Simon Hu
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Mustard Seed MAZE is a Lisbon-based VC firm that invests in early-stage startups, primarily in social impact enterprises. Endowed with €40m, the VC has invested in projects dealing with food wastage, human trafficking, postnatal depression and general healthcare.So far, it has managed one exit, with the majority of its portfolio of 20 companies based in Europe. Recent investment rounds include $3m seed funding for Portuguese mesh network tech HypeLabs, €1.15m seed round for Spanish fintech StudentFinance and $12m Series B round for UK-based food waste app Winnow.
Mustard Seed MAZE is a Lisbon-based VC firm that invests in early-stage startups, primarily in social impact enterprises. Endowed with €40m, the VC has invested in projects dealing with food wastage, human trafficking, postnatal depression and general healthcare.So far, it has managed one exit, with the majority of its portfolio of 20 companies based in Europe. Recent investment rounds include $3m seed funding for Portuguese mesh network tech HypeLabs, €1.15m seed round for Spanish fintech StudentFinance and $12m Series B round for UK-based food waste app Winnow.
Adevinta Ventures is the investment arm of the Norway-based Adevinta, a local digital marketplace group operating in 15 countries in Europe, Latin America and North Africa, with 1.5bn monthly visitors. Its leading local brands include Leboncoin in France, InfoJobs in Spain, Subito in Italy and Jofogás in Hungary. In Spain, where its headquarters is in Barcelona, the company includes an umbrella of successful online classified platforms such as Infojobs, Fotocasa, Habitaclia, Milanuncios and Vibbo, counting over 18m active users.Adevinta Ventures invests in startups focused on marketplace and platform space specifically in verticals such as mobility, education and real estate. The fund typically invests in Series A and B rounds backing them also with marketing and data support as well as mentorship. Initial investments go up to €5m with follow-on capacity.
Adevinta Ventures is the investment arm of the Norway-based Adevinta, a local digital marketplace group operating in 15 countries in Europe, Latin America and North Africa, with 1.5bn monthly visitors. Its leading local brands include Leboncoin in France, InfoJobs in Spain, Subito in Italy and Jofogás in Hungary. In Spain, where its headquarters is in Barcelona, the company includes an umbrella of successful online classified platforms such as Infojobs, Fotocasa, Habitaclia, Milanuncios and Vibbo, counting over 18m active users.Adevinta Ventures invests in startups focused on marketplace and platform space specifically in verticals such as mobility, education and real estate. The fund typically invests in Series A and B rounds backing them also with marketing and data support as well as mentorship. Initial investments go up to €5m with follow-on capacity.
Early-stage-focused VC firm with a €24m first fund mainly investing in B2B and B2C digital startups headquartered in Spain. Initial investment amounts range between €70,000 and €300,000, and followup investment amounts go up to €1m per company. Describing themselves as “momentum investors” seeking quick time-to-market projects, Encomenda Smart Capital was founded in 2017 and managed by renowned Spanish angel investors Carlos Blanco, Oriol Juncosa and Miguel Sanz Sanchez, along with a network of angel investors Encomenda supports the growth of startups' portfolios and helps startups to scale at national and international levels. Encomenda invests 30% in SaaS and in projects with a recurring income model; 20% are fintech, and they also bet on the human resources, edtech and healthcare. Just two out of 25 investments have folded up between 2017 and 2020, with half the fund monies committed. Encomenda is seeking to launch a second fund in 2022 focusing on Spanish and Portuguese startups, of €40m–€50m, and multi-stage, by starting in the early-stage investments, with follow-through investments in subsequent stages.
Early-stage-focused VC firm with a €24m first fund mainly investing in B2B and B2C digital startups headquartered in Spain. Initial investment amounts range between €70,000 and €300,000, and followup investment amounts go up to €1m per company. Describing themselves as “momentum investors” seeking quick time-to-market projects, Encomenda Smart Capital was founded in 2017 and managed by renowned Spanish angel investors Carlos Blanco, Oriol Juncosa and Miguel Sanz Sanchez, along with a network of angel investors Encomenda supports the growth of startups' portfolios and helps startups to scale at national and international levels. Encomenda invests 30% in SaaS and in projects with a recurring income model; 20% are fintech, and they also bet on the human resources, edtech and healthcare. Just two out of 25 investments have folded up between 2017 and 2020, with half the fund monies committed. Encomenda is seeking to launch a second fund in 2022 focusing on Spanish and Portuguese startups, of €40m–€50m, and multi-stage, by starting in the early-stage investments, with follow-through investments in subsequent stages.
