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Being a venture capitalist has become the ultimate status symbol in Hollywood.
These days, everyone from Olivia Wilde to Emma Watson is either starting a venture firm or in the process of backing the next hottest company. Robinhood, Uber and Klarna all have some bright names on their cap desks, paving the way for the rise of ‘Hollywood angels’.
For founders, having a celebrity at the cap table can bring a lot of buzz to a startup — and bonus points if the celebrity knows what they’re doing. Here are some famous celebrities who invest and what they usually like to invest in. (This list will be updated from time to time).
Snoop Dogg
The famous rapper and personality is a prolific angel investor and also the founder of Casa Verde Capital, a firm focused on cannabis investments. As an angel investor, he’s backed companies like Cameo, Reddit, Klarna, Robinhood, and fintech MoonPay, among others on this list, according to PitchBook. According to PitchBook, he has made at least 26 investments. The managing partner of Casa Verde Capital is Karan Wadhera and firm It closed 94 million dollars Fund II in 2020.
Sarah and Erin Foster
The Foster sisters are two of the most famous sisters in Hollywood and these days Kristen Bell is best known as the producers of the Netflix show Nobody Wants This. In 2022, they founded a venture company intends to collect 20 million dollars Their representatives confirmed to us that the fund is officially closed to support consumer companies. They know the consumer space well: They already have a podcast, a clothing line, and a hit TV show.
PitchBook shows that the firm he and business partner Phil Schwarz have written at least six checks, including for companies like diaper brand Kudos (with Gwyneth Paltrow). luxury boxed wine company Juliet.
As angel investors, the sisters also invested in alkaline water company ZenWTR. Sarah is also an angel investor in swimwear company Summersalt and ear piercing startup Rowan.
Kevin Hart
A few years ago, comedian Kevin Hart started a venture firm called HartBeat Ventures with Robert Roman, an investor with experience in financial management for entertainment and sports celebrities.
The firm was established around 2021 with a mission supporting minority and underrepresented founders. It received its first foreign investment from JP Morgan as part of one of the bank’s initiatives finance more firms led by women and people of color.
The firm has invested in at least 14 companies, according to PitchBook, including art marketplace Masterworks, 3D printing company Ready Player Me and Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty underwear line. Tashi Nakanishi and Walid Samaha are partners at the firm, and Ron Everline is a vice president, according to LinkedIn.
HartBeat Ventures has started raising Fund I in 2022 with no target amount. As of January 2024, it has raised at least $28 million SEC filing from January. An SEC filing in October also indicated that HartBeat was seeking to raise capital It looks like an SPV He wants to invest in Aston Martin’s Formula 1 car racing team.
Paris Hilton
According to PitchBook, the famous socialite is also an angel investor. He made investments through the company 11:11 Media, of which he is the CEO and co-founder. His investments include cryptocurrency company MoonPaybiotech company Colossal Biosciences, community event platform AfterParty and podcast platform Fireside Chats.
For him, the topic seems to be social platforms, biotechnology and SaaS products that make consumer life easier. She has made at least 22 investments, according to PitchBook, and is married to Carter Reum, founder of M13 Ventures, a prominent Los Angeles firm that has invested in companies like ClassPass, Canvas and Pinterest, according to her website.
Ashton Kutcher
Perhaps it is one of the most famous and attention-grabbing famous VCs are Ashton Kutcher. He co-founded two VC firms, A-Grade and Sound Ventures, which he started with Guy Oseary. Shortly after launching Sound, Effie Epstein joined as managing partner.
Founded in 2015, Sound Ventures seeks to back software companies and has more than $1 billion in assets under management, according to PitchBook. It also invests from thematic funds and last year launched the AI Growth Thematic fund, which invests in companies such as Hugging Face, OpenAI, Anthropic and World Labs. He told the audience at TechCrunch’s 2024 Disrupt it supports opponents in AI because he thinks there is room for many massive AI model companies. Its other notable investments between A-Grade and Sound include Affirm, Airbnb, Airtable, Duolingo and Uber.
Nas
The famous rapper Nas founded his firm QueensBridge Venture Partners in 2014. According to PitchBook, he has made more than 130 investments across a variety of industries and has nearly $140 million in assets under management. Anand Murthy is a partner in the firm. Signature luggage brand Away (alongside Jay-Z) and bedding company ParachuteAccording to PitchBook.
According to PitchBook, Nas has made more than 50 investments as an angel investor. It supports SeatGeek, Robinhood, Ring, Coinbase and fintech Mercury.
Gwyneth Paltrow
According to PitchBook, the Goop founder has made at least 24 investments as an angel investor. Along with Moj Mahdara, he is the co-founder of Kinship Ventures, which also invests in consumer and health companies. Company It wanted to raise $75 million in VC fundingAxios reported and backed the cryptocurrency last year payment company MoonPay. According to other SEC filings, Kinship Ventures also raised what appears to be an SPV. Supporting OpenAI and bitcoin mining company TeraWulf.
As an angel investor, Paltrow invested diaper companyhair company Crown Affair, beauty e-commerce marketplace Thirteen Lune and beverage brand Olipop, along with actress Priyanka Chopra, according to PitchBook. Actress Mindy Kaling, rapper Logic and the Jonas Brothers, He also supported Olipop.
Emma Watson
According to PitchBook, the actress has cut at least two angel investor checks. Investments include at least two companies biomanufacturing company FabricNanoand Hereditary Health. Watson is a well-regarded activist, especially when it comes to the environment and women’s rights. It’s no surprise that her two angel investments are focused on companies that are working to transform product manufacturing into a more sustainable and women’s health platform.
Olivia Wilde
Actress and director Olivia Wilde has launched Proximity, a Bloomberg venture firm, with Neil Sirney, who heads Roc Nation’s venture arm Arrive. reported in October. Wilde doesn’t yet have a PitchBook profile, but Bloomberg reports that his new firm will focus on consumer and enterprise technologies and has already cut several checks, including Pendulum Therapeutics.
Investor Jason Mac and “LES Artistes” artist Santigold are also partners in the firm, according to Bloomberg. SEC filings show that Proximity has raised two new SPV funds, including a $5 million health fund and another $10 million fund.
Jay-Z
The music mogul is an angel investor and co-founder of RocNation and now MarcyPen Capital Partners, the investment firm created by the merger of Jay-Z’s Marcy Venture Partners and Pendulum Opportunities, the investment arm of Pendulum Holding.
Roc Nation It has a venture arm called Access ManagementAn investor who was once managed by Neil Sirney, who now works with Olivia Wilde on Proximity. According to PitchBook, which backs companies like Sweetgreen and Epic Games, the venture has made at least 40 investments.
Before the merger, Marcy Venture Partners invested in several companies, such as Rihanna’s company Fenty x Savage (Rihanna became one of the few black women in the world to own a unicorn company) and web3 company Spatial Labs. Charlie Hanna and Mason O’Hanlon are listed as investors in MarcyPen Capital Partners on PitchBook and LinkedIn.
Additionally, as an angel investor, Jay-Z has made some notable investments — at least 27, according to PitchBook — in companies like Oatly, Flowhub, Impossible Foods, and luggage company Away.
