Jay-Z Creating Venture Capital Fund For New Entrepreneurs
Jay Z may be known for his music, but lately he has inked more business deals than song lyrics. The rapper is launching a venture capital fund with Jay Brown, the president of Jay Z’s entertainment company Roc Nation, according to Axios.
The Jays are also looking for a third full-time investment partner to work with them, according to the report. They teamed up with Sherpa Capital, but the firm’s staff won’t be leading the investments. Sherpa Capital declined to comment.
Jay Z and Brown’s fund will focus on seed-stage companies and its size hasn’t been confirmed yet, Axios reported on Tuesday.
Jay Z is invested in several startups both personally and through Roc Nation. He backed Uber’s 2011 Series B when it was valued at $300 million. The ride-share app is now valued at $62.5 billion.
Roc Nation invested in Stance, a premium sock company, during its Series A of $6 million in 2011. Stance has since raised $116 million in five rounds of funding. Jay Z also backed JetSmarter, hailed as the “Uber for private planes,” and the French speaker maker Devialet.