Based in New York City, Lerer Hippeau mainly invests in seed and early-stage startups based in the US. Founded in 2010 by managing partners Kenneth Lerer, Ben Lerer and Eric Hippeau, the VC operates several funds offering initial investments of $1m per startup. Kenneth Lerer is the co-founder of Huffington Post and longtime chairman of BuzzFeed. Hippeau was the CEO of Huffington Post and ex-managing partner of Softbank Capital that invested in Huffington Post.Its 400+ startups also get support for business growth by tapping into tech ecosystems like New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Its 80+ exits include Giphy (GIF) that was acquired by Facebook and home-fitness studio Mirror acquired by Lululemon. However, the IPO by portfolio company Bed-in-a-box online retailer Casper was below market expectations. The loss-making e-commerce unicorn went public at $12 a share in February 2020, closing at $13.50 on its first day out, for a market capitalization of less than half the $1.1 billion Casper was valued at in a private funding round in 2019.
Based in New York City, Lerer Hippeau mainly invests in seed and early-stage startups based in the US. Founded in 2010 by managing partners Kenneth Lerer, Ben Lerer and Eric Hippeau, the VC operates several funds offering initial investments of $1m per startup. Kenneth Lerer is the co-founder of Huffington Post and longtime chairman of BuzzFeed. Hippeau was the CEO of Huffington Post and ex-managing partner of Softbank Capital that invested in Huffington Post.Its 400+ startups also get support for business growth by tapping into tech ecosystems like New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Its 80+ exits include Giphy (GIF) that was acquired by Facebook and home-fitness studio Mirror acquired by Lululemon. However, the IPO by portfolio company Bed-in-a-box online retailer Casper was below market expectations. The loss-making e-commerce unicorn went public at $12 a share in February 2020, closing at $13.50 on its first day out, for a market capitalization of less than half the $1.1 billion Casper was valued at in a private funding round in 2019.
Founded and headed by Susan Choe in 2018, Katalyst Ventures is based in San Francisco with a debut fund of $34m raised in 2018. Choe is also a partner at another Zipline investor Visionnaire Ventures (VV) also based in Silicon Valley. Katalyst invests in seed and early-stage tech startups with human-centric solutions. About 45% of the VC funds are invested in startups with women as CEO or CTO. By February 2020, the Kalatyst portfolio included 22 enterprises and three exits.The founder of Outspark was removed as CEO by the board of directors due to disagreements over the sale of Outspark. She had used her own money in 2006 to create Outspark, a data-driven publishing platform for game developers. Outspark was eventually sold to Axel Springer and Choe went left the company to join Taizo Son’s venture capital group. In 2013, VV was set up to support tech startups in the US. Choe had worked for Yahoo! and also was the COO of the public-listed holding company of South Korean search and media company NHN.
Founded and headed by Susan Choe in 2018, Katalyst Ventures is based in San Francisco with a debut fund of $34m raised in 2018. Choe is also a partner at another Zipline investor Visionnaire Ventures (VV) also based in Silicon Valley. Katalyst invests in seed and early-stage tech startups with human-centric solutions. About 45% of the VC funds are invested in startups with women as CEO or CTO. By February 2020, the Kalatyst portfolio included 22 enterprises and three exits.The founder of Outspark was removed as CEO by the board of directors due to disagreements over the sale of Outspark. She had used her own money in 2006 to create Outspark, a data-driven publishing platform for game developers. Outspark was eventually sold to Axel Springer and Choe went left the company to join Taizo Son’s venture capital group. In 2013, VV was set up to support tech startups in the US. Choe had worked for Yahoo! and also was the COO of the public-listed holding company of South Korean search and media company NHN.
Founded in 1813 as a small grain-trading firm in Arlon, France (now Belgium), Continental Grain Company (CGC) is now headquartered in New York. It has operations in 10 countries and employs over 13,500 people worldwide. Business activities include animal feeds, aquaculture and meat production.Besides interests in the food, agribusiness and commodities sectors, CGC also manages different asset classes like private equity, listed securities and venture capital. Its investment portfolio includes more than 30 food and agribusiness companies, ranging from early-stage ventures to established market leaders across the US, China and Latin America.CGC Asia mainly invests in feed milling, animal husbandry, meat production and processing businesses in the region. Direct investments are made through Continental Capital Limited in China, focusing on high‐growth food and agribusiness firms.
