Accelerating the
world’s food ecosystem
transformation.
Food at the intersection of taste, planetary and human health.
Mission
There is an increasing awareness among consumers that our food system is broken and would not be able to scale to feed the extra 2 billion people expected to live on earth by 2050, without compromising the health of the planet, and our survival as a species. The food industry is now changing at its core as we are rethinking everything we are doing since the agricultural revolution.
Together with our corporate food partners, Great Circle Ventures is identifying, investing and accelerating the growth of the companies that address this market shift and the transition to a climate smart and healthy food system.
Team
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Managing Partner
Jacob Afriat was a Director at Danone Manifesto Venture ($500M+ AUM) - the venture arm of Danone S.A - a $30Bn revenue company and the largest B Corp in the world. He was a founding member at Symbrosia, a CleanTech startup reducing methane emissions with seaweed. He is a mentor at IndieBio, Big Idea Ventures & Techstars – Farm to Fork. He received his MBA from INSEAD and studied Finance at YU.
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Partner
Rani Aliahmad was a managing Partner at Venvest Capital for 10+ years - an opportunistic equity investment & buyout firm and a Director at Craftsman Capital Advisors providing venture structure, financing, and merchant banking services for entrepreneurs and venture investors in the technology, biotechnology, and food industries. He received an MBA from MIT in entrepreneurship and a BA from Yale University in Economics.
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Venture Fellow
Rachel Feller is an MBA student at the Wharton School passionate about the intersection of food/sustainability and human health. This past summer, Rachel was an MBA Intern at Acre Venture Partners, investing in early-stage companies with a food systems and climate focus. Rachel was the Manager of Strategy & Operations at Tomorrow Farms. She spent 3+ years at Deloitte Consulting conducting growth strategy engagements for healthcare, technology and retail/CPG clients. She is also a member of Wharton Venture Partners, and a co-host of The Pulse Podcast by Wharton Digital Health.
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Venture Fellow
Christina Li is a Venture Fellow at Great Circle Ventures. She most recently was a Project Leader at the Boston Consulting Group in their Healthcare and Consumer Goods practices, having worked with major CPG, healthcare, and pharmaceutical companies, and served as the Chief of Staff to the Head of Clinical Operations at BioNTech. She is finishing her MBA at the Wharton School in Entrepreneurship & Innovation. She received her Bachelor's from Harvard University in Neurobiology and Economics, and has authored a peer-reviewed article in the Nucleus Journal.
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Venture Partner
Renee Wurth, PhD, RD, is a Venture Partner at Great Circle Ventures. She is a research leader, having led research for 7+ years at a range of consumer facing companies, including the healthy meal delivery company, Daily Harvest, and the next generation probiotics company, Fitbiomics. She has been a registered dietitian for 15 years, and has an MS in Nutrition and PhD in Population Health with a focus on Environmental Health from Northeastern, as well as having trained and contributed to research at Harvard, MIT, UC Berkeley and UPenn.
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Intern
Ariella Landau is an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, studying Applied Math and Economics, with a strong interest in social impact investing and innovation that drives meaningful change. She is inspired by the potential of startups to solve real-world challenges and is eager to support their growth and impact. Ariella is passionate about developing strategies to help businesses succeed, whether by assisting a fashion brand's expansion into the U.S. market or implementing AI solutions to enhance customer service. At UC Berkeley, she actively fosters community by organizing events that cultivate valuable connections and networking opportunities.
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Venture Partner
Aidan Altman is an accomplished entrepreneur/operator, with a decade of experience in the food, agriculture, and climate sectors. Having co-founded and exited Fora, a pioneering plant-based butter brand, Aidan has built a career focused on advancing food accessibility, equity, and sustainability. In addition to founding and scaling companies, Aidan partners with VC and M&A funds and brings a hand-on approach to advise startups and corporates on strategies for growth and carbon reduction. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in international relations, global policy, and food security from the University of Michigan
Thoughts & News
Contact
Great Circle Ventures is a proud member of Venture Access Alliance by NYCEDC and part of RECAST Capital program (cohort 8).
