Collide Capital, a venture firm founded by Brian Hollins and Aaron Samuels, announced the close of its $95 million Fund II, according to TechCrunch. The firm, founded in 2021, focuses on early-stage startups in fintech, supply chain, and the future of work. Collide Capital plans to deploy the new fund over the next 3.5 years.
Fund II Details and Deployment Strategy
Collide Capital closed Fund II at $95 million, following its inaugural $66 million Fund I, which closed in 2022. The firm has backed 75 companies to date. Hollins said raising Fund II took approximately 13 months. The firm expects to deploy the fund over 3.5 years with an average check size between $1 million and $3 million, targeting at least 30 companies. The firm has already cut checks to five companies, including portfolio companies Culina Health and Helios.
Investment Focus: Automation, Collaboration, and Data-Driven Decision Making
Collide Capital’s investment thesis centers on three core capabilities. “We’re most interested in platforms enabling automation, real-time collaboration, and faster, data-driven decision making,” Hollins said. These themes span the firm’s target sectors:
- Automation encompasses workflow orchestration and process optimization.
- Real-time collaboration involves multi-user synchronization and shared systems across teams.
- Data-driven decision making includes analytics and operational reporting integrated into business processes.
This focus suggests Collide Capital targets software that reduces cycle times and coordination costs in environments where information flows between people and systems—areas where fintech and supply chain operations depend on timely, accurate data.
Limited Partners and Founder Track Record
Fund II’s limited partners include the University of California Endowment (UC Regents), which anchored the previous fund, along with Accolade Partners, Fairview Capital, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan. The founders bring relevant experience: Hollins spent a decade at Goldman Sachs, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Slow Ventures. Samuels worked at Bain & Company, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and co-founded AfroTech, one of the largest tech conferences in the world.
Collide Campus: Expanding the Investor Pipeline
Beyond the fund raise, Collide Capital is expanding its Collide Campus program, launched in 2022. The program includes an undergraduate initiative that trains students in venture capital and entrepreneurship, and a graduate fellowship where students work alongside the Collide team as investors and apprentices.
The undergraduate program operates on more than 20 campuses, including Harvard and Johns Hopkins. Samuels noted that more than 50 students have completed the program and have landed positions at firms including General Catalyst.
Source: TechCrunch