Kapor Capital has closed its largest fund to date, a $126 million investment vehicle set to back early-stage founders of color and social impact ventures. The new fund, which has been in the works since February 2021, was raised by managing partners Uriridiakoghene “Ulili” Onovakpuri and Brian Dixon, who succeeded the firm’s co-founders Mitch Kapor and Freada Kapor Klein earlier this year.
The fund signals a change in how Kapor Capital does business: Beyond being the first that is led by the two newly announced managing partners, Fund 3 is the first investment vehicle funded by outside investors (not just the co-founders).
Dixon and Onovakpuri have been busy investing out of the fund, which previously closed a $97.5 million tranche earlier this year. The firm says that the new fund already backs 15 companies, including Daylight, a digital banking platform for the LGBT+ community and TomoCredit, a credit card trying to disrupt the credit score last valued at $222 million.
Both investors have a long history of making venture capital more inclusive and accessible. Dixon, for example, was the first participant in Kapor Capital’s summer associate program. The fintech and edtech investor then became one of the first and youngest African-American partners at any Silicon Valley venture capital firm, including Kapor Capital, the firm says. Onovakpuri, meanwhile, founded Kapor’s Capital Fellows program and has worked at firms including Village Capital and Fresco Capital. Both have spent the past year with the managing partner role on their resume, but with the Kapors formally stepping back, the investors could see their influence grow when it comes to firm strategy, LP concentration and new investments.
In a previous interview with TechCrunch, Dixon said he wanted to increase the number of founders who identify as women and/or an underrepresented person of color in the portfolio to above 50%; with this fund, 46% of investments have a founder who identifies as a woman, 53% of investments have a founder who identifies as Black and all investments have a founder who identifies as an underrepresented person of color. The statistics surpass last year’s count, in which 59% of the companies in Kapor Capital’s portfolio had a a founder who identifies as a woman and/or an underrepresented person of color.
It’s a strong debut for a firm, previously led by two history-makers in venture, hoping to enter its second generation.
For a full Q&A with the firm’s managing partners, read our follow up story, here.
https://techcrunch.com/2022/08/10/founders-whales-and-the-sea-change-in-the-entrepreneurial-energy/?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=WPunit
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