Techstars Closes Oversubscribed $150M Fund to Support Accelerators, High-growth Startups All Over the World
On July 28, 2021 - Techstars reported, the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed, today announced the closing of a new $150 million fund to support more high-growth, early-stage founders across the globe. Techstars Accelerator 2021, L.P. (“TSA 2021”) exceeded its initial target of $100 million and will help support innovative entrepreneurs through the expansion of Techstars accelerators in new and existing markets around the world. The oversubscribed fund includes commitments from a diverse group of new and returning institutional investors.
TSA 2021 has already begun to deploy capital and will invest in startups around the world through the end of 2023. TSA 2021’s investment model, which uses scale and diversification to reduce volatility, aligns with Techstars’ mission: to be the world’s largest investor in high-growth startups and to help more entrepreneurs in more places transform the world through access to capital and a global network.
“At Techstars, we believe that great ideas and great entrepreneurs can come from anywhere,” said Techstars’ CEO Maëlle Gavet. “With the closing of this fund, we will be able to find, back, and support even more entrepreneurs all over the world, offering global startups unprecedented access to everything they need to build a successful company. We couldn’t be more excited to see the impact this will have in the coming years.”
TSA 2021 was anchored by a large public pension and joined by dozens of additional investors, including funds of funds, corporations, family offices, and members of the Techstars ecosystem. This is Techstars’ third institutionally-backed fund and brings total investments under management to more than $750 million.
While prior Techstars funds made both accelerator stage investments as well as post-accelerator venture capital investments, TSA 2021 is Techstars’ first institutionally backed fund that will focus solely on accelerator stage investments. This will include a projected 800+ seed and pre-seed stage startups in Techstars accelerator programs such as New York, Los Angeles, London, Boston, and Tel Aviv. In the first half of 2021, investments from this fund included more than 100 startups from more than 50 different cities across the globe. To be selected for a Techstars accelerator, early-stage, industry-diverse startups undergo a rigorous vetting and analysis process, and only a very small percentage of startups that apply are accepted. Techstars accelerator graduates have gone on to raise significant funds, and many have achieved meaningful outcomes, with the recent IPO of Digital Ocean (NYSE:DOCN) and SPAC acquisitions of both Latch (NASDAQ:LTCH) and Owlet (NYSE:OWLT) being three recent and notable examples.
“Entrepreneurs build a better future for all of us,” said Techstars’ CIO Jason Seats. “As operating investors and past entrepreneurs, we at Techstars know what entrepreneurs need to succeed - and we provide it through access to capital, mentors, bona fide curriculum and content, customers, hires, and more. We are thrilled to be able to support an increasing number of entrepreneurs with TSA 2021, while delivering strong investment performance for our investors with a novel product that is designed to create venture level returns with reduced volatility.”
To learn more about the Techstars, please visit https://www.techstars.com/investors
About Techstars
The Techstars worldwide network helps entrepreneurs succeed. Founded in 2006, Techstars began with three simple ideas—entrepreneurs create a better future for everyone, collaboration drives innovation, and great ideas can come from anywhere. Now we are on a mission to enable every person on the planet to contribute to, and benefit from, the success of entrepreneurs. In addition to operating accelerator programs and venture capital funds, we do this by connecting startups, investors, corporations, and cities to help build thriving startup communities. Techstars has invested in more than 2,500 companies with a combined market cap of more than $220B. www.techstars.com
