Jay Z to Launch Venture Capital Fund
Jay Z is out to prove he’s a business, man, once again with a new venture capital fund.
According to Axios, Hov and Roc Nation co-founder Jay Brown plan to invest in young startups. The duo will reportedly work with Sherpa Capital on some of these investments, though they’ll have their own brand and will not use current Sherpa staff.
They are currently seeking a full-time venture partner, according to the report, given that Jay has other businesses to tend to, including his role as a superstar MC.
In the past, Jigga has had some success with startups, including an early 2011 investment in Uber. At the time, the company was valued at $300 million and it is now valued at $62.5 billion. Another one of Jay’s early 2011 investments was in Stance, the premium sock company, which has raised $116 million from Silicon Valley investors.
However, not all of Jay’s investments have been lucrative. He’s also put his money into companies like Instagram competitor Viddy (which later became Supernova) and private jet startup Blackjet. Both failed, according to TechCrunch, resulting in a loss or little to no return on his investment.
Jay’s other investments include JetSmarter, described as Uber for private planes; the high-end speaker company Devialet; and he also owns TIDAL. Recently, he sold a 33 percent stake of the streaming company to Sprint for a reported $200 million, nearly two years after purchasing the company for $56 million.
On the music end, Hov recently joined forces with his wife Beyoncé for “Shining,” the lead single from DJ Khaled’s upcoming album Grateful. The famous couple is also expecting twins.