Bloomberg Beta

Bloomberg Beta
IndustryVenture Capital
FoundedJune 2013; 11 years ago (2013-06)
FounderBloomberg L.P.
Headquarters
San Francisco, California
,
United States
Key people
Roy Bahat
Karin Klein
James Cham
Shivon Zilis
Total assets$375 million
Websitewww.bloombergbeta.com

Bloomberg Beta is an early stage venture capital firm with $375M[1] under management, capitalized solely by Bloomberg. The fund exists to expand Bloomberg's horizons by investing in companies built by extraordinary founders that are creating profound change in the way business operates,[2] with a focus on machine intelligence and the future of work. Bloomberg Beta was recognized by VC review site CB Insights as the #2 investor in AI.[3]

Led by Roy Bahat, the firm has an unconventional investing model where anyone on the team can independently say "yes" to a deal. The fund's operating manual is publicly available online.[4]

Bloomberg Beta launched in June 2013, with $75 million of funding from Bloomberg L.P.[5][6] A second fund of $75 million[7] was announced in July 2016. In October 2019, they announced a third fund of $75 million.[8] In June 2022, they announced a fourth fund of $75 million, and their first opportunity fund, also of $75 million.[9] Bloomberg Beta is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with additional operations in New York City.

The firm uses data to find new customers. Their "Future Founders"[10] project started in 2014[11] to predict who will start companies before they do.[12] In 2014, it began publishing an annual Machine Intelligence landscape to better understand what was happening in the start-up ecosystem with artificial intelligence and machine learning.[13] The firm is the organizer behind "Comeback Cities",[14] taking groups of venture capitalists[15] and members of Congress[16] on bus tours throughout America,[17] to find untapped beds of talent and entrepreneurship.[18]

  1. ^ "Bloomberg VC Arm Adds $150 Million to Investing War Chest". The Information. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  2. ^ Bahat, Roy (7 October 2019). "Lessons about the future of work from six years of investing". Medium.
  3. ^ "A New High In Deal Activity To Artificial Intelligence Startups In Q4'15". CB Insights Research. 4 February 2016.
  4. ^ "Bloomberg-Beta/Manual". Bloomberg Beta. 28 March 2020.
  5. ^ "Bloomberg Launches Bloomberg Beta, A $75 Million Early-Stage Investment Fund Led By Former IGN Exec Roy Bahatt". TechCrunch. June 4, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  6. ^ "Bahat to Head $75 Million Bloomberg Beta Tech Fund". June 4, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  7. ^ "Bloomberg Beta raises a second $75 million fund". TechCrunch. 19 July 2016.
  8. ^ "Bloomberg Beta, now six years old, closes its third $75 million fund". TechCrunch. 18 October 2019.
  9. ^ "Bloomberg VC Arm Adds $150 Million to Investing War Chest". The Information. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  10. ^ "VC firms use data to identify startup founders before they know it". Fortune.
  11. ^ Bahat, Roy; Beta, head of Bloomberg. "Fortune-Tellers, Step Aside: Big Data Looks For Future Entrepreneurs". NPR.org.
  12. ^ Miller, Claire Cain (2 July 2015). "The Next Mark Zuckerberg Is Not Who You Might Think". The New York Times.
  13. ^ "Machine Intelligence In The Real World". TechCrunch. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  14. ^ Bahat, Roy (30 March 2018). "What this Silicon Valley VC learned on the "Rust Belt Safari"". Vox.
  15. ^ Roose, Kevin (4 March 2018). "Silicon Valley Is Over, Says Silicon Valley". The New York Times.
  16. ^ Andrews, Natalie (23 February 2018). "With Jobs in Mind, Ohio Democrat Takes Venture Capitalists on Midwest Road Trip". Wall Street Journal.
  17. ^ "Placing bets beyond the venture hubs of New York and Silicon Valley". TechCrunch.
  18. ^ "Comeback Cities tour takes politicians, venture capitalists to tech start-ups in the South". VentureBeat. 19 October 2018.