Turbine, a liquidity platform driven by data science that provides credit facilities to venture investors, announced it has raised $13 million in Series A funding, co-led by Alpha Edison and TTV Capital and joined by Fin Capital, B Capital, and Sozo Ventures. This funding and the company’s previously unannounced $8.75 million in seed funding bring Turbine’s total funding raised to $121.75 million.
The company also revealed it has secured up to a $100 million warehouse facility from Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) to provide general and limited partners the option to borrow against their existing fund investments, unlocking historically inaccessible capital. The warehouse facility and Turbine’s Seed and Series A funding bring the company’s total financial backing to $121.75 million.
Through Turbine’s lending platform, private equity and venture firms can offer LPs access to the value of their portfolio investments without reducing exposure to these positions. LPs will also have the option to utilize existing investments to make new commitments to new fund vintages or SPV allocations and to fulfill capital calls for existing commitments. Turbine partners directly with firms to underwrite and secure portfolios, enabling seamless and cost-effective lending.
Turbine’s first-of-its-kind underwriting platform leverages machine learning and data science to complete months of manual processes in days. Data insights produce accurate and insightful results on fund performance and monetary value for underwriting teams.
Turbine’s founding team and advisory board have decades of expertise in financial services and venture capital, including previous experience at Silicon Valley Bank, City National Bank, and multiple fintech companies. The company is led by Mike Hurst, a repeat fintech founder, startup advisor, and investor who previously served as founder and CEO of Exactuals, the global payments leader for the entertainment industry.
Turbine’s equity capital infusion will be used to fully deploy its warehouse line and expand the company’s data science team, allowing the venture ecosystem to utilize unique insights. The company aims to rapidly onboard seasoned funds led by repeat fund managers with strong track records.
KEY QUOTES:
“The broader private equity market, inclusive of venture and real estate funds, accounts for more than $13 trillion in capital globally. Substantially all of this capital base is locked away in illiquid general and limited partnership positions. Venture capital and private equity returns are among the highest of any asset class, but liquidity has been extremely limited and unpredictable. By empowering alternative asset investors to access their capital on their own schedule, Turbine will unlock increased investment to high performance funds. We are proud to bring this solution to market with the backing of world-class fintech investors, and with the guidance and partnership of Silicon Valley Bank.”
- Mike Hurst, Founder and CEO of Turbine
“Investors have long had to manage the trade-off between outsized returns and flexible liquidity. Turbine breaks this tradeoff. With Turbine, investors will benefit from the same set of leverage and liquidity tools found in public markets and real estate. We are thrilled to solve this challenge for the venture ecosystem and to create the foundation for the future of private assets. The team at Turbine, whom we have come to know and trust over the past decade, is uniquely suited to solve this problem at scale.”
- Nate Redmond, Managing Partner at Alpha Edison
“Our investment approach has always been to identify the problem first, and then seek out companies that are working on a solution. That’s exactly what Mike did with Exactuals when we invested over a decade ago, and it’s the same playbook that he’s using today. The founding team at Turbine has a proven track record of success, and we’re confident in their ability to bring their liquidity platform to market and scale the business.”
- Gardiner Garrard, Co-founder and Managing Partner at TTV Capital
“Through its innovative lending platform, Turbine is helping venture investors address liquidity challenges by allowing funds to provide flexibility to their investors. SVB is thrilled to continue our strong relationship with Turbine, and we look forward to helping it succeed and scale since the team provides a critical resource for private equity and venture firms.”
- Brian Foley, Market Manager of Warehouse Lending at Silicon Valley Bank
