Rocketship.vc, an early-stage venture capital firm that uses data science to democratise venture capital for the global startup community, announced that it has raised US$ 100 million for its second fund (Fund II). The fund is backed by some of the world’s leading investors, such as Vulcan Capital and Adams Street Partners, as well as the family office of Marc Andreesen and Chris Dixon from A16z. Rocketship’s Fund II more than doubles the size of the firm’s initial fund, which closed in late 2015 at US$ 40 million.
Founded by a team of veteran data scientists and entrepreneurs, Rocketship uses machine learning and data science to identify and invest in startups around the world. The firm’s smart algorithm tracks companies globally using a series of metrics to indicate the probability that a startup will be successful. Drawing on its proprietary data-backed approach in Fund I, the firm discovered breakout companies spanning more geographies and industries than it could have using the traditional “network + inbound” model that has dominated venture capital for the past 50 years.
“Venture capital is undergoing its biggest shift in decades. As entrepreneurship goes global, firms are recognising that the traditional Silicon Valley-based networking approach of VC is unable to scale to the new reality of meeting startups wherever they are,” said Sailesh Ramakrishnan of Rocketship. “Our deep data expertise allows us to take a different approach, leveraging data science, technology and analytics to find the best companies anywhere, at any stage, in any market. We’re excited to be at the forefront of this shift and use our experience to help founders successfully build their companies, regardless of location,” he added.
Rocketship has invested in 44 companies across seed, A and B rounds, with 46 per cent of investments outside the U.S. The firm’s portfolio companies include Trocafone, NoBroker, Stocard, Moglix, Khatabook, Yulu, Wasabi and Crosschq. The launch of Fund II will enable Rocketship to continue investing globally across different sectors and company stages, and increase the firm’s number of follow-on investments.
“Rocketship’s experience in data science is not only key to its investment strategy, but also instrumental in helping our team navigate the challenges of running and scaling a data-driven startup,” Guille Freire from Trocafone commented, adding, “We were honored when they approached us to invest because it validated through data the progress we had made to drive disruption and growth in our market. To have an investing partner with such extensive data science expertise and founder experience, while still offering a network we can leverage in Silicon Valley is really valuable. Rocketship brings something different to the table than most investors.”