Founded in 1813 as a small grain-trading firm in Arlon, France (now Belgium), Continental Grain Company (CGC) is now headquartered in New York. It has operations in 10 countries and employs over 13,500 people worldwide. Business activities include animal feeds, aquaculture and meat production.Besides interests in the food, agribusiness and commodities sectors, CGC also manages different asset classes like private equity, listed securities and venture capital. Its investment portfolio includes more than 30 food and agribusiness companies, ranging from early-stage ventures to established market leaders across the US, China and Latin America.CGC Asia mainly invests in feed milling, animal husbandry, meat production and processing businesses in the region. Direct investments are made through Continental Capital Limited in China, focusing on high‐growth food and agribusiness firms.
Founded in 2003, Bezos Expeditions is a family investment office based in Mercer Island in the US. The firm was originally set up to manage the personal investments of Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos.The Bezos fund owns the Washington Post, Blue Origin space projects and the Bezos family foundation. The fund has also backed early tech startups like Twitter, Airbnb and Uber. Today, Bezos Expeditions also supports non-profit projects. In 2013, it helped to recover parts of two engines from the Atlantic Ocean that were later identified as belonging to Apollo 11, the first space mission that successfully landed humans on the moon in 1969. The crew of the ship Seabed Worker spent three weeks at sea pulling up pieces of the Apollo F1 engines.
Founded in 2003, Bezos Expeditions is a family investment office based in Mercer Island in the US. The firm was originally set up to manage the personal investments of Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos.The Bezos fund owns the Washington Post, Blue Origin space projects and the Bezos family foundation. The fund has also backed early tech startups like Twitter, Airbnb and Uber. Today, Bezos Expeditions also supports non-profit projects. In 2013, it helped to recover parts of two engines from the Atlantic Ocean that were later identified as belonging to Apollo 11, the first space mission that successfully landed humans on the moon in 1969. The crew of the ship Seabed Worker spent three weeks at sea pulling up pieces of the Apollo F1 engines.
Mercy Corps’ Social Venture Fund
Mercy Corps’ Social Venture Fund is a seed and early-stage social impact fund operated by not-for-profit humanitarian organization Mercy Corps. The US-based organization is increasingly moving into tech investments, with key interests in agtech and fintech solutions creating social impact. FinX, a platform designed to accelerate financial inclusion worldwide, was also launched recently. Distributed ledgers, digital assets, cryptocurrencies and other digital financial solutions will be deployed to alleviate poverty in local communities. The fund has invested in 16 companies at the seed stage. Investments in the February 2021 included a pre-seed round for Kenyan healthcare fintech platform ImaliPay. In December 2020, it joined a $5.3m seed round for Colombian remittance tech Valiu.
Mercy Corps’ Social Venture Fund is a seed and early-stage social impact fund operated by not-for-profit humanitarian organization Mercy Corps. The US-based organization is increasingly moving into tech investments, with key interests in agtech and fintech solutions creating social impact. FinX, a platform designed to accelerate financial inclusion worldwide, was also launched recently. Distributed ledgers, digital assets, cryptocurrencies and other digital financial solutions will be deployed to alleviate poverty in local communities. The fund has invested in 16 companies at the seed stage. Investments in the February 2021 included a pre-seed round for Kenyan healthcare fintech platform ImaliPay. In December 2020, it joined a $5.3m seed round for Colombian remittance tech Valiu.
Founded in Washington DC in 2016, AV Ventures is co-founded by US not-for-profit organizations, the Agricultural Cooperative Development International and Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance.AV Ventures focuses on supporting SMEs that facilitate financing for farmers to improve sustainable supply chain management and boost social impact in Africa and Central Asia. Investments in tech startups include the $790,000 seed round of AgroCenta in January 2021. Through AV Frontiers in Bishkek, the VC also recently participated in April’s investment round of Kyrgyzstan-based ololoAkJol Resort, a hub for digital nomads, or independent remote workers.
Founded in Washington DC in 2016, AV Ventures is co-founded by US not-for-profit organizations, the Agricultural Cooperative Development International and Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance.AV Ventures focuses on supporting SMEs that facilitate financing for farmers to improve sustainable supply chain management and boost social impact in Africa and Central Asia. Investments in tech startups include the $790,000 seed round of AgroCenta in January 2021. Through AV Frontiers in Bishkek, the VC also recently participated in April’s investment round of Kyrgyzstan-based ololoAkJol Resort, a hub for digital nomads, or independent remote workers.
Telmo Valido is Director of Corporate Underwriting at Hudson Advisors. His previous employers include Permira, CABB, Telepizza and the Boston Consulting Group. Valido received his master’s in Mechanical Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico and his MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management.
