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Individual investors across the globe fuel one of the largest funds ever raised for early-stage seed investment
BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–June 4, 2014–
Romulus Capital, a venture capital firm founded out of MIT focused on seed- and early-stage technology and science-enabled companies, announced today that it has raised $50 million from a powerful group of individual investors from six regions around the world including the US, Western Europe, Russia, South Asia, the Middle East, and Hong Kong. Further making the fund unique in the venture industry is the profile of investors – individuals and no institutions. As the second fund raised by Romulus, today’s milestone makes it one of the largest seed funds in the world.
Romulus Capital Announces Close of $50 Million Early-Stage Venture Capital Seed Fund(Photo: Business Wire)
“By design, few things about us fit the typical conventions of venture capital in the US,” said Krishna K. Gupta, Founder and Managing Partner. “We were one of the earliest movers at the seed stage and structured the firm to partner closely with entrepreneurs on strategy, operational, and sales objectives to build a strong foundation as if we were members of the team. We are 100% aligned as partners. That comes from the DNA of the firm itself as an MIT startup – we have a focus on building rather than betting on companies. It continues with who and where our investors are from, their business expertise and connections in markets around the world where our portfolio companies can grow. What we are not is a fund paying lip service to adding value and basing decisions on investment formulas that spread risk and play the odds of success. With this new fund, we now have the scale and experience to power a company through the early stages in a way few seed-stage firms do.”
Romulus Capital was founded in 2008 by Krishna K. Gupta while an undergraduate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was co-founded by Anantshree Chaturvedi and Cankut Durgun. Neil Chheda joined the firm full-time in 2012 after the successful sale of his company. Chheda and Gupta together are leading the second fund. Capital raised in this second fund will be used to partner with approximately 25 new companies.
About Romulus Capital
Romulus Capital was founded in 2008 out of MIT at a time when few firms existed to partner with companies at the foundational stage. The firm initially saw an opportunity in seed-stage venture capital tied to a university ecosystem around MIT and Harvard, although it’s now involved broadly across the seed stage in the US. With investments in early-stage technology and science enabled businesses, Romulus has built a strong brand focused on business-building rather than business-betting. They look for real businesses and entrepreneurs who want to build a large business. They were the first institution to invest in companies such as E la Carte, Ginger.io and Placester. To learn more, please visit romuluscap.com
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20140604005245/en/
Racepoint Global
Ashley Waters, 617-624-3200
romulus@racepointglobal.com
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