August 24, 2017
In our most recent blog post, we discussed how venture capital can help scale solutions that mitigate the impacts of climate change. This post will focus on one of those solutions, energy storage, which we believe is at an inflection point within its life cycle. Energy storage has the capability to make the electrical grid…
August 15, 2017
President Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris Agreement in July prompting cities, states, organizations of all sizes and everyday Americans to step forward and pledge to uphold the core tenets of the Paris climate agreement and fight climate change. 274 mayors have signed on as part of the Mayors National Climate Action…
July 14, 2017
RICHMOND – July 14, 2017 – TemperPack (www.temperpack.com), the leader in earth-friendly packaging for insulated, temperature-sensitive goods, announced today that it has raised $10 million to expand its operations and further commercialize innovative, new products. SJF Ventures led the fundraising round, joined by Interplay Ventures, Third Prime Capital and Dolik Ventures. Robert Beckler, formerly the president of packaging at WestRock, an international…
July 12, 2017
PHOENIX – July 12, 2017 – Solera Health, a provider of integrated chronic disease prevention services, announced today that the company has raised $18.3 million in Series B funding in a round led by Adams Street Partners. Existing strategic investors Blue Cross Blue Shield Venture Partners, Sandbox Industries and social impact fund SJF Ventures also participated…
July 12, 2017
Benjamin Franklin famously wrote that “nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” And yet the inherent optimism of human nature causes us to avoid talking about the inescapable truth of death. Studies have repeatedly shown that while we widely recognize the value in end-of-life consideration and planning, we do not take…
June 20, 2017
SJF Ventures has joined thousands of investors, businesses, and universities along with nine states and hundreds of cities to sign on to the “We’re Still In” pledge to join the global effort to hold warming well below 2C. Climate wealth investment opportunities abound, as recently illustrated by the 100 solutions profiled in Drawdown-The Most Comprehensive Plan…
June 19, 2017
SAN FRANCISCO – May 24, 2017 – Carrum Health, the first comprehensive bundled payment platform for employers, received $6.5 million in seed funding led by Wildcat Venture Partners, a venture capital firm committed to enabling early-stage startups to build high-growth business. The funding also includes contributions from venture capital firms SJF Ventures and SpringRock Ventures….
June 19, 2017
NEW YORK, June 6, 2017 – MediaMath, the leading independent programmatic company for marketers, today announced a new $175 million senior secured credit facility, led by Goldman Sachs, in partnership with Santander Bank. MediaMath will use this new line of credit to refinance existing debt facilities and fund its ongoing growth objectives. Joe Zawadzki, Chairman…
March 31, 2017
Raise.me grabs $12 million to fix how colleges provide financial aid by Jonathan Shieber March 29, 2017 Preston Silverman got the idea for Raise.me, a startup that has created a clever new way for students to receive financial aid, while working as a volunteer at a school for untouchables in India called Shanti Bhavan. Taking a break…
March 31, 2017
SJF Ventures has led the $10 million Series B financing at Voxy, a company revolutionizing English language learning. Through a mobile and web-based educational program, Voxy is teaching English language learners with content and multimedia relevant to their personal lives and professional goals. The company applies a rigorous learning pedagogy that has been proven to…
January 19, 2017
January 17, 2017, Davos, Switzerland – SJF Ventures is proud to accept the 2017 Circular Economy Investor Award, one of seven award categories for the Circulars, which recognize individuals and organizations that have made notable contributions to the circular economy. The World Economic Forum’s Community of Young Global Leaders, in collaboration with Accenture Strategy, awarded the Circulars…
December 24, 2016
Chernova’s Take: SJF Ventures Sticks With Clean Tech—and Prospers Fresh off closing its largest fund at $125 million, firm survives economic cycles by keeping up a steady commitment to its principles By Yuliya Chernova Dec. 21, 2016 7:30 a.m. ET Read the full article here.
December 15, 2016
December 15, 2016, Durham, NC – SJF Ventures has closed SJF Ventures IV, L.P., a $125 million fund investing in high-growth companies creating a healthier, smarter and cleaner future. The oversubscribed fund will build on proven impact investment strategies from three previous SJF funds that have delivered superior financial returns and driven sizable positive impacts in…
December 7, 2016
SJF Ventures III has invