Inspired Capital celebrates its fifth birthday with the closing of Inspired Capital Fund III with capital commitments of $330 million. This new amount brings the company’s total assets under management to nearly $900 million.
The New York-based early-stage venture firm was founded in 2019 by entrepreneurs Alexa von Tobel and Penny Pritzker. They went on to raise $200 million for a debut fund and then $281 million for its second fund in 2021. Partner Lucy Deland and COO Mark Batsiyan are also co-founders.
Fund III is backed by institutional investors, including leading funds, pensions and foundations.
“For me it’s a real ‘pinch moment,’ because I’ve decided to dedicate the next several decades of my career to finding the entrepreneurs who want to completely change what’s possible,” von Tobel told TechCrunch. “Venture capital, when used properly, is actually the most powerful economic engine the world has ever seen. And when real project managers are properly developed, it’s one of the most powerful ways to change the world.”
Inspired Capital leads pre-production Series A investments in what von Tobel, managing partner, described as “fearless founders solving the toughest challenges facing humanity.” The company writes checks between $1 million and $15 million.
He has amassed a portfolio of more than 50 companies that have gone on to raise a cumulative capital of $1.5 billion. Notable investments include real estate tech startup Habi, now valued at $1 billion. employee-owned company Teamshares. business banking company Rho; and Paytient, which has developed a system to make healthcare payments over time.
Like previous funds, von Tobel expects to invest in 25 to 30 companies with the third fund, which will be about 10 investments a year.
Inspired Capital will also continue to invest in a broad range of companies that are building “A Inspired Future,” which is the company’s thesis around “innovations that move the world dramatically forward.” This could include, for example, the digitization of the industrial economy, the re-equipment of the modern workforce, the level of internet monetization, unlocking the potential of artificial intelligence, and economic equilibrium in an unstable society.
As part of the new fund, Inspired Capital wrote a manifesto that outlines how the venture capital firm thinks, what it believes in and what it’s looking for. Among them is how the company likes to build huge companies that take very big risks and solve huge problems, von Tobel said.
“There will always be huge, meaty problems to solve for humanity,” he said. “We’re looking for founders who are fearless, reject the status quo and believe the world deserves better. Entrepreneurs who want to do things that matter know that we are here and ready and waiting to be their partners and teammates. In a way, it’s like we’re getting back to the nitty-gritty of what the venture really is.”
