US-based talent agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA) formed an investment vehicle with venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA) on Wednesday that was launched with $100m in capital according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Connect Ventures will leverage the existing relationships CAA has in the sports and entertainment industries, and the Hollywood Reporter stated that the companies plan to invest up to $400m through the venture.
The fund will be run by Rick Yang, the NEA general partner who is also the firm’s head of consumer investing, while CAA’s end will be overseen by its newly appointed head of consumer investments, Michael Blank.
The first startup to receive funding from Connect Ventures is Spire Animation Studios, a US-based animation studio co-founded by Brad Lewis, the producer of Pixar feature Ratatouille. It intends to release its first film in 2023.
Richard Lovett, CAA’s president, said: “Connect Ventures is uniquely positioned to identify and support the most innovative entrepreneurs, helping accelerate the growth of their businesses by providing access to the expertise, knowledge, and relationships of both CAA and NEA.
“Connect Ventures will be deeply integrated into CAA’s ecosystem to help unlock new opportunities in service of our clients.”
The agency already runs its own corporate venturing unit, CAA Ventures, which invests in online media, consumer internet, gaming and digital hardware product developers.
CAA also co-founded investment and advisory firm Evolution Media with private equity group TPG in 2008. It has since built a portfolio that includes unicorns FanDuel and Scopely as well as MasterClass, which was reportedly valued at more than $800m as of last month.
