SOSV
SOSV is a global venture capital firm that operates early stage startup development programs. The first is revolutionary deep technology that promises the betterment of humanity and the planet. The second is cross-border markets, notably in Asia, that are ripe for explosive growth. The firm’s strategy is to invest in a small number of highly promising startups and use its deeply resourced programs to accelerate product development, acquire customers, and scale. SOSV companies consistently raise funding rounds led by top tier investors. SOSV joins seed, series A, and later rounds while providing founders with ongoing support and community. As of January 2022, SOSV had more than 1,000 portfolio companies and $1.2 billion in assets under management, reflecting a 40% increase over 2020. SOSV’s programs include hard tech-oriented HAX and life-science driven IndieBio. Both offer deep technical and scientific expertise on-site as well as well-equipped lab and fabrication facilities and supply chain access. At Chinaccelerator and MOX, market-entry and growth experts help entrepreneurs in emerging markets around the world ramp quickly. SOSV’s latest program, dlab, fosters new players in the blockchain ecosystem. Among the top companies in SOSV’s portfolio are NotCo, Perfect Day, Upside Foods, Yeelight, Opentrons, Shopal, Snapask, BitMEX and API3. In March 2022, SOSV published its first annual Human Health 100, a list of the firm’s top human health investments in areas ranging from assistive robotics to therapeutics and diagnostics. On Earth Day—April 22, 2022—SOSV published the second annual Climate Tech 100, a list of the firm’s top climate-focused investments working on solutions to climate change across five sectors: food, manufacturing, transport, energy, and building systems. Founder Experience
SOSV programs review applications from all over the world, and any pre-seed or seed-stage company is welcome to apply. For most programs, SOSV provides $150,000 - $250,000 in exchange for equity. Certain biotech startups may receive as much as an additional $250,000 or more from the Genesis Consortium, a partnership between IndieBio and leading VCs and industry partners, including co-founding partner Mayfield. Founders usually spend 4 to 6 months in a uniquely formative cohort experience marked by intensive coaching from on-staff experts (including successful founders), regular workshops led by mentors and guests, and access to technical resources, including engineers, labs, and other facilities needed for research and product development. No less remarkable than the rapid advances founders make in the programs are the deep and lasting friendships they form with fellow founders and staff. After a program’s completion, the SOSV partners continue working closely with founders to bring on lead investors for follow-on investment. Unlike most startup programs, SOSV continues to invest as a major syndicate participant in subsequent seed, series A, and later investments. In a typical year, SOSV aims to invest at least twice as much in follow-on rounds as it does in the initial rounds when companies start at programs. In 2021, SOSV invested $46 million in post-program rounds; in total, SOSV portfolio companies in 2021 raised $2 billion. In June 2021, SOSV announced the close of the $100 million SOSV Select Fund, which is designed to invest in the series B and later rounds of its portfolio companies. Background
Managing Partner Sean O’Sullivan founded SOSV in 1995, following the IPO of MapInfo, a startup he co-founded that pioneered computer-based street mapping. O’Sullivan is deeply committed to social betterment through entrepreneurship and technology, a theme that runs deeply through the SOSV portfolio. He has donated tens of millions in SOSV profits to charitable causes, including the Khan Academy and CoderDojo, as well as many other educational and humanitarian efforts. SOSV commits 10% of its carry (SOSV profits from venture investing) to philanthropy. In 2021, SOSV highlighted its long standing commitment to climate tech with the publication of its top 100 climate companies and by hosting the SOSV Climate Tech Summit, an ecosystem-wide event. The 2022 SOSV Climate Tech Summit will take place online on October 25 and 26. SOSV is also deeply committed to creating a portfolio rich in founder diversity. Our 2600 founders represent 84 nationalities and operate in 56 countries. More than 70% of our founders are from outside the US, and 30% are from low- to middle-income countries, as defined by the World Bank. SOSV also has a strong track record of investing in women entrepreneurs. SOSV has invested in 500 women founders, and 1 in 3 of our companies have at least one female founder. Approximately $1 in every $3 that SOSV invests through its core funds goes to a woman-led company. In a 2017 TechCrunch / Crunchbase analysis, SOSV was one of only four seed funds that showed at least one female founder in 30% or more of portfolio companies. Limited Partners
