- Torch Capital announced it has closed over $200 million in new capital.
Torch Capital – a New York-based early-stage VC fund – announced the closing of over $200 million in new capital to continue investing in the next generation of disruptive tech-enabled brands and platforms shifting consumer behavior and powering the consumer ecosystem.
Torch has established itself as one of the best-performing consumer tech funds in NYC since launching in 2018. And with its latest fundraising announcement bringing the firm’s total AUM to over $400 million. Torch has a track record of investing early in some rapidly growing companies across the consumer ecosystem like Ro (Roman), Acorns, Highsnobiety (acquired by Zalando), Tia, Naadam, Rho Banking, Sollis Health, and Lili Bank.
Since the start of his career, Torch founder and managing partner Jonathan Keidan have built a reputation as a taste-maker. Prior to entering venture capital, Keidan co-founded the digital media company InsideHook and spent time at McKinsey in their TMT practice. And he started his career as a manager in the music industry, discovering talent and nurturing the careers of young artists, songwriters, and producers. With an innate ability to spot and develop up-and-coming musical talent, working early with artists like John Legend, The Dave Matthews Band, and songwriters for Robbie Williams, Christina Aguilera, and Enrique Iglesias, Keidan is now applying the same eye for talent to entrepreneurs.
Keidan’s early investments include Compass (IPO 2021), Digital Ocean (IPO 2021), Sweetgreen (IPO 2021), and Zocdoc, with several other early investments being strategically acquired over recent years including Say (acquired by Robinhood), Swarm (acquired by SpaceX), Sir Kensington’s (acquired by Unilever), and Parcel (acquired by Walmart).
And Torch is backed by some of the world’s leading founders, operators and institutional investors including Silas Chou (consumer investor behind Michael Kors, Tommy Hilfiger, and Aston Martin F1), James Murdoch (Former Chairman & CEO, 21st Century Fox), Bob Pittman (Chairman & CEO, iHeartMedia), Bob Hurst (Former Vice Chairman, Goldman Sachs and Vice Chairman, Clearview), Brynn Putnam (Founder, Mirror), Diplo (Grammy award-winning and renowned DJ, producer and artist), and Jenny Fleiss (Co-Founder, Rent the Runway).
Torch has already seen this thesis translate into early success across Fund II with seed investments including Embed, the next-gen clearing and custody platform, which was recently acquired, and Little Otter, a rapidly growing mental health platform for kids and their families that recently closed a significant Series A led by Charles River Ventures.
KEY QUOTES:
“Consumer markets remain one of the largest and most disruptable spaces in the world. As technology evolves, consumer behavior is constantly shifting, creating huge opportunities to build value in more parts of their lives than ever before. We back companies transforming entire consumer verticals, using technology to make products and services more accessible, transparent, and affordable.”
“Our investment lens has always been razor focused on brand and a company’s ability to create and sustain deep relationships and trust with their end-consumer. To do so, we work in the trenches with our entrepreneurs to help them identify, nurture and scale their audience bases.”
“As technology becomes more commoditized and B2B becomes more consumerized, we view a company’s brand stack as a critical driver of value creation for consumers, SMB’s and larger enterprises.”
— Torch Founder and Managing Partner, Jonathan Keidan
