Back in June 2018, Crunchbase News broke the story that SOSV—self-described “accelerator VC” behind programs like IndieBio, HAX, and Chinaccelerator—intended to raise its largest venture capital fund to date.
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Today, the firm formally announced (and filed amended paperwork with the SEC) $277 million for its fourth flagship fund, over ten percent oversubscribed from its initial disclosed target of $250 million.
Today’s SEC filing states the firm raised capital from over 120 limited partners. In a statement provided to Crunchbase News, SOSV says its LPs include Tiedemann Advisors, Davy Group, HP Tech Ventures, ZX Ventures (AB Inbev), and Honda Motors. Nine unnamed venture capitalists invested, either using personal capital or their assets under management, in SOSV IV.
SOSV specializes in investing in “deep tech,” an ever-shifting term encompassing a wide range of technologies.
For example, one of SOSV’s programs, dlab, is aimed at accelerating the development and adoption of decentralized and blockchain-enabled technologies. (dlab is run in conjunction with EMURGO, the commercial venture arm of the Cardano blockchain project.) SOSV’s Food-X accelerator focuses on early-stage food and agricultural technology ventures. Its “Mobile-Only Accelerator,” or MOX, jumpstarts mobile application companies seeking to gain purchase in emerging markets.
The firm says it plans to continue investing at its current pace: funding approximately 150 companies per year across its vertical-specific accelerator programs. Typically, the firm initially invests between $100,000 and $250,000 in each startups, and keeps between $200,000 and $2 million in reserves for follow-on funding.
The firm says it employs over 100 staff members across its locations in San Francisco, New York, Cork, London, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Xi’An, Taipei, and Tokyo. According to the firm, SOSV invests $10 million annually into infrastructure for its companies, by constructing and maintaining wet labs, electronics labs, and mechanical facilities, as well as offering support from teams of domain experts for each of its programs.
Illustration: Li-Anne Dias
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