Venture capitalism is not meant for the faint-hearted. It is the playground of the rich, where the typical conservative, staid doyens of businesses playout for big stakes.
Initially sought by tech startups needing money for research and reach to the market, now the scenario has changed to encompass any idea that can be sold to the interested VCs with a future promise of returns. Financing, retail, supply chain deliveries, real estate, coffee, chai and more is the wide spectrum of sectors that have attracted funding.
According to Venture Pulse, a quarterly report on global VC trends by KPMG Enterprise, the third quarter of 2019 saw US$55.71 billion of venture capital investment raised globally across 4,154 deals. In 2019, roughly $294.8 billion was invested in nearly 32,800 deals across the venture spectrums, according to Crunchbase.
Considering the scale of the investment seen across the globe in a myriad of sectors, let us take a look at the people behind the moolah.
MARC ANDREESSEN
He is the co-founder of Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz, also known as a16z He co-invented Mosaic, a pioneering web browser. He is an author, investor, inventor and a software engineer.
A16z has invested in enterprise, bio/healthcare, crypto, and fintech spaces. a16z has $10B in assets under management across multiple funds, including the $650M Bio funds, the $350M Crypto Fund, and the Cultural Leadership Fund.
This story is from the March 2020 edition of Industry Leaders.
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This story is from the March 2020 edition of Industry Leaders.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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