David Grayzel

David Grayzel is a physician-turned-venture capitalist and a Partner at Atlas Venture, an early-stage biotech venture firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He earned a B.A. with honors from Stanford University and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School, then completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. His investment focus is on novel therapeutics, frequently drug programs that are near to first-in-human clinical testing.

Before joining Atlas, Grayzel gained operating experience on the executive team at Infinity Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: INFI), where he served as head of clinical development and medical affairs, overseeing the company's clinical research activities. Earlier, he was Director of Corporate Development and Business Operations at Dyax Corp (roughly 2000–2002). This blend of clinical training and drug-development leadership underpins his approach as an investor who builds and often runs the companies he backs.

Since joining Atlas Venture in 2010, Grayzel has repeatedly co-founded companies and stepped in as CEO or board chair. He co-founded and served as CEO of Arteaus Therapeutics (acquired by Eli Lilly in 2014) and Annovation Biopharma (acquired by The Medicines Company in 2015), and was a founding board member of Delinia (acquired by Celgene in 2017) and Cadent Therapeutics (acquired by Novartis in 2021). He is a co-founder and board member of Q32 Bio (NASDAQ: QTTB), Vima Therapeutics, and TRIANA Biomedicines, and also serves on the boards of Affinia Therapeutics, Comanche Biopharma, and Trace Neuroscience, along with several stealth companies. His past board roles include Aerovate Therapeutics, Surface Oncology, Xilio Therapeutics, and Day One Biopharmaceuticals.

• Invests in novel therapeutics, "often those that are near to first in human clinical testing" — favoring programs with a clear scientific rationale and a defined path into the clinic.
• Practices company creation / build-to-buy: co-founds newcos around a single high-conviction asset, often serving as founding CEO or board chair rather than a passive check-writer.
• Focuses on immune-system biology (autoimmunity and oncology), neuroscience and movement disorders, and other high-unmet-need drug programs.
• Backs seed and Series A rounds through Atlas, typically leading and syndicating with specialist crossover/biotech investors (e.g., OrbiMed, Access Industries, Canaan).
• Values capital-efficient, milestone-driven structures — Atlas's "disciplined" model of tightly-scoped newcos designed to reach a value-inflecting clinical or partnership event.