Collide Capital raises $95M fund to back fintech, future-of-work startups

Collide Capital, founded by Brian Hollins and Aaron Samuels, announced Thursday the adjacent of a $95 cardinal Fund II. The firm, founded successful 2021, backs early-stage companies successful fintech, proviso chain, and the aboriginal of work. 

It’s backed 75 companies to day aft closing its inaugural $66 cardinal Fund I successful 2022. Hollins said it took them astir 13 months to rise this latest fund, which they anticipation to deploy implicit the adjacent 3.5 years. The scenery for galore emerging money managers is tough, but the Collide Capital squad comes with a way grounds and beardown pedigree (Hollins spent a decennary astatine Goldman, Lightspeed, and Slow, portion Samuels worked astatine Bain, Lightspeed, and co-founded AfroTech, 1 of the largest tech conferences successful the world). 

Limited partners (LPs) successful Fund II see the University of California Endowment (UC Regents) — which anchored their past money — Accolade Partners, Fairview Capital, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan. The mean cheque size volition beryllium betwixt $1 cardinal and $3 million, and the squad hopes to backmost astatine slightest 30 companies, having already chopped checks to five. (Other companies successful the firm’s portfolio see Culina Health and Helios). 

“We’re astir funny successful platforms enabling automation, real‑time collaboration, and faster, data‑driven determination making,” Hollins said. 

Aside from technology, Hollis and Samuels said the steadfast is besides excited to grow its Collide Campus program, launched successful 2022 to assistance mentor the adjacent procreation of founders and task capitalists. The enlargement is abstracted from the money raise. The programme encompasses an undergraduate inaugural that trains students successful VC and entrepreneurship, and a postgraduate fellowship programme that sees students moving alongside the Collide squad arsenic investors and apprentices. 

The undergraduate field programme is connected much than 20 campuses, including Harvard and John Hopkins, and Samuels said much than 50 students person passed done the programme truthful acold and person landed apical jobs astatine places similar General Catalysts and, of course, Collide. Overall, the programme helps the steadfast root deals and talent. Samuels said they started the programme arsenic it was thing they wished they had erstwhile they were students. 

“We’re connecting the champion and the brightest with task superior to lucifer their grit and determination to physique businesses the satellite needs,” helium said.