Social Capital (venture capital)

Social Capital
Private
Industry Private equity
Founded 2011
Founder Chamath Palihapitiya
Headquarters Palo Alto, California, United States
Products Venture capital
Total assets $1.2 billion
Website Official website

Social Capital, formerly known as Social+Capital Partnership, is a venture capital firm based in Palo Alto, California,USA. The firm specializes in technology startups, providing seed funding, venture capital and private equity.[1][2]

The firm has "stood out strategically", according to Fortune, "with a focus on...healthcare, financial services and education...when those fields were...neglected by the VC community."[1]

History

Social Capital was founded in 2011 by Chamath Palihapitiya, who had previously worked at Facebook.[1] Mamoon Hamid and Ted Maidenberg also joined the firm that year as General Partners.[3][4]

In 2015, Social Capital raised $500 million in their third and largest venture capital fund.[1] PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel praised Palihapitiya's approach, and as of 2015 served as a limited partner.[5][6]

In January 2015, Fortune reported that Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers was in acquisition talks with Social Capital,[7] but the acquisition reportedly fell through.[8]

Investments

Social Capital invested in Yammer in 2011, which was later bought by Microsoft.[5]

In 2012, the firm invested in Impermium, which was acquired by Google in 2014.[9] Also in 2012, the firm was a venture investor in InstaEDU, acquired by Chegg in 2014. Social Capital led a round of Series B funding for Wave Accounting.

In May 2015, the firm was a leading investor in a funding round for Slack Technologies.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Rao, Leena. "Is Social+Capital's Chamath Palihapitiya the future of venture capital?". Fortune. Fortune. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  2. ↑ de la MERCED, MICHAEL J. "Silicon Valley Investment Funds Still Lack Diversity, Study Shows". New York Times. New York Times. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  3. ↑ Arrington, Michael (2011-06-03). "Facebook VP Chamath Palihapitiya Forms New Venture Fund, The Social+Capital Partnership". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  4. ↑ Kim, Eugene. "These Two Charts Explain Why Kleiner Perkins Wanted To Buy This Four-Year-Old VC Firm". Business Insider. Business Insider. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  5. 1 2 Bennett, Drake (2012-07-26). "Social+Capital, the League of Extraordinarily Rich Gentlemen". Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  6. ↑ Bennett, Drake. "Social+Capital, the League of Extraordinarily Rich Gentlemen". Bloomberg. Bloomberg. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  7. ↑ Primack, Dan (January 26, 2015). "Exclusive: Kleiner Perkins tried to 'acquire' Social+Capital Partnership". Fortune. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  8. ↑ Lynley, Matthew (March 31, 2015). "Why The Kleiner Perkins-Social+Capital Deal Fell Apart". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  9. ↑ Shontell, Alyson. "That Big Round Ex-Yahoos Were Raising? It Closed And Here Are The Details". Business Insider. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  10. ↑ Jeff Bercovici (December 2015). "Slack Is Our Company of the Year. Here's Why Everybody's Talking About It". Inc. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
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