US-based media relations service provider VSC has formed a $20m corporate venturing unit dubbed VSC Ventures to back early-stage climate technology developers, TechCrunch has reported.
The fund has so far secured $7m from undisclosed investors, VSC told TechCrunch. It will provide between $250,000 to $500,000 per investment and give portfolio companies access to the firm’s public relations and multimedia content development offerings.
Founded in 2002, VSC provides startup-focused, data-enhanced content creation and communications services, marketing and sales campaigns as well as audience engagement analysis.
Vijay Chattha, VSC’s chief executive, will oversee the fund together with VSC Ventures general partner Jay Kapoor, who had worked at MSG Ventures – a vehicle for live event promoter Madison Square Garden Entertainment – for a year from 2017.
Chattha told TechCrunch: “Many firms have experimented with equity for services since the late 1990s but abandon it quickly when the startup markets slow down. We are using [limited partner] capital to back companies and therefore are committed to this approach.”
