Rocketship.vc closes second global VC fund with $100M

Early-stage venture capital firm rocketship.vc, which uses data to democratise venture capital, has raised $100 million for its second fund. 

The California-headquartered VC fund is backed by investors such as Vulcan Capital, Adams Street Partners, as well as the family office of Marc Andreesen, and Chris Dixon from A16z.

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The launch of Fund II will enable Rocketship.vc to continue investing globally across different sectors and company stages, and increase the firm’s number of follow-on investments.

According to the company, the first fund, which was closed in 2015, was only $40 million in size. 

Founded by a team of data scientists and entrepreneurs, Rocketship.vc uses machine learning and data science to identify and invest in startups around the world. The company uses an algorithm to track companies by setting metrics that enable it to find out how a startup will be successful.

Using this knowledge in Fund I, the firm discovered companies that otherwise would have not been funded. 

Sailesh Ramakrishnan, Partner at Rocketship, said: “Our deep data expertise allows us to take a different approach, leveraging data science, technology, and analytics to find the best companies anywhere, at any stage, in any market. We’re excited to be at the forefront of this shift and use our experience to help founders successfully build their companies, regardless of the location.”

Rocketship has so far invested in 44 companies across seed, A and B rounds, with 46 percent of investments outside the US, including India, Southeast Asia, Latin America, Europe, and North America.

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

“We were honored when they approached us to invest because it validated through data the progress we had made to drive disruption and growth in our market,” he added. 

The firm’s portfolio companies include Trocafone, NoBroker, Stocard, Moglix, Khatabook, Yulu, Wasabi, and Crosschq.