Zeal Capital Partners Closes $82 Million Zeal Fund II, More Than Tripling Assets Under Management in Five Years

Zeal Capital Partners, the leading Washington, D.C.-based venture capital firm, announced the successful close of Zeal Fund II. This milestone brings Zeal’s total assets under management (AUM) to $186 million across three funds, underscoring the firm’s disciplined approach to identifying and scaling high-potential opportunities across financial technology, healthcare, and the future of learning and work. In just five years, Zeal Capital Partners has established itself as a leading early-stage, category-specific investment platform at the intersection of these critical sectors.

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The Zeal Capital Partners team, from left to right, includes Richard Odior, Emily Zhen, Nasir Qadree, Stefanie Thomas Martin, Susannah Burrage, Tom Muscarella and Bianca Phillip. Photographer credit: Angelica and Jacob Tellez.

“The systems-level challenges that have long felt insurmountable — including access to education, economic mobility, financial health, and healthcare — are now among the largest and most urgent market opportunities,” said Nasir Qadree, Founder and Managing Partner. “As innovation accelerates with AI and broader technological shifts, the capital we continue to deploy is critical to scaling solutions that not only deliver outsized returns but also reimagine the very structures that shape our society. Our growth reflects the maturity of our investment platform and our firm’s enduring belief that Inclusive Investing™ defines market leadership.”

The close of Zeal Fund II marks a significant expansion of the firm’s institutional investor base. Zeal's limited partners now include Citi Impact Fund, M&T Bank, MassMutual, Wells Fargo, Zaffre Investments and Spelman College. This milestone demonstrates strong alignment with leading financial institutions, university endowments, pension funds, healthcare and insurance companies, and general partners from some of the most respected venture capital firms, including Scott Sandell, Executive Chairman & Chief Investment Officer at NEA, and Jason Green, Founder & General Partner (Emeritus) of Emergence. Notably, nearly 80% of Zeal’s Fund I investors—including Capricorn Investment Group and Hampton University— continued their investment partnership in Zeal Fund II.

Zeal Fund II will invest in approximately 25 early-stage companies over a four-year investment period, with a strategy designed to lead or co-lead seed-stage financings. The mandate will target initial check sizes between $1 million and $2.3 million, with the option to serve on the Board of Directors when appropriate to support the growth of portfolio companies. In addition, Zeal Fund II will reserve 50% of its committed capital for follow-on investments, ensuring the firm can continue backing its highest-performing companies through subsequent stages of scale.

Across its funds, Zeal has backed more than 40 companies led by management teams reimagining the building blocks of wealth, health, learning, and work. To date, Zeal Fund II has invested in five companies, including Seven Starling, a maternal mental health platform, and Debbie, an innovative B2B fintech company focused on rewarding savings, debt repayment and other positive financial behaviors. Zeal also led the $8 million Series A in Rising Team to scale leadership development and team performance in the modern workplace.

“In a market that rewards discipline, efficiency, and resilience, the confidence of our limited partners allows us to champion bold founders who are building enduring companies,” said Qadree. “We are committed to continuing to deepen our expertise across our three categories, and championing visionary founders who are addressing challenges within critical systems and poised to become tomorrow’s market leaders.”

Zeal’s work sits at the nexus of economic necessity and generational opportunity. The firm’s expanded platform now proves that mission-driven platforms and top-tier returns are not mutually exclusive but inextricably linked. In this defining moment for innovation, Zeal’s disciplined strategy positions the firm at the forefront of three multi-trillion-dollar sectors that will define the next decade of GDP growth and technological disruption:

• Financial Technology: With financial services representing over $4.5 trillion of U.S. GDP and more than 20% of global GDP¹, fintech remains one of the most attractive and scalable investment categories globally. Zeal targets platforms modernizing how individuals and businesses manage, move, and multiply capital—especially in areas where legacy infrastructure fails to meet today’s demands.
• Healthcare: The U.S. healthcare market exceeds $4.9 trillion² annually—accounting for nearly 20% of national GDP³—and is undergoing rapid digitization. Zeal invests in companies that are expanding access, reducing cost, and modernizing care delivery, from maternal health to AI-driven care delivery to tech-enabled behavioral healthcare and beyond.
• The Future of Learning and Work: As workforce dynamics shift, talent development and labor market infrastructure are now critical to national competitiveness. With over $1 trillion spent annually⁴ on education and workforce development in the U.S., Zeal continues to back early-stage businesses that improve upskilling, career mobility, and organizational performance.

With the announcement of Zeal Fund II, Zeal Capital Partners is reaffirming its category leadership by backing companies that are transforming their industries and poised to shape the future of the global economy.

About Zeal Capital Partners:

Zeal Capital Partners, based in Washington, DC, partners with high-growth, early-stage, tech-enabled companies led by exceptional management teams that are rethinking the building blocks of wealth. As a category-specific investment firm, Zeal’s focus areas include the future of learning and work, financial technology, and healthcare.

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¹ BEA Industry Economic Accounts Data, “GDP by Industry” (2025)

² American Medical Association, “Trends in health care spending” (2024)

³ CMS National Health Expenditure Projections, “Historical” (2023)

⁴ Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce, “College Is Just The Beginning” (2015)

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“The systems-level challenges that have long felt insurmountable — including access to education, economic mobility, financial health, and healthcare — are now among the largest and most urgent market opportunities”