GoKawiilCollide Capital, founded by Brian Hollins and Aaron Samuels, announced Thursday the close of a $95 million Fund II. The firm, founded in 2021, backs early-stage companies in fintech, supply chain, and the future of work.
It’s backed 75 companies to date after closing its inaugural $66 million Fund I in 2022. Hollins said it took them around 13 months to raise this latest fund, which they hope to deploy over the next 3.5 years. The landscape for many emerging fund managers is tough, but the Collide Capital team comes with a track record and strong pedigree (Hollins spent a decade at Goldman, Lightspeed, and Slow, while Samuels worked at Bain, Lightspeed, and co-founded AfroTech, one of the largest tech conferences in the world).
Limited partners (LPs) in Fund II include the University of California Endowment (UC Regents) — which anchored their last fund — Accolade Partners, Fairview Capital, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan. The average check size will be between $1 million and $3 million, and the team hopes to back at least 30 companies, having already cut checks to five. (Other companies in the firm’s portfolio include Culina Health and Helios).
“We’re most interested in platforms enabling automation, real‑time collaboration, and faster, data‑driven decision making,” Hollins said.
Aside from technology, Hollis and Samuels said the firm is also excited to expand its Collide Campus program, launched in 2022 to help mentor the next generation of founders and venture capitalists. The expansion is separate from the fund raise. The program encompasses an undergraduate initiative that trains students in VC and entrepreneurship, and a graduate fellowship program that sees students working alongside the Collide team as investors and apprentices.
The undergraduate campus program is on more than 20 campuses, including Harvard and John Hopkins, and Samuels said more than 50 students have passed through the program so far and have landed top jobs at places like General Catalysts and, of course, Collide. Overall, the program helps the firm source deals and talent. Samuels said they started the program as it was something they wished they had when they were students.
“We’re connecting the best and the brightest with venture capital to match their grit and determination to build businesses the world needs,” he said.