SOSV raises $100m growth fund
Early-stage investor SOSV – known for accelerator programs such as China-based HAX and Chinaccelerator – has raised $100 million for its first growth fund designed to invest in Series B rounds and beyond.
The new vehicle, known as SOSV Select Fund, will write checks of $2-5 million for 20-30 start-ups over the next three years. It will invest exclusively in SOSV's existing portfolio, which is chiefly populated by companies that came through the accelerator programs.
Hardware-focused HAX, which has locations in Shenzhen and San Francisco, and Shanghai-based Chinaccelerator, are two of five main accelerators run by SOSV globally. The others are Mox, a Taipei operation that targets cross-border internet and mobile opportunities, and US-based IndieBio and dlab, which focus on life sciences and blockchain technology, respectively.
The firm is currently deploying its fourth early-stage fund, which closed at $277 million in 2019. It focuses on rounds up to and including Series A, but last year SOSV participated in late-stage rounds for 25 existing portfolio companies, up 38% on 2019. Across the portfolio, SOSV-backed start-ups raised $1 billion in 2020.
"While we spend most of our time working with companies that are just getting started. Many of our three-to-five-year-old startups are hitting the tens-of-millions-in-revenue level that attracts later-stage investors. The new Select Fund will help us keep pace with those opportunities in the years ahead," said Sean O'Sullivan, SOSV's managing partner, in a statement.
He added that three of the 10 largest rounds in the last 18 months were raised by companies from the firm's Asia-based accelerator programs, underlining the strength of the cross-border thesis. Seven of the 10 are members of the SOSV Climate Tech 100, an in-house ranking of the firm's climate-related investments.
LPs in SOSV Select Fund include Credit Suisse, WTT Investment, Golden Vision Capital and AIFAM, along with family offices from the US, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, SOSV claims more than $900 million in assets under management and over 1,000 portfolio companies. The firm has eight general partners and 130 staff in the US, Europe, and Asia.
In 2019, SOSV teamed up with Shenzhen Capital Group to establish a China-focused angel fund and a growth stage vehicle for European companies.
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