The VC firm doubled its number of unicorns in 2021 with two IPOs and one acquisition for its portfolio.
San Francisco, Calif. August 17th, 2022 – Cherubic Ventures today announced the successful completion of the venture capital firm’s Fund V at $110 million, with a total of over $400 million in committed capital under management.
Operating under a multi-market, “First check” strategy, the VC firm saw two IPOs and one major acquisition in 2021, doubling its number of successful unicorns from the previous year. US telehealth platform Hims & Hers (HIMS) went public on the New York Stock Exchange in January 2021, while omnichannel eCommerce solution provider 91APP became Taiwan’s first unicorn to launch an IPO on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Additionally, the Japanese buy now pay later platform Paidy was acquired by PayPal for $2.7 billion.
Cherubic Ventures will also reserve 50% of Fund V assets for supporting startups to their later rounds all the way to pre-IPO, providing long-term and full support to its portfolios. Managing its capital under a “sector-agnostic” strategy, the firm has partnered with over 200 startups from across the world in industries ranging from consumer to enterprise solutions to blockchain technology, among others.
Sustaining a “First Check” Strategy
Adding to its portfolio of market-leading unicorns in 2021, Cherubic Ventures was also among the first investors in industry-pioneering startups such as the world’s top sleep meditation app Calm along with Flexport, the leader in digital transformation for the logistics sector.
Founder and Managing Partner Matt Cheng explained how Cherubic’s Fund V will represent a continuation of the firm’s “First Check” approach of seeking out high-potential teams that have yet to acquire any funding: “Putting faith in those startups that have yet to receive any investment is a challenging first step. However, Cherubic is very willing to be the first investor to believe in these teams.”
Cheng added that his firm’s criteria for choosing which startups to invest in are whether that team has a unique solution for a customer problem and how much experience they have in both entrepreneurism and their respective industries.
A founder-first VC firm
Cheng emphasized Cherubic’s core value of “founders-first”, noting how the company’s support of startups goes beyond capital contribution to consultation, mentoring, and providing emotional support throughout the entrepreneurial journey. This culture comes from the founder’s own personal experience as an entrepreneur and understanding of the journey: “From our creation eight years ago to today’s important milestone, Cherubic has always relied on our tight-knit, global community of founders, investors, and industry experts. With our Fund V, we will continue to leverage both our financial and human assets to help founders build their startups with both a global perspective and keen insights into their local markets.”
Established in 2014, Cherubic Ventures is one of the few institutional investors to be actively investing in both the US and Asia markets. Additionally, the firm has deployed its resource network of over 500 individuals comprising founders, investors, and industry experts into other overseas markets, being one of the first investors in Croatia’s biggest Edtech startup Photomath, women’s physical and mental health company Bellabeat, and Chaldal, the largest grocery delivery platform in Bangladesh.
