Rocketship.vc Closes Second Global VC Fund with $100 Million

Rocketship has invested in 44 companies across seed, A, and B rounds, with 46% of investments outside the U.S. 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.vc, an early-stage venture capital firm, announced that it has raised $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.

The firm uses data science to democratize venture capital for the global startup community. Rocketship’s Fund II more than doubles the size of the firm’s initial fund, which closed in late 2015 at $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.

Making use of 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.

Sailesh Ramakrishnan of Rocketship said, “Venture Capital is undergoing its biggest shift in decades. As entrepreneurship goes global, firms are recognizing that the traditional Silicon Valley-based networking approach of VC is unable to scale to the new reality of meeting startups wherever they are.”

Sailesh added that their deep data expertise allows them to take a different approach, leveraging data science, technology and analytics to find the best companies anywhere, at any stage, in any market. He also said that they are exited to be at the forefront of this shift and use the experience to help founders successfully build their companies, regardless of location.

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.

Rocketship has invested in 44 companies across seed, A, and B rounds, with 46% 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.

Guille Freire from Trocafone commented, “Rocketship’s experience in data science is not the only key to its investment strategy, but also instrumental in helping our team navigate the challenges of running and scaling a data-driven startup. 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.”