Fintechnews Switzerland
June 11, 2024
Big-name investors have become influential in the venture capital (VC) world, bringing significant name recognition, credibility and strategic support to the startups they invest in. But some investors stand out from the crowd with their knack for identifying future unicorns and hot mergers and acquisitions (M&A) targets.
Market intelligence platform CB Insights has launched the “Celebrity VC Index,” ranking the top 20 celebrity investors based on portfolio strength. The index considers recent fundraising and exit activity, unicorn metrics and the Mosaic scores of portfolio companies to identify the most successful celebrity VCs.
The Mosaic Score is a proprietary algorithm developed by CB Insights to evaluate the health and growth potential of private companies. It combines various metrics and data points into a single score to assess a company's viability and future prospects.
Prominent VC CEO, Source: CB Insights, May 2024
Prominent Fintech Investors
A separate study by Fintech Global found that several of these celebrities are also active in fintech, with Durant, The Chainsmokers, Hart and Smith notably among the top 10 celebrities most active in fintech investing between 2019 and 2023, the report said.
Durant's major investments during this period include Goalsetter, a mobile banking app that enables peer-to-peer transactions; Jeeves, which offers open global business accounts; and Titan, an investment firm backed by Smith.
The Chainsmokers have invested in teen banking app Step, which Smith also has a stake in, Indonesian fractional investing app Pluang, and challenger credit card X1 Card. Hart has invested in tax automation platform Fonoa and business banking startup Mercury, while Smith has invested in strategic investment platform Front and social investing platform Public.com.
Top 10 Most Active Fintech Investors 2019-2023, Source: Fintech Global Research, March 2024
Featured image credit: edited from freepik
