Neotribe Ventures Launches Ignite, a $90M Fund to Back Growth-Stage Companies Developing Breakthrough Technologies

MENLO PARK, Calif., March 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Neotribe Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on early-stage companies developing breakthrough technologies that stretch the imagination, announced today that it closed a $90M Ignite Fund to back growth-stage companies. The fund will be co-managed by Neotribe's founder and managing director, Swaroop 'Kittu' Kolluri and partner, Rebecca Mitchem.

As Neotribe's third fund, Ignite has attracted returning limited partners, including J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Common Fund. Ignite is looking to make investments in high growth, Series B or later companies that have both a sustainable technological advantage and evidence of market fit. Unlike Neotribes early-stage funds, Ignite will be looking to help companies scale and execute their go-to-market strategies rather than guiding founders through the phase of technological or market risk. In addition to capital, the fund will provide portfolio companies with ongoing mentorship, product and go-to-market support, as well as exposure to Neotribe's network of partners and potential customers.

Early Ignite Fund investments include BillionToOne and Vendia. BillionToOne is a leader in precision diagnostics and maker of the first and only noninvasive prenatal screening that tests fetal cell-free DNA for cystic fibrosis, spinal muscular atrophy, and hemoglobinopathies through maternal blood. Vendia is a real-time data cloud that leverages blockchain technology and creator of the first serverless platform for Web3 applications.

"As a firm, we consider ourselves sector agnostic," said Rebecca Mitchem, Partner at Neotribe Ventures. "What excites us the most is the opportunity to partner with brilliant founders that are going against the status quo to solve the most complex problems in the world in order to create long-lasting change. The Ignite Fund will be looking closely at bold ideas across computational biology, enterprise security, blockchain technologies, cleantech, and more."

Rebecca joined Neotribe in May 2021, but her work with Kittu began in 2016. They first met when Rebecca's team at J.P. Morgan Asset Management led a growth equity round for one of Kittu's existing portfolio companies. They got to know each other initially through board meetings and then subsequently through her role in general partner diligence when J.P. Morgan Asset Management became a limited partner in Neotribe's first fund. Rebecca's expertise and passion for growth-stage investments combined with her 360-degree perspective—having worked on both the direct investing side and the limited partner side of the Neotribe business—makes her uniquely qualified to co-manage Neotribe's Ignite Fund.

As a firm, Neotribe has already made over 40 strategic investments from Neotribe Ventures Fund I ($138M) and II ($220M) to accelerate the growth of innovative, early-stage companies such as Theta Lake, Hakimo, Metrika, Aira Technologies, ThirdAI, and Climate.ai. When it comes to bringing value to its portfolio companies, Neotribe takes a hands-on approach and cultivates a tribe-like mentality to make sure their entrepreneurs feel they have partners who are supporting and enabling them to confidently pursue new ideas and achieve success.

"Creating a dedicated fund that allows us to continue to help our existing portfolio companies grow by backing their next round was a natural fit for the firm," said Kittu Kolluri, Founder and Managing Director of Neotribe Ventures. "About 80% of the Ignite Fund will overlap with our existing portfolio and will give entrepreneurs the benefit of staying in our tribe. To make sure each company succeeds, our level of involvement is much closer to an incubator than your typical VC."

A portion of the Ignite Fund's investments will come from outside of Neotribe's existing portfolio companies. For these investments, Ignite can either price or participate in a new round of financing. The Fund will provide these companies with a new network of industry expertise, potential customer introductions, and mentorship to scale each business.

To learn more about the Ignite Fund, check out neotribe.vc.

About Neotribe Ventures

Neotribe Ventures focuses on strategic investments in early to growth-stage companies developing breakthrough technologies that stretch the imagination. Founded in 2017, the firm manages nearly $450 million in assets across three funds and has invested in a diverse set of companies including computational biology, enterprise security, blockchain technologies, cleantech, and more. Just as tribes represent small, protective, and caring groups, Neotribe believes that startups with innovative and aspirational teams thrive if provided the security and backing to be unafraid in the pursuit of new ideas, excellence, and success.

To learn more about how Neotribe is partnering with entrepreneurs in the U.S., Europe, Israel, India, and Australia in their quest to solve complex and deeply impactful problems to create lasting change, visit www.neotribe.vc.

SOURCE Neotribe Ventures