Early-stage enterprise agency A* on Tuesday introduced a $450 million Fund III. The agency takes a generalist strategy, backing firms throughout classes together with AI functions, fintech, healthcare, and safety.
The typical verify dimension for this fund shall be between $3 million and $5 million, with the purpose to again a minimum of 30 startups. The capital shall be deployed over the subsequent two to 3 years, as with the agency’s earlier funds. Restricted companions embrace nonprofits, foundations, and endowments; Carnegie Mellon College is among the many publicly named backers.
A*, based in 2020 and run by Kevin Hartz and Bennet Siegel, beforehand raised a $315 million Fund II in 2024 and a $300 million Fund I in 2021. Hartz is a serial entrepreneur finest recognized for co-founding Xoom, the worldwide money-transfer service PayPal later acquired for $1.1 billion in 2015, and Eventbrite, the event-ticketing platform that went public in 2018.
The agency has additionally drawn consideration for backing unusually younger founders, even because the apply has change into extra widespread since. Hartz told TechCrunch last fall that shut to twenty% of the agency’s present portfolio contain teenage entrepreneurs. Amongst others of its investments, it has backed the fintech firm Ramp and the AI agency Mercor.
This story was up to date to make clear the title of the agency.
