Social Capital (venture capital firm)
American venture capital firm
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Social Capital, formerly known as Social+Capital Partnership, is a venture capital firm based in Palo Alto, California with approximately $2B in assets under management.[1] The firm specializes in technology startups, providing seed funding, venture capital, and private equity.[2][3]
 | |
Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Venture capital |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Founders | Chamath Palihapitiya, Mamoon Hamid, Ted Maidenberg |
| Headquarters | Palo Alto, California, United States |
| Products | Investments |
| Website | Official website  |
The firm has "stood out strategically", according to Fortune, "with a focus on ... healthcare, financial services and education ... when those fields were ... neglected by the VC community."[2]
History
Social Capital was founded in 2011 by Chamath Palihapitiya, who had previously worked at Facebook.[2] Mamoon Hamid and Ted Maidenberg also joined the firm that year as general partners.[4][5]
In January 2015, Fortune reported that Kleiner Perkins was in acquisition talks with Social Capital,[6] but the acquisition reportedly fell through.[7] In May 2015, Social Capital raised $600 million in their third and largest venture capital fund.[2] PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel praised Palihapitiya's approach, and as of 2015 served as a limited partner.[8][9]
In 2017, Marc Mezvinsky joined Social Capital as vice chairman as it sought to expand beyond traditional venture capital.[10]
In August 2017, Hamid left Social Capital to join Kleiner Perkins as a general partner and managing member.[11]
In the spring of 2018, Mezvinsky departed Social Capital. Later in 2018, then-partners Arjun Sethi, Jonathan Hsu, and Ted Maidenberg left the firm to co-found Tribe Capital.[12]
In March 2024, Social Capital fired two of its senior partners, Jay Zaveri and Ravi Tanuku, over fundraising capital in the form of a special purpose vehicle for a startup that was part of their existing investment portfolio, purportedly without the knowledge of Palihapitiya. Several Social Capital employees participated including the firm's general counsel.[13][14] As of March 2024, Palihapitiya is the sole investing partner remaining at Social Capital, according to Pitchbook records. [15]
Investments
Social Capital invested in Yammer in 2011, which was later bought by Microsoft.[8] In 2012, the firm invested in Impermium, which was acquired by Google in 2014.[16] Also in 2012, the firm was a venture investor in InstaEDU, acquired by Chegg in 2014. Social Capital led a round of Series B funding for Wave Accounting. In 2014, Social Capital also invested in LotusFlare.[17]
In May 2015, the firm was a leading investor in a funding round for Slack Technologies.[18]
Through 2016 and 2017, the firm began a Discover program led by Jay Zaveri to make several investments in climate-related companies UrbanFootprint,[19] Saildrone,[20] Beyond the Dome, and DroneSeed,[21] telecom infrastructure company Eridan,[22] and space technology companies Swarm Technologies[23] and Relativity Space.[24]
In September 2020, their SPAC IPOB merged with Opendoor Technologies with a market cap of $4.8 billion.[25]