Ribbit Capital (company)

Ribbit Capital
Limited Partnership[1]
Industry Venture Capital
Founded 2012
Founder Meyer 'Micky" Malka
Headquarters Palo Alto, California, U.S.
Key people
 Meyer Malka, Nick Shalek, Nikolay Kostov[2]
Website ribbitcap.com

Ribbit Capital, founded in 2012, is a global venture capital firm focused on fintech (financial technology).[3][4] As of 2015, Ribbit had raised $446 million, the fourth-largest amount of money raised among U.S-based venture capital firms started since 2012.[3]

History

The firm was founded by Meyer 'Micky" Malka, a Venezuelan serial entrepreneur,[3] who co-founded the online brokerage Patagon, which sold to Banco Santander SA for $750 million in 2000.[4] In 2015, Malka was the only Latin American founder among the top 20 United States-based venture capital firms.[3]

Ribbit focuses on technology companies involved in lending, payments, insurance, accounting, tax preparation and personal financial management.[1] It generally invests between $2 million and $15 million in early stage financial start ups.[5]

The firm has invested mostly in companies headquartered in the United States, Latin America, and Europe;[3] between 2014 and 2016 Riibit and Redpoint Ventures were the two most active Silicon Valley investors in Brazilian companies.[6]

The firm also invested directly in bitcoin. In 2014, Ribbit, in concert with Social + Capital Partnership, was reported to control 5% of all bitcoins.[4][7] Aside from direct investments in bitcoin, Ribbit has financed five bitcoin companies.[7]

Ribbit raised three funds between 2012 and 2015,[3] including a $100 million fund in 2013,[8] a $125 million fund in 2014[9] and a $226 million fund in 2015.[3]

Ribbit’s investors include SVB Capital, Silicon Valley Bank’s fund of funds group; Sequoia Heritage; Spanish banking group Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.[5] and Iconiq Capital, a wealth management group whose clients include Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Reid Hoffman of LinkedIn. Individual investors include David Lawee of Google Capital and Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 McBride, Sarah (22 June 2013). "Ribbit Capital raises $100 million finance-focused fund". Reuters. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  2. ↑ Rizzo, Pete (30 January 2015). "Ribbit Capital's Micky Malka Talks Bitcoin's Slow Road to Mainstream". CoinDesk. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Sreeharsha, Vinod (10 September 2015). "A Venezuelan in Silicon Valley Finds a Niche in Finance". New York Times. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 Saitto, Serena (28 February 2014). "Bitcoin Bull Holds Firm as Mt. Gox Drags Down Currency". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  5. 1 2 Cheredar, Tom (22 January 2013). "Ribbit Capital lands $100M fund for finance-focused startups". Venture Beat. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  6. ↑ Sreeharsha, Vinod (December 7, 2016). "DST Global Leads $80 Million Private Investment in Nubank". The New York Times.
  7. 1 2 Kirby, Carrie (31 March 2014). "'Micky' Malka on How Bitcoin Can Help the World's Unbanked". Coindesk. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  8. ↑ Duryee, Tricia (22 January 2013). "Ribbit Capital Raises $100 Million With the Goal of Modernizing Money". All Things D. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  9. ↑ O'Neil, Lorena (27 August 2013). "ONE VENEZUELAN'S PLAN TO REINVENT U.S. FINANCIAL SERVICES". Ozy. Retrieved 15 May 2016.


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