Marcy Venture Partners, cofounded by Jay-Z, just closed its second fund with $325 million – TechCrunch

Marcy Enterprise Companions, the enterprise agency cofounded in 2018 by Shawn Carter (Jay-Z), former Roc Nation CEO Jay Brown, and former Walden VC basic companion Larry Marcus, says it has closed its second fund with $325 million in capital commitments. The workforce, which closed its debut fund with $85 million, is now managing $600 million in property altogether, says cofounder Marcus.

The agency describes itself as having a “shopper, tradition and constructive impression” funding technique, and it says nearly all of its present portfolio firms are based or run by individuals who establish as ladies or individuals of coloration.

So far, the trio has written checks to at the least 21 firms, together with in trend, skincare, and meals firms. Amongst these many bets contains Rihanna’s lingerie firm Savage X Fenty; the sneaker market StockX; Therabody, which makes percussion remedy instruments; Simulate, which makes plant-based, chicken-flavored nuggets; and an allergen-free cookie maker known as Partake Meals.

Carter and firm have additionally begun investing in crypto initiatives, supporting Bitski, a San Francisco-based startup NFT market, earlier this 12 months, and investing extra just lately in spatial LABS (sLABS), a tech incubator that focuses on the metaverse and blockchain-based merchandise.

The San Francisco- and L.A.-based agency, named after the Marcy Initiatives in Brooklyn the place Carter grew up, was initially concentrating on $200 million for the latest fund, per an SEC submitting from April.

The agency is only one of many enterprise pursuits for Carter. For instance, he owns half of the champagne model Armand de Brignac, identified familiarly as Ace of Spades. He acquired the label for an undisclosed sum in 2014; in February of this 12 months, Moet Hennessy purchased half the corporate for phrases that weren’t disclosed.

Carter additionally owned Tidal, a streaming music service that he’d purchased in 2015 and renamed (and reshaped), earlier than promoting a “important majority” of the corporate to the monetary providers large Sq. for $297 million in money and inventory again in March. He launched Monogram, a hashish model, final December. And, in fact, he most famously based Roc Nation, a now 13-year-old, sprawling leisure firm that has its tentacles in every little thing from artist and athlete administration, to labels, publishing, touring, movie, and tv, amongst different ventures.