2014 by Anu Duggal, F3 was one of the first institutional funds to make a bet on the potential of female founders to build category-defining companies. The fund has carved out a distinct presence in the venture world by proving both the commercial and strategic value of investing in gender-diverse founding teams.
In December 2025, Female Founders Fund closed its fourth core fund at $29 million. This fund was raised between November 2023 and late 2025 during a difficult macro environment. The close represents a key milestone not just for the firm, but for the broader category of emerging managers, especially solo female GPs.
LPs in this new fund include high-profile names like Melinda French Gates’ Pivotal Ventures, Olivia Walton’s Ingeborg Investments, and the Anne Wojcicki Foundation. With this raise, the firm has now reached $140 million in assets under management across five funds, including a $14 million opportunity fund.
The first investment out of Fund IV was 831 Stories, a romance publishing startup rethinking fan-driven book platforms. This new fund continues F3’s mission of funding female founders with early backing, now with a broader scope and a maturing portfolio approach.
Leadership
Female Founders Fund was founded by Anu Duggal, who remains the firm’s General Partner. A solo GP for over a decade, Duggal has built the fund’s reputation through high-touch founder relationships and a commitment to building a deep ecosystem around her portfolio.
Investment Strategy
F3 focuses on Pre-Seed and Seed rounds, often leading and taking board seats. The firm aims to be the first institutional check and builds long-term relationships through follow-on capital and community-building. Duggal places a strong emphasis on deal flow from the fund’s founder network, and LPs are often deeply connected to that same ecosystem. The strategy is focused, thesis-driven, and explicitly centered on backing female founders with a venture-scale vision.
Notable Investments
F3 has backed companies like Maven Clinic, the women’s health unicorn; Tala, a fintech company serving underbanked populations; and 831 Stories.
The portfolio also includes ventures across aerospace, mobility, SaaS, and retail tech, showing increasing breadth as the fund has matured.
Notable Exits
F3 has had three nine-figure exits to date:
In 2024, the firm returned its first fund, signaling strong performance and validating its investment thesis.
Other
F3 has become more than a fund, it’s a platform. The team hosts annual events, builds internal communities for female founders, and sources deal flow directly from its network. Duggal has publicly committed to deploying $500 million into female-founded companies over the next decade.
Founders should note that while F3 is still a small fund, it offers high access, strong brand equity in its space, and strategic support far beyond capital.
United States
