Collide Capital Closes $95M Fund II to Back the Next Generation of Fintech, Supply Chain and Future of Work Companies

BROOKLYN, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Collide Capital, an early-stage venture firm investing in companies focused on fintech, supply chain, and the future of work, today announced it has raised an oversubscribed $95 million Fund II, bringing the firm’s total assets under management (AUM) to over $170 million. Founded in 2021 by Brian Hollins and Aaron Samuels, who together bring experience leading founder communities, and operating at consulting, investment, and technology firms, Collide invests in the ecosystems its own founders have spent decades building.

“With a portfolio of over 75 companies, including 5 exits and top quartile Total Value to Paid-In capital (TVPI) for both our exploratory Fund Zero and Fund I, Collide is proud to be one of the few emerging firms to successfully scale from a proof of concept fund to an institutional-grade firm, and ensure longevity for its founders and LPs,” said Hollins. “Fund II allows us to double down on our commitment to supporting relentless, tactical, generational founders building enterprise software, and leveraging our hard-won ecosystem-building experience to transition our portfolio companies from early-stage to growth.”

Maintaining an Active On-Campus Presence
In addition to helping its founders succeed, Collide maintains a uniquely active presence at top universities, including Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Stanford and more, to support students interested in entrepreneurship and venture capital. Collide Campus includes a training program designed to equip undergraduates with the core building blocks of sourcing and identifying potential companies, and an MBA fellowship program that includes real deal sourcing, diligence and working closely with Collide investors. In just three years since its inception, Collide Campus has:

• Graduated more than 50 students across leading undergraduate engineering and MBA programs across the country.
• Expanded to include access to Breakthrough Ventures, an accelerator program recently launched out of Stanford University.
• Created an extensive alumni network through which Collide has sourced hundreds of new deals, co-investment opportunities and partnership opportunities.
• Led to 2 MBA fellowship participants becoming full-time Collide employees, 1 undergraduate participating team being accepted into Y Combinator, and dozens of participants matriculating to successful careers in venture at firms including BEA Venture Fund, General Catalyst and more.

“Not only do we invest in the ecosystems we ourselves have built, we also stay close to the institutions that trained us,” said Samuels. “With Fund II, we’ll continue our MBA Fellowship program and expand our undergraduate scout offering, because ultimately, Collide’s mission is to usher in a new era of venture capital where resources and opportunities are directed toward the most deserving, not just the most privileged.”

Providing Entry Points to the Fortune 500
Collide invests in pre-seed through Series A rounds with check sizes ranging from $1-3 million. For the future of work vertical specifically, the firm applies a Gen-Z buyer lens, targeting must-have consumer and enterprise innovations in AI and automation. A sampling of Collide’s portfolio includes Butter (acq. by GrubMarket), Coldcart, Culina Health, Helios, OneCarNow, Revi, Rheaply, Slang.ai and Tandem, among others. The firm sets itself apart by providing its founders with actionable entry points to the Fortune 500, as demonstrated by offering direct:

• Connectivity to cloud and compute credits across Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and Anthropic
• Introductions for lines of credit and financing solutions from Stifel, Silicon Valley Bank and JPMorgan
• Access to the procurement and revenue teams at multiple Fortune 500 companies

Generating Enduring Momentum
Since launching its $1.3M exploratory “Fund Zero” in 2019, Collide has evolved into an institutionally recognized firm, scaling from a two-person team to a full-stack platform that provides hands-on operational support and access to deep knowledge networks. To date, Collide’s Fund II has made five new investments across the firm’s core sectors, including Art Lab, Jelou, Ocho, Prefix and Sytrex.

Prior to co-founding Collide, Hollins spent 10 years investing at Goldman Sachs, Lightspeed and Slow Ventures, in addition to founding The Takeoff Institute, serving as a founding Board member at BLCK VC and becoming a Kauffman Fellow. Samuels previously spent 15 years operating and investing at Blavity Inc., Bain & Company, Lightspeed, and Telesign, in addition to founding AfroTech, one of the largest global technology conferences.

About Collide Capital
Founded in 2021, Collide Capital is an early-stage venture firm investing in companies focused on fintech, supply chain, and the future of work. The firm’s approach includes activating strong founder networks to build the next generation of impactful technology companies, and offering multiple on-campus programs for students interested in entrepreneurship and venture capital. Collide is headquartered in New York City and maintains an office in San Francisco. To date, the firm has backed over 75 companies. For more information, visit collidecap.com or follow the firm on LinkedIn.