Robert Nelsen

Director AND Co-Founder

Robert Nelsen has served as a member of our Board since April 2016. 

Robert Nelsen is a co-founder and a Managing Director of ARCH Venture Partners. He has played a significant role in the creation, early sourcing, financing, and development of more than 100 companies, including over 39 which have reached valuations exceeding $1 billion.

Mr. Nelsen is focused on generating new ideas for disruptive technologies or business models and partnering with founding management teams and entrepreneurs to execute on these visions by advancing novel platform technologies with the overarching goal of improving health care and outcomes. Recent successes include Vir Biotechnology’s COVID-19 antibody therapy, founding National Resilience to transform pharma manufacturing in the US, and initial public offerings for Prime Medicine, Beam Therapeutics and Sana Biotechnology. 

Mr. Nelsen is a current director of public biotechnology companies Sana Biotechnology, Lyell Immunopharma and Prime Medicine, and also serves as Chairman of Hua Medicine. In addition, he serves on numerous private company boards as part of his role at ARCH Venture Partners. Mr. Nelsen holds an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago and a B.S. from the University of Puget Sound with majors in economics and biology.