# Morgan Schwanke

> Morgan Schwanke is the Founder and General Partner of Mana Ventures, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm specializing in frontier technology. A self-described 'recovering founder,' Morgan went from building OnMyBlock - a college housing marketplace - to investing in 300+ companies across AI, robotics, space, and biotech. Mana Ventures has deployed over $50 million in capital, backed unicorns like Figure AI, and built an elite partner network (The Collective) featuring founders of Dropbox, WordPress, Kayak, Shazam, and Oculus.

- **Role:** Founder & General Partner at Mana Ventures
- **Organizations:** Mana Ventures, OnMyBlock, Restream, Unity Technologies
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Interdisciplinary Humanities, University of San Diego
- **Known for:** Founded and raised $6.3M for OnMyBlock, a venture-backed college housing marketplace, President of Associated Students at the University of San Diego; addressed entire student body at graduation, Built Mana Ventures into a 27-person, 9-partner fund with 300+ investments across deep tech

## Career timeline

- **2012** — Founded OnMyBlock, a college off-campus housing marketplace, after building a simple Google spreadsheet to track landlords for fellow students
- **2013** — Graduated University of San Diego; OnMyBlock won $10,000 from USD business plan competition and $25,000 from San Diego Venture Group
- **2013** — OnMyBlock raised $800,000 seed funding from a Silicon Valley investor; expanded to San Diego and San Luis Obispo
- **2014** — OnMyBlock raised $6.3M in seed and Series A financing total
- **2015** — Joined Restream as Head of Business Development; also took on a product role at Unity Technologies
- **2016** — Founded Mana Ventures, launching as an angel syndicate investing in early-stage startups
- **2019** — Appeared on Livestream Deals Podcast discussing Restream's 30+ platform livestreaming capabilities
- **2020** — Mana Ventures launched formal fund operations, deploying capital across deep tech sectors
- **2021** — Unity Technologies IPO at $12B+ valuation - a notable early Mana Ventures investment
- **2025** — Mana Ventures delivered $27M in total DPI to LPs throughout the year; portfolio company Neros Technologies grew from 16 to 140 employees
- **2026** — Mana Ventures delivered $45M in DPI to LPs in Q1 alone; TensorStax acquired by Snowflake; K2 Space raised $110M Series B; Figure AI reached $39B valuation

## Achievements

- Founded and raised $6.3M for OnMyBlock, a venture-backed college housing marketplace
- President of Associated Students at the University of San Diego; addressed entire student body at graduation
- Built Mana Ventures into a 27-person, 9-partner fund with 300+ investments across deep tech
- Backed Figure AI early - now valued at $39 billion with $1B+ in committed capital
- Delivered $45M in LP returns in Q1 2026 alone from Mana Ventures portfolio
- Built The Collective partner network featuring founders of Dropbox, WordPress, Kayak, Shazam, and Oculus
- Invested in 2 unicorns, 1 IPO (Unity Technologies), and 14 acquisitions
- Won $25,000 from San Diego Venture Group competition (selected from 90 companies)

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Mana Ventures portfolio K2 Space announced $110M Series B for multi-orbit satellite platform
- **2026-03** — TensorStax (Mana Ventures portfolio) acquired by Snowflake
- **2026-01** — Mana Ventures delivered $45M in DPI to LPs in Q1 2026
- **2025-12** — Mana Ventures delivered $27M in total DPI to LPs throughout 2025
- **2025-06** — Neros Technologies (portfolio) grew from 16 to ~140 employees and announced 250,000 sq ft new HQ
- **2025-03** — Figure AI reached $39B valuation with $1B+ in committed capital - a Mana Ventures portfolio company

## Links

- Website: https://manaventures.vc
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/morganschwanke
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/MorganSchwanke
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBQeFXeWSEoD-6iDtxkKMLA
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morganschwanke/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/morgan-schwanke
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-18