The VC Who Bet On The Load-Bearing Walls Of The American Workforce
Key takeaways
- Forbes Women The VC Who Bet On The Load-Bearing Walls Of The American Workforce By Geri Stengel,
- Venture capital has long treated childcare as a social issue rather than a labor market one.
- Her firm recently closed an oversubscribed $78.8 million inaugural fund to back founders building exactly that.
Forbes Women The VC Who Bet On The Load-Bearing Walls Of The American Workforce By Geri Stengel,
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Geri Stengel writes about the success factors of women entrepreneurs. Follow Author Jun 26, 2026, 07:00am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Summary Ashley Bittner's Kalos Ventures is disrupting venture capital by funding the overlooked "care infrastructure" supporting the workforce, a sector traditionally ignored by VCs. Her firm recently closed an oversubscribed $78.8 million fund to invest in critical areas like childcare, leave management, and aging-in-place technology. Bittner argues this $648 billion "care economy" is the invisible foundation of the American workforce. Kalos's portfolio companies, such as Mirza, Tilt, and Rosarium Health, tackle complex regulatory challenges, which Bittner views as a competitive moat rather than a barrier. This conviction-driven approach, focusing on structural needs rather than trends, positions Kalos to address evolving demographic shifts and workforce changes, with the broader market now recognizing the immense value in these essential, yet complex, solutions.
The $648 billion care economy starts here. Venture capital has long treated childcare as a social issue rather than a labor market one. Ashley Bittner of Kalos Ventures is betting that distinction is the mispricing of a generation.gettyAshley Bittner saw what most venture capitalists missed: The systems that make work possible were collapsing, and nobody was funding the fix.