Telmo Valido is Director of Corporate Underwriting at Hudson Advisors. His previous employers include Permira, CABB, Telepizza and the Boston Consulting Group. Valido received his master’s in Mechanical Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico and his MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management.
Shansheng Equity Investment Fund
Shansheng Equity Investment Fund was launched in September 2020 with Beijing Huayao Zhongwei Investment Management as its manager.
Shansheng Equity Investment Fund was launched in September 2020 with Beijing Huayao Zhongwei Investment Management as its manager.
Founded in 2018, Tilia Impact Ventures is the first social impact fund in the Czech Republic. Co-founding partner Silke Horáková has worked in private equity and is also a co-owner of Albatross Media. Co-founding partner Petr Vítek has worked for nine years as a Deloitte consultant. He is also co-founder of Impact Hub in Prague, Brno and Ostrava. Both have experience working in the social enterprise sector. About 23 investors have contributed to the impact fund. Tilia plans to have 10 local social impact companies in its portfolio, each with an expected investment life of five to seven years. The VC has invested in four companies to date: smart vending SaaS platform MIWA Technologies, data-mining startup Datlab, ready-made spectacles supplier DOT glasses and waste-to-resource marketplace Cyrkl.
Founded in 2018, Tilia Impact Ventures is the first social impact fund in the Czech Republic. Co-founding partner Silke Horáková has worked in private equity and is also a co-owner of Albatross Media. Co-founding partner Petr Vítek has worked for nine years as a Deloitte consultant. He is also co-founder of Impact Hub in Prague, Brno and Ostrava. Both have experience working in the social enterprise sector. About 23 investors have contributed to the impact fund. Tilia plans to have 10 local social impact companies in its portfolio, each with an expected investment life of five to seven years. The VC has invested in four companies to date: smart vending SaaS platform MIWA Technologies, data-mining startup Datlab, ready-made spectacles supplier DOT glasses and waste-to-resource marketplace Cyrkl.
Founded in Amsterdam in 2011, Rockstart is a global accelerator-VC focusing on sustainability startups across market segments. Rockstart also runs specialist programs like agrifood in Copenhagen, healthcare in the Dutch town of Nijmegen and also in emerging tech in Bogota, Colombia. It specializes in developing business relationships for portfolio startups with global corporates such as Maersk, Shell and the Dutch Ministry of Health. Rockstart has invested in more than 250 startups, valued at €750m in total.Launched in 2019, Rockstart’s €22m agrifood fund secured investment partners including Vaekstfonden’s Green Future Fund and global dairy cooperative Arla Foods. It has invested in 20 food enterprises like Swiss zero-waste supermarket Lyfa and Danish alt-leather startup Beyond Leather Materials in 2021. Rockstart’s energy fund recently invested in the €730,000 pre-seed round of Danish carbon sequestration corporate marketplace, Klimate, in September 2021. Exits include Wercker, iClinic, Brincr and 3D Hubs.
Founded in Amsterdam in 2011, Rockstart is a global accelerator-VC focusing on sustainability startups across market segments. Rockstart also runs specialist programs like agrifood in Copenhagen, healthcare in the Dutch town of Nijmegen and also in emerging tech in Bogota, Colombia. It specializes in developing business relationships for portfolio startups with global corporates such as Maersk, Shell and the Dutch Ministry of Health. Rockstart has invested in more than 250 startups, valued at €750m in total.Launched in 2019, Rockstart’s €22m agrifood fund secured investment partners including Vaekstfonden’s Green Future Fund and global dairy cooperative Arla Foods. It has invested in 20 food enterprises like Swiss zero-waste supermarket Lyfa and Danish alt-leather startup Beyond Leather Materials in 2021. Rockstart’s energy fund recently invested in the €730,000 pre-seed round of Danish carbon sequestration corporate marketplace, Klimate, in September 2021. Exits include Wercker, iClinic, Brincr and 3D Hubs.
Accel, formerly known as Accel Partners, is a US venture capital firm, with its headquarters in Palo Alto, California, and additional offices in San Francisco. It also operates funds for Europe and Israel, with offices in London, UK, and has funds for India and China. It was founded in 1983 and has backed some of the most successful startups including Facebook, Spotify and Dropbox, among hundreds of others. It typically invests at the Series A and B levels, but can get involved from seed level, and has seen 253 exits from its portfolio to date, across varied market segments.
