Collide Capital, founded by Brian Hollins and Aaron Samuels, announced Thursday the closing of its $95 million Fund II. Founded in 2021, the company supports early-stage companies in fintech, supply chain, and the future of work.
Since closing its first $66 million Fund I in 2022, it has supported 75 companies. Hollins said it took about 13 months to raise this latest fund, which he hopes to roll out over the next three-and-a-half years. While things are tough for many emerging fund managers, the Collide Capital team has a proven track record and strong pedigree (Mr. Hollins spent 10 years at Goldman, Lightspeed and Slow; Mr. Samuels worked at Bain, Lightspeed and co-founded Afrotech, one of the world's largest technology conferences).
Fund II's limited partners (LPs) include the University of California Endowment (UC Regents), which backed the last fund, Accolade Partners, Fairview Capital, Goldman Sachs, and JP Morgan. The average size of the checks will be between $1 million and $3 million, and the team hopes to support at least 30 companies, and the checks have already been reduced to five. (The company also has other companies in its portfolio, such as Culina Health and Helios).
“We are most interested in platforms that enable automation, real-time collaboration, and faster data-driven decision-making,” Hollins said.
Hollins and Samuels said that apart from technology, the company is also excited about expanding its Collide Campus program, launched in 2022 to help mentor the next generation of founders and venture capitalists. Expansion is separate from funding. The program includes an undergraduate initiative that trains students in venture capital and entrepreneurship, as well as a graduate fellowship program where students work with the Collide team as investors and apprentices.
The undergraduate campus program is available at more than 20 campuses, including Harvard University and Johns Hopkins University, and Samuels said more than 50 students have gone through the program and gone on to top jobs at companies such as General Catalyst and, of course, Collide. Overall, this program helps companies source deals and talent. Samuels said she started the program because she wished it had existed when she was a student.
“We connect the brightest talent with venture capital to match their grit and determination to build the businesses the world needs,” he said.
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