These guys are on their way to great things! Their goal is to exceed $500 million to create this new investment fund, GPx. This fund’s mission is indeed a bold one. It will implement a first-of-its-kind, two-pronged approach to developing new venture capitalists (VCs) and investing in later-stage opportunities for promising startups.
GPx plans to invest around 20% of its overall capital into funds managed by these emerging VCs. These VCs will have a strong mandate toward pre-seed and seed-stage startups, venturing early capital to the most promising, innovative concepts and companies. With our remaining capital, we’ll strategically deploy the rest in tandem with these up-and-coming managers. Our main emphasis will be on taking the lead in later-stage rounds — especially at the Series B level. This strategy surfaces breakout firms seeded by young EMs. This means GPx can serve in a dual capacity in the investment ecosystem.
Brian Singerman, a former General Partner at Founders Fund, and Lee Linden, co-founder and managing partner of Quiet Capital, bring significant experience to this initiative. Their combined expertise and established reputations in the venture capital landscape position GPx as a noteworthy player in the industry. Their stake is amplified even further by the participation of Peter Thiel, technologist and libertarian pioneer, a widely-known figure in the tech investment community.
TechCrunch reported the target size of GPx earlier this week. This disclosure makes the announcement even more interesting and exciting, as it creates a new layer of intrigue surrounding the fund’s launch. Previous reporting by The Information had reported about GPx, but didn’t provide information about its target size and specific investment strategy.
Given these emerging trends, the launch of GPx couldn’t come at a better time. PitchBook recently reported that capital raised by fund-of-funds firms dropped to a 16-year low last year. This drop underscores the continuing challenging environment for new funds. Singerman and Linden are using their strong personal brands and deep networks to win the attention of potential limited partners. They want to push back against the larger trend of venture capital fundraising that’s been on the downturn.
GPx has created a strategic investment model that embodies a different approach to venture capital. Beyond emerging managers, it aims to offer essential backing to early-stage startups. This combined approach where applicable could provide a significant competitive edge in spotting and developing tomorrow’s high-growth winners.
