Marcy Venture Partners, cofounded by Jay-Z, just closed its second fund with $325 million – TechCrunch
Marcy Venture Partners, the enterprise agency cofounded in 2018 by Shawn Carter (Jay-Z), former Roc Nation CEO Jay Brown, and former Walden VC normal companion Larry Marcus, says it has closed its second fund with $325 million in capital commitments. The crew, which closed its debut fund with $85 million, is now managing $600 million in belongings altogether, says cofounder Marcus.
The agency describes itself as having a “shopper, tradition and optimistic influence” funding technique, and it says nearly all of its current portfolio firms are based or run by individuals who determine as girls or folks of coloration.
Thus far, the trio has written checks to not less than 21 firms, together with in trend, skincare, and meals firms. Amongst these many bets contains Rihanna’s lingerie firm Savage X Fenty; the sneaker market StockX; Therabody, which makes percussion remedy instruments; Simulate, which makes plant-based, chicken-flavored nuggets; and an allergen-free cookie maker referred to as Partake Meals.
Carter and firm have additionally begun investing in crypto tasks, supporting Bitski, a San Francisco-based startup NFT market, earlier this 12 months, and investing extra just lately in spatial LABS (sLABS), a tech incubator that focuses on the metaverse and blockchain-based merchandise.
The San Francisco- and L.A.-based agency, named after the Marcy Tasks in Brooklyn the place Carter grew up, was initially focusing on $200 million for the most recent fund, per an SEC filing from April.
The agency is only one of many, many enterprise pursuits for Carter, after all. For instance, he owns half of the champagne model Armand de Brignac, identified familiarly as Ace of Spades. He acquired the label for an undisclosed sum in 2014; in February of this 12 months, Moet Hennessy purchased half the corporate for phrases that weren’t disclosed.
Carter additionally owned Tidal, a streaming music service that he’d purchased in 2015 and renamed (and reshaped), earlier than promoting a “important majority” of the corporate to the monetary companies big Sq. for $297 million in money and inventory again in March. He launched Monogram, a hashish model, final December. And, after all, he famously based the sprawling Roc Nation, a full-service leisure firm that has its tentacles in every little thing from artist and athlete administration, to labels, publishing, touring, movie, and tv, amongst different ventures.
