Social Capital, formerly known as Social+Capital Partnership, is a venture capital firm based in Palo Alto, California. The firm specializes in technology startups, providing seed funding, venture capital, and private equity.[1][2]
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Venture capital |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Founders | Chamath Palihapitiya, Mamoon Hamid, Ted Maidenberg |
| Headquarters | Palo Alto, California, United States |
| Products | Investments |
| Website | Official website  |
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
editSocial 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 January 2015, Fortune reported that Kleiner Perkins was in acquisition talks with Social Capital,[5] but the acquisition reportedly fell through.[6] In May 2015, Social Capital raised $600 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.[7][8]
In 2017, Marc Mezvinsky joined Social Capital as vice chairman as it sought to expand beyond traditional venture capital.[9]
In August 2017, Hamid left Social Capital to join Kleiner Perkins as a general partner and managing member.[10]
In spring of 2018, Mezvinsky departed Social Capital. Later in 2018, then-partners Arjun Sethi, Jonathan Hsu, and Ted Maidenberg left the firm to co-found Tribe Capital.[11]
In March 2024, Social Capital fired two of its senior partners, Jay Zaveri and Ravi Tanuku, over fundraising capital in the form of a special purpose vehicle for a startup that is part of their existing investment portfolio, purportedly without the knowledge of Palihapitiya. Several Social Capital employees participated including the firm's General Counsel.[12][13] As of March 2024, Mr. Palihapitiya is the sole investing partner remaining at Social Capital according to Pitchbook records. [14]
Investments
editSocial Capital invested in Yammer in 2011, which was later bought by Microsoft.[7] In 2012, the firm invested in Impermium, which was acquired by Google in 2014.[15] 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 2014, Social Capital also invested in LotusFlare.[16]
In May 2015, the firm was a leading investor in a funding round for Slack Technologies.[17]
Through 2016 and 2017, the firm began a Discover program led by Jay Zaveri to make several investments in climate-related companies UrbanFootprint,[18] Saildrone,[19] Beyond the Dome, and DroneSeed,[20] telecom infrastructure company Eridan,[21] and space technology companies Swarm Technologies[22] and Relativity Space.[23]
In September 2020, their SPAC IPOB merged with Opendoor Technologies with a market cap of $4.8 billion.[24]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Rao, Leena. "Is Social+Capital's Chamath Palihapitiya the future of venture capital?". Fortune. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
- ^ de la MERCED, MICHAEL J. (6 October 2015). "Silicon Valley Investment Funds Still Lack Diversity, Study Shows". New York Times. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
- ^ Arrington, Michael (2011-06-03). "Facebook VP Chamath Palihapitiya Forms New Venture Fund, The Social+Capital Partnership". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
- ^ Kim, Eugene. "These Two Charts Explain Why Kleiner Perkins Wanted To Buy This Four-Year-Old VC Firm". Business Insider. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
- ^ Primack, Dan (January 26, 2015). "Exclusive: Kleiner Perkins tried to 'acquire' Social+Capital Partnership". Fortune. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
- ^ Lynley, Matthew (March 31, 2015). "Why The Kleiner Perkins-Social+Capital Deal Fell Apart". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
- ^ a b Bennett, Drake (2012-07-26). "Social+Capital, the League of Extraordinarily Rich Gentlemen". Archived from the original on July 28, 2012. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
- ^ Bennett, Drake (27 July 2012). "Social+Capital, the League of Extraordinarily Rich Gentlemen". Bloomberg. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
- ^ Chelsea Clinton's Husband Joins Silicon Valley Firm Social Capital
- ^ "Mamoon Hamid to Join Kleiner Perkins as General Partner". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 2022-10-20.
- ^ Verhage, Julie (16 August 2018). "Former Social Capital Partners Make First Investment Since Exit". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ Chapman, Lizette (March 15, 2024). "Social Capital AI Startup Deal Led Palihapitiya to Fire Partners". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on March 18, 2024.
- ^ Kinder, Tabby (March 14, 2024). "Sacked Social Capital partners push back on dismissal over AI investment". Financial Times. Archived from the original on March 14, 2024.
- ^ "Social Capital Overview".
- ^ Shontell, Alyson. "That Big Round Ex-Yahoos Were Raising? It Closed And Here Are The Details". Business Insider. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
- ^ "Corporate Strategy Intern". Workbound. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
- ^ Jeff Bercovici (December 2015). "Slack Is Our Company of the Year. Here's Why Everybody's Talking About It". Inc. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
- ^ Adele Peters. "This SimCity-Like Tool Lets Urban Planners See The Potential Impact Of Their Ideas". Fast Company.
- ^ "Saildrone Inc. Raises $14 Million In Series A Funding To Expand Its Fleet Of Sailing Drones And Ocean Data Services" (Press release). 5 Sep 2016.
- ^ Devin Coldewey (26 November 2018). "That night, a forest flew". Techcrunch.
- ^ "Eridan launches the world's first fully digital 5G radio". 14 February 2020.
- ^ Aaron Pressman. "Satellite Startup Swarm Raises $25 Million For Space-Based Internet Plan". Fortune.
- ^ Boyle, Alan. "Relativity Space lifts the curtain on its plan to make rockets with robotic 3-D printer". GeekWire.
- ^ "Opendoor to go public in Social Capital merger in $4.8 billion deal". Reuters. 2020-09-15. Retrieved 2021-02-09.