Social Capital (venture capital)

Social Capital
Private
Industry Private equity
Founded 2011
Founder Chamath Palihapitiya
Headquarters Palo Alto, California
Products Venture capital
Total assets $1.2 billion
Website Official website

Social Capital, formerly known as Social+Capital Partnership, is a venture capital firm based in Palo Alto, California. The firm specializes in technology startups, providing seed funding, venture capital and private equity.[1][2]

The firm has "stood out strategically", according to Fortune, "with a focus on...healthcare, financial services and education...when those fields were...neglected by the VC community."[1]

History

Social Capital was founded in 2011 by Chamath Palihapitiya, after previously working at Facebook.[1] Mamoon Hamid and Ted Maidenberg also joined the firm that year as General Partners.[3][4]

In 2015, Social Capital raised $500 million in their third and largest venture capital fund.[1] PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel praised Palihapitiya's approach, and as of 2015 served as a limited partner.[5][6]

Former Yahoo executive and CEO of SurveyMonkey, Dave Goldberg, said about the firm's approach: "Chamath genuinely wants to make an impact on the world."[1]

Kleiner Perkins acquisition talks

In January 2015, Fortune reported that Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers was in acquisition talks with Social Capital.[7] In March 2015, TechCrunch reported that the acquisition talks had fallen apart. According to TechCrunch, the Social Capital team wanted to come in and reorganize KPCB as part of the acquisition deal, and John Doerr and the other partners at KPCB were unwilling to let Social Capital take over the firm.[8]

Investments

Social Capital invested in Yammer in 2011, which was later bought by Microsoft.[5]

In 2012, the firm invested in Impermium, which was acquired by Google in 2014.[9] Also in 2012, the firm was a venture investor in InstaEDU, acquired by Chegg in 2014. Social+Capital led a round of Series B funding for Wave Accounting.

In 2014, the firm was a leading investor in a $42.75M funding round for Slack Technologies.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Rao, Leena. "Is Social+Capital's Chamath Palihapitiya the future of venture capital?". Fortune. Fortune. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  2. ↑ de la MERCED, MICHAEL J. "Silicon Valley Investment Funds Still Lack Diversity, Study Shows". New York Times. New York Times. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  3. ↑ Arrington, Michael (2011-06-03). "Facebook VP Chamath Palihapitiya Forms New Venture Fund, The Social+Capital Partnership". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  4. ↑ Kim, Eugene. "These Two Charts Explain Why Kleiner Perkins Wanted To Buy This Four-Year-Old VC Firm". Business Insider. Business Insider. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  5. 1 2 Bennett, Drake (2012-07-26). "Social+Capital, the League of Extraordinarily Rich Gentlemen". Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  6. ↑ Bennett, Drake. "Social+Capital, the League of Extraordinarily Rich Gentlemen". Bloomberg. Bloomberg. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  7. ↑ Primack, Dan (January 26, 2015). "Exclusive: Kleiner Perkins tried to 'acquire' Social+Capital Partnership". Fortune. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  8. ↑ Lynley, Matthew (March 31, 2015). "Why The Kleiner Perkins-Social+Capital Deal Fell Apart". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  9. ↑ Shontell, Alyson. "That Big Round Ex-Yahoos Were Raising? It Closed And Here Are The Details". Business Insider. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
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