Accel, formerly known as Accel Partners, is a US venture capital firm, with its headquarters in Palo Alto, California, and additional offices in San Francisco. It also operates funds for Europe and Israel, with offices in London, UK, and has funds for India and China. It was founded in 1983 and has backed some of the most successful startups including Facebook, Spotify and Dropbox, among hundreds of others. It typically invests at the Series A and B levels, but can get involved from seed level, and has seen 253 exits from its portfolio to date, across varied market segments.
Adrian Cheng Chi-kong is a third generation heir to HK billionaire Cheng Yu-tung.Adrian Cheng Chi-kong founded K11 brand in 2008, and became Executive Vice-Chairman at New World Development in 2015.Besides traditional retail, he invests in more areas such as food, fashion, technology.He founded C Ventures to invest in the businesses that focus on millennials. C Ventures has invested in Moda Operandi, an American fashion startup, Flont, luxury jewelry rental service, among others.He invested in American AI startup ObEN and Chinese cooking video platform Daydaycook, etc, through K11.He also invested in Aibee, Hua Medicine and Xiaohongshu as individual investor.
Adrian Cheng Chi-kong is a third generation heir to HK billionaire Cheng Yu-tung.Adrian Cheng Chi-kong founded K11 brand in 2008, and became Executive Vice-Chairman at New World Development in 2015.Besides traditional retail, he invests in more areas such as food, fashion, technology.He founded C Ventures to invest in the businesses that focus on millennials. C Ventures has invested in Moda Operandi, an American fashion startup, Flont, luxury jewelry rental service, among others.He invested in American AI startup ObEN and Chinese cooking video platform Daydaycook, etc, through K11.He also invested in Aibee, Hua Medicine and Xiaohongshu as individual investor.
Alipay opens its platform to speed up digitalization of Chinese service providers amid Covid-19
As Alipay continues to battle WeChat for super-app supremacy, it's created a stronghold in China’s services industry, where 80% of businesses still operate under brick-and-mortar models
Mobike founder Hu Weiwei: A crazy idea that touched millions of lives
In just three years, Hu Weiwei has changed the way over 150 million people travel in the city with her company’s dockless bikes
China’s online mutual aid market: A new battleground for tech giants and startups
Startups spotted the opportunity and tech giants too have entered a market seen tripling by 2025. But profitability is still in doubt amid regulatory uncertainty
Xampla: Making strong, low-cost biodegradable plastic from peas
Inspired by the strength of spider silk, the Cambridge University spinoff has produced a plant-based, completely compostable alternative to microplastics
Chinapex: Maximizing the marketing value of customer data
The startup’s also creating a transparent and efficient industry environment for digital marketing in China
Sequoia China Seed Fund: Growing an era of deep-tech startups
Managing Partner Neil Shen wants to help deep-tech and enterprise tech startups get investments more easily, across quantum computing, semiconductors, synthetic biology and more
SWITCH Singapore: Xpeng expects strong China EV growth after 3Q rebound, launches overseas expansion
Welcoming foreign player entry as potential boost to EV adoption, Xpeng President Brian Gu also notes attractiveness of overseas markets, especially Europe
In depth: The business ecosystems China’s tech giants and unicorns build
Startups could accept to join Alibaba, Tencent or other tech giants in their ecosystems and scale quickly. Or they could say no and keep their independence. But do they really have a choice?
Despite early promise, China's on-demand bus services hit potholes on the road to profit
High costs – not a lack of customers – have forced promising on-demand bus service startups like DuduBus to shift their focus to corporate shuttle services
Haoqipei: Connecting China's vast B2B auto parts market
Haoqipei not only connects buyers and sellers with a B2B trading platform, it also uses big data to build trust and relationships in a highly fragmented market
In China's Covid-19-hit economy, cities dish out dining and shopping coupons to revive spending
Local governments are offering incentives to spend, but as millions have lost their jobs and income, more is needed to boost consumer confidence
Now called Wanwu Xinsheng, the startup recycles over 70,000 used electronic goods in China daily, clocking over RMB 2bn of transactions every month
With recent funding of $182m, drone maker XAG is set to make its mark as agritech leader
XAG has been reaping the benefits of its 2012 pivot to agriculture as demand for high-tech automation in China’s farms continues to grow strongly amid government push
Dai Wei and his Ofo: Fighting till the last act?
How the college student who founded a global bike-sharing sensation also led it to the verge of bankruptcy through a string of mistakes
Bob Xu, one of China's first and most successful angel investors
Known for his whimsical investment style, Xu has caught a number of unicorns
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