Seae Ventures will acquire Unseen Capital following the death of founder Kayode Owens in 2021. The combined company will continue to invest in healthcare for minority and underserved populations.
Owens, an investor and entrepreneur, founded Unseen Capital in 2020, focusing on early-stage healthcare companies launched by underrepresented founders. He raised $30 million but sadly passed away from cancer in August 2021.
Over time, Unseen's lead limited partner, Eli Lilly, realized the company could not survive without Owens' leadership.
While it's unusual for a venture firm to acquire another company, Eli Lilly began looking for a new buyer for Unseen. The company considered several candidates, but See Ventures, a diversity-focused venture capital firm backed by the pharmaceutical giant, stood out as the perfect buyer.
Boston-based Seae said Tuesday it had acquired Unseen Capital, bringing its total assets under management to $200 million.
When Eli Lilly approached Sea co-founders Jason Robert and Tuoyo Ruiz about becoming general partners at Unseen, it was an opportunity they couldn't say no to.
“Our mission is to serve traditionally underserved and vulnerable populations, with a focus on women and BIPOC. [Black, Indigenous, and People of Color] “The vision of the founders was also Unseen's mission,” Robert told TechCrunch. “Bringing the two together allows us to continue to honor and strive to realize Kayode's vision and our vision, and really make it happen with our combined strengths.”
Robert and Tuoyo founded Seae in 2019 after more than five years running Zaffre Investments, the corporate venture arm of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.
“From my experience at Blue Cross, I knew there were some very attractive businesses out there that were making high margins serving traditionally underserved and vulnerable populations,” Roberts says. “The health care system really needed to step up in these areas, and we thought we could make a difference.”
Seae Ventures was founded in 2019 and closed its first $107 million fund in early 2022. The firm is currently raising a second $150 million fund, according to an SEC filing.
Its portfolio companies include Tia, a digital technology company for women that has transformed into an in-person medical clinic, and Needed, which offers dietary supplements and other natural nutritional products for women before, during and after pregnancy.
While Seae and Unseen target similar customer demographics, the companies they invest in are at slightly different stages of development: Robart and Tuoyo use their experience working with large health systems to help startups secure contracts with large healthcare organizations and hospitals, whereas Seae invests in startups that already have a product and have raised a Series A or a large seed round.
But Unseen focuses on pre-seed and early-seed companies that aren't yet ready to sell to health systems, Roberts said.
“Unseen's surviving team did a great job continuing Kayode's vision,” but they moved on to other opportunities after Owens' death, Roberts said. See also brought in Erica Murdoch, a veteran health care operator and former founder, to lead Unseen's strategy, which will include investing in pre-seed and very early stage companies as well as managing Unseen's existing portfolio companies.
In addition to supporting emerging minority-founded healthcare companies, Seae Ventures continues to honor Owens’ vision through a fellowship named in his honor and a scholarship fund for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).