Fundraising

Future Positive Capital raises $57.1 mln for maiden venture-capital fund

Future Positive Capital has raised $57.1 million toward a $112 million initial venture-capital fund, according to a filing with the SEC.

Demeter Capital gathers over $27.3 mln for sophomore fund

Demeter Capital has raised over $27.3 million for its second fund, according to an SEC filing. No target was listed in the document. Based in New York City and Mexico City, Demeter invests in the agribusiness sector.

Yes VC, seeking $50 mln, holds interim close for inaugural fund

San Francisco-based Yes VC has raised $10.755 million toward a $50 million target for its inaugural fund, according to a regulatory filing. The filing reports 44 investors have so far backed the firm, which makes pre-seed and seed-stage investments. The firm was launched last year by Caterina Fake and Jyri Engeström and this year added David Pickerell as an associate.

SaaStr co-founder Mallun Yen seeks $30 mln for Operator Collective

Mallun Yen, co-founder of the blogging platform SaaStr, is seeking to raise $30 million for a venture fund called Operator Collective, according to a regulatory filing. The fund has not yet raised any commitments.

Obvious Ventures seeks third fund on the heels of its Beyond Meat win

M3 Ventures to raise $75 mln venture-capital fund

M3 Ventures has set out to raise a $75 million third venture-capital fund, according to a filing with the SEC.

Disruption teams up with The Big Push to fund women-led startups

Canadian women-focused venture capital firm Disruption Ventures has agreed to partner with The Big Push to provide women-led technology startups with access to expert resources and early-stage financing. The initiative will see Disruption invest $500,000 to $2 million in seed-stage or Series A financings of startups working with The Big Push, a Canadian accelerator focused on female entrepreneurs. Based in Toronto, The Big Push is led by senior executives who help prepare women founders for investment through a service-for-equity model. As reported by PE Hub Canada, Disruption recently closed its debut deal, investing in vacation-rentals software provider Hostfully.

MIT Solve targets $30 mln for fund

MIT Solve, an initiative of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is seeking to raise $30 million for its new philanthropic venture fund that focuses on early-stage entrepreneurs solving global challenges. Noubar Afeyan, founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering and MIT Corporation member, is committing up to $3 million to the fund.

Radical Ventures unveils $350 mln AI-focused fund

Radical Ventures has launched a $350 million fund focused mostly on artificial intelligence. The fund's limited partners include Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, TD Bank Group and Wittington Investments Limited.

CPPIB, PSP anchor launch of Radical Ventures' $470 mln AI fund

Radical Ventures, a Canadian venture capital firm focused on artificial intelligence (AI), has launched a new fund with a target of about $470 million (US$350 million). The fund's cornerstone limited partners include Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments), TD Bank Group and Wittington Investments Ltd. Radical was founded in 2017 by Jordan Jacobs, Tomi Poutanen, Benji Sucher and Maks Volkovs, previously executives with Toronto-based AI startup Layer 6, acquired in 2018 by TD. Radical's new fund will make early-stage and growth investments in mostly Canadian companies developing AI products or applying AI to create a competitive advantage in large markets.