US-based venture capital firm Plexo Capital has closed its first fund at $42.5m, having harnessed contributions from a list of limited partners that includes several corporates.
Intel Capital and Cisco Investments, the corporate venturing arms of semiconductor technology provider Intel and networking equipment producer Cisco, joined internet and technology group Alphabet, financial services firm Royal Bank of Canada, Kapor Capital, Hampton University Endowment and Ford Foundation.
Founded in 2017, Plexo participates both as an investor in startup companies and as a fund-of-fund investor in emerging early-stage VC funds.
The firm was incubated within GV, one of Alphabet’s corporate venturing units, and founding managing partner Lo Toney was formerly a partner at GV. It is also looking to widen the diversity within the VC space, and GV intends to source deals through its network.
Toney said: “The Plexo Capital strategy was born out of the desire for a larger consideration set of potential deals at GV. Our thesis is that women and people of colour inherently have differentiated networks and a different lens to evaluate deals.
“This is very important at the seed stage, as it leads to a deal flow that is differentiated, and enables us to pursue deals that require an intimate understanding of certain problems or market opportunities in the absence of an abundance of data. Women and people of colour bring this to the table.”
David Krane, CEO of GV, added: “One of our aims at GV is to increase access to differentiated deal flow. In 2018, Lo and I worked together to build this strategy into an independent fund. We are proud of everything Lo and his team are building at Plexo Capital, and we are excited to see the impact of this work with a diverse set of investors and entrepreneurs.”
