Interlagos, a venture capital firm started by former SpaceX senior executives, has raised $550 million in its first venture fund, according to regulatory filings and confidential documents sent to prospective LPs and viewed by TechCrunch. It is said that they are aiming to procure it.
The company's existence was first reported by TechCrunch in April, but to date, little has been made public about the company's future investment thesis. El Segundo-based Interlagos is broadly targeting startups in the “deep tech” space, according to people familiar with the company's plans. The company will provide funding from inception through Series B, with a target amount of $550 million spread across 26 to 32 investments, the deck states.
This is a big goal for a first-time fund, and the team recognizes it. “We have the scale to lead and become a permanent capital partner for large companies,” the pitch deck states.
The filing does not yet indicate how much money the partners have secured so far, but the company has reached a first closing on a portion of its $550 million target, according to people familiar with the matter. That's what it means. LP candidates are undoubtedly attracted to the founding team's authentic attitude. Among them is Achal Upadhyaya, who spent 10 years as a senior engineer at SpaceX before leading space and defense investments at Cantos Ventures. Tom Ochinello is a former SpaceX executive who left the company in March after 10 years with the company. Spencer Hemphill, former Sequoia finance leader and CFO of Interlagos;
General partners also play a unique role in the game. This is a common structure for VC firms. The two have each committed to investing a 2% “commitment” to the general partner, which refers to their personal funds committed to the fund as investors, according to the documents. The remaining terms of the fund also appear to be industry standard. A 2% management fee, a 20-25% carry means how much of the return the fund keeps, and it pursues deals that give it an 18-25% stake in the startups it supports. .
Ochinello reported directly to SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and was “personally responsible for more than $1 billion in annual revenue” at the company, according to a biography published in 2023. Mr. Upadhyaya, in particular, has extensive experience working with deep tech startups as a corporate executive. According to Deck, he is an angel and venture capitalist. In his role at Cantos, he led the first investments in unmanned defense systems startup Neros Technologies and quantum mechanics startup SoloPulse, as well as seed rounds in Shinkei Systems and Pilgrim. His personal investments include Base Power, composites startup Layup, and Oxide Computer.
Upadhyaya did not respond to TechCrunch's request for comment by the time of publication.
Deep tech is an umbrella term that includes fields such as space, manufacturing, robotics, biotechnology, and AI, and has seen increased interest from VCs in recent years. Deep tech companies tend to require more up-front capital and have longer exit timelines, leading to the rise of specialized funds, often made up of technology partners. Still, if Interlagos can raise its full goal, it would be an exception to the recent VC slump that has made it difficult to raise capital. It's also likely to position the firm to compete successfully with large funds like Founders Fund and Andreessen Horowitz, which have been aggressive in early-stage deals with deep tech VCs.