Social Capital (venture capital)

For the sociological term, see Social capital.
Social Capital
Company typePrivate
IndustryVenture capital
Founded2011; 13 years ago (2011)
FoundersChamath Palihapitiya, Mamoon Hamid, Ted Maidenberg
HeadquartersPalo Alto, California, United States
ProductsInvestments
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata

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]

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

Social 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

Social 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

  1. ^ a b c d Rao, Leena. "Is Social+Capital's Chamath Palihapitiya the future of venture capital?". Fortune. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  2. ^ de la MERCED, MICHAEL J. (6 October 2015). "Silicon Valley Investment Funds Still Lack Diversity, Study Shows". New York Times. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  3. ^ Arrington, Michael (2011-06-03). "Facebook VP Chamath Palihapitiya Forms New Venture Fund, The Social+Capital Partnership". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  4. ^ Kim, Eugene. "These Two Charts Explain Why Kleiner Perkins Wanted To Buy This Four-Year-Old VC Firm". Business Insider. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  5. ^ Primack, Dan (January 26, 2015). "Exclusive: Kleiner Perkins tried to 'acquire' Social+Capital Partnership". Fortune. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  6. ^ Lynley, Matthew (March 31, 2015). "Why The Kleiner Perkins-Social+Capital Deal Fell Apart". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Bennett, Drake (27 July 2012). "Social+Capital, the League of Extraordinarily Rich Gentlemen". Bloomberg. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  9. ^ Chelsea Clinton's Husband Joins Silicon Valley Firm Social Capital
  10. ^ "Mamoon Hamid to Join Kleiner Perkins as General Partner". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 2022-10-20.
  11. ^ Verhage, Julie (16 August 2018). "Former Social Capital Partners Make First Investment Since Exit". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ "Social Capital Overview".
  15. ^ Shontell, Alyson. "That Big Round Ex-Yahoos Were Raising? It Closed And Here Are The Details". Business Insider. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  16. ^ "Corporate Strategy Intern". Workbound. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  17. ^ Jeff Bercovici (December 2015). "Slack Is Our Company of the Year. Here's Why Everybody's Talking About It". Inc. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  18. ^ Adele Peters. "This SimCity-Like Tool Lets Urban Planners See The Potential Impact Of Their Ideas". Fast Company.
  19. ^ "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.
  20. ^ Devin Coldewey (26 November 2018). "That night, a forest flew". Techcrunch.
  21. ^ "Eridan launches the world's first fully digital 5G radio". 14 February 2020.
  22. ^ Aaron Pressman. "Satellite Startup Swarm Raises $25 Million For Space-Based Internet Plan". Fortune.
  23. ^ Boyle, Alan. "Relativity Space lifts the curtain on its plan to make rockets with robotic 3-D printer". GeekWire.
  24. ^ "Opendoor to go public in Social Capital merger in $4.8 billion deal". Reuters. 2020-09-15. Retrieved 2021-02-09.