SOSV’s limited partners include corporates, financial institutions, family offices, and high-net worth individuals from around the world, including Credit Suisse, Tiedemann Advisors, Davy Group, Nan Fung Group, ZX Ventures (the strategic arm of Anheuser-Busch InBev), HP Ventures, and Sumitomo Corp. In SOSV’s Fund IV ($277 million), 50% of the limited partners are located in North America, 25% in Europe, and 20% in Japan and Southeast Asia. SOSV Programs
SOSV has 12 general partners and 134 staff across 9 locations around the world. SOSV general partners Cyril Ebersweiler and Duncan Turner operate HAX, which Ebersweiler launched in 2012 and has offices in Shenzhen, Tokyo, San Francisco, and its newest location, Newark, New Jersey. In October 2021, SOSV and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) announced they will partner in a five-year, $50 million project to build a new, state-of-the-art facility for HAX in Newark, New Jersey, headed by SOSV HAX Partner Garrett Winther. That program opened in 2022 focuses on early stage startups in manufacturing 4.0, automation, decarbonization, healthcare, and consumer tech. HAX invests in approximately 35 startups per year, initially with $250,000, delivered in cash and co-development during a 180-day program. HAX founders have access to an in-house team of engineers, designers, and entrepreneurs with in-depth collective knowledge of all the hardtech disciplines, from design to manufacturing to software development. HAX provides access to mentors, investors, manufacturers, supply chains, and follow-on capital. General Partners Po Bronson, Pae Wu, Mohan Iyer lead IndieBio San Francisco and General Partner Stephen Chambers leads IndieBio New York. IndieBio co-founders Bill Liao and Arvind Gupta launched the flagship San Francisco location in 2014 and opened a second office in NYC in 2020, with the backing of the Partnership for New York City and New York state. At IndieBio, pre-seed life-science startups receive a $250,000 investment (up to $500,000 or more with Genesis Consortium support) and join a four-month program that provides on-site expertise, access to modern laboratories, and an unparalleled mentor network. The San Francisco and New York programs each run two, 15-company classes each per year. In October 2021, SOSV announced that Seven Penn Plaza would be the new, permanent home for IndieBio New York City. General Partners William Bao Bean and Oscar Ramos lead Chinaccelerator, founded in 2010 by general partner Cyril Ebersweiler, and MOX, founded in 2015, with teams in Shanghai, Taipei, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Los Angeles, and New Delhi. Chinaccelerator helps enterprise software startups from around the world enter Asia selling to a network of over 200 multinational corporate partners and helps global startups enter China and local Chinese startups expand to global markets. The program provides US$150,000 investment and is a perpetual hands-on program, which includes free advertising for consumer Internet apps and services, sales leads for leading corporates, plus perks and advice from its 500+ person mentor network. MOX helps mobile Internet startups from around the world acquire new users for free and monetize those users to drive higher lifetime value. The network of MOX startups, with 102 million monthly active users, cross-promote each other and receive free promotion from a network of partners in return for revenue share. MOX helps startups expand into the world’s fastest growing markets in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Middle East, South America, Africa and Eastern Europe. MOX provides $150,000 investment, a six month program, and perpetual support through growth, a business development roadshow, and fundraising modules. General partner Shawn Broderick and partner Nick Plante founded dlab in 2018 to help startups working on decentralized applications and blockchain technology to create more open, transparent, and participatory systems. dlab provides $150,000 of funding to the most promising, early stage crypto startups. The six-month program provides founders with access to an extensive mentor network and with hands-on help in areas such as product architecture and design, UI/UX, business development, tokenomics, and fundraising strategies. dlab is based in New York City but works with founders from across the globe in a virtual setting. More Information
Founders interested in SOSV programs should visit the relevant program sites linked above. For more information on SOSV’s funds, contact Daniel Eichner daniel.eichner@sosv.com. For press inquiries, please contact press@sosv.com.
