Early-stage enterprise agency A* on Tuesday introduced a $450 million Fund III. The agency takes a generalist strategy, backing corporations throughout classes similar to AI purposes, fintech, healthcare, and safety.
The typical examine measurement for this fund can be between $3 million and $5 million, with the purpose to again no less than 30 startups. The capital can be deployed over the subsequent two to a few 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 Bennett Siegel, beforehand raised a $315 million Fund II in 2024 and a $300 million Fund I in 2021. Hartz is a serial entrepreneur finest identified 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. Siegel got here up by Boston Consulting Group and Altamont Capital Companions earlier than spending 4 years as a associate at Coatue Administration.
The agency has additionally drawn consideration for backing unusually younger founders, even because the follow has grow to be extra frequent 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.
