- Rocketship.vc — an early-stage venture capital firm that uses data science to democratize venture capital for the global startup community — announced it has raised $100 million for its second fund called Fund II
Rocketship.vc — an early-stage venture capital firm that uses data science to democratize venture capital for the global startup community — announced it has raised $100 million for its second fund called Fund II. This fund is backed by some of the world’s leading investors like Vulcan Capital and Adams Street Partners as well as the family office of Marc Andreesen and Chris Dixon from A16z. And Rocketship’s Fund II more than doubles the size of the firm’s initial fund — which closed in late 2015 at $40 million.
Launched by a team of veteran data scientists and entrepreneurs, Rocketship utilizes machine learning and data science to identify and invest in startups around the world. And the firm’s smart algorithm tracks companies globally using a series of metrics to indicate the probability that a startup will be successful.
Rocketship has invested in 44 companies across seed, A, and B rounds with 46% of investments outside the U.S. Andthe firm’s portfolio companies include Trocafone, NoBroker, Stocard, Moglix, Khatabook, Yulu, Wasabi, and Crosschq. The launch of Fund II will enable Rocketship to continue investing globally across different sectors and company stages, and increase the firm’s number of follow-on investments.
KEY QUOTES:
“Venture Capital is undergoing its biggest shift in decades. As entrepreneurship goes global, firms are recognizing that the traditional Silicon Valley-based networking approach of VC is unable to scale to the new reality of meeting startups wherever they are. Our deep data expertise allows us to take a different approach, leveraging data science, technology and analytics to find the best companies anywhere, at any stage, in any market. We’re excited to be at the forefront of this shift and use our experience to help founders successfully build their companies, regardless of location.”
— Sailesh Ramakrishnan of Rocketship
“Rocketship’s experience in data science is not only key to its investment strategy, but also instrumental in helping our team navigate the challenges of running and scaling a data-driven startup. We were honored when they approached us to invest because it validated through data the progress we had made to drive disruption and growth in our market. To have an investing partner with such extensive data science expertise and founder experience, while still offering a network we can leverage in Silicon Valley is really valuable. Rocketship brings something different to the table than most investors.”
— Guille Freire from Trocafone
