# Jim Tananbaum

> Jim Tananbaum is the founder and CEO of Foresite Capital and a co-founder of Foresite Labs. His career spans founding GelTex and Theravance, investing at Sierra Ventures and Prospect Venture Partners, and building organizations that combine scientific expertise with computation. He and Dana Tananbaum support Yale scholarships and fellowships, and he serves as a LACMA trustee.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at Foresite Capital
- **Organizations:** Foresite Capital, Foresite Labs, GelTex Pharmaceuticals, Theravance, Prospect Venture Partners, Sierra Ventures, Los Angeles County Museum of Art
- **Education:** BS and BSEE; applied mathematics and electrical engineering/computer science, Yale University, MD, Harvard Medical School / Harvard-MIT HST Program, MBA, Harvard Business School
- **Known for:** Founded Foresite Capital in 2011., Co-founded GelTex Pharmaceuticals and Theravance., Raised more than $350 million during his tenure at Theravance.

## Career timeline

- **1985** — Graduated from Yale University.
- **1991** — Co-founded GelTex Pharmaceuticals while attending Harvard Business School.
- **1990s** — Served as a partner at Sierra Ventures.
- **1997** — Co-founded Theravance and served as founding chief executive.
- **Before 2011** — Co-founded Prospect Venture Partners.
- **2011** — Founded Foresite Capital.
- **2019** — Co-founded Foresite Labs, publicly launched in October.
- **2022** — Jim and Dana’s support helped establish a collaborative theoretical and analytical research center at Yale.
- **2023** — LACMA publicly named him among trustees elected since 2020.
- **2024** — Foresite announced its $900 million sixth fund.
- **2026** — Reflected on the next phase of Foresite Labs following Vik Bajaj’s move to Prometheus.

## Achievements

- Founded Foresite Capital in 2011.
- Co-founded GelTex Pharmaceuticals and Theravance.
- Raised more than $350 million during his tenure at Theravance.
- Five-time Forbes Midas List honoree: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2021.
- Co-founded the Foresite Labs incubation platform.
- With Dana Tananbaum, supported Yale scholarships and engineering fellowships.

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — Published a reflection on Foresite Labs and its next phase after Vik Bajaj became co-CEO of Prometheus.
- **2026-02** — Discussed Foresite Capital’s fifteenth anniversary in a public interview.
- **2025-12** — Appeared on Venture with Grace to discuss company building and capital strategy.
- **2025-10** — Appeared on The Full Ratchet to discuss data science, investment practices, and portfolio construction.

## Links

- Website: https://jimtananbaum.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimtananbaum/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/JTananbaum

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jim-tananbaum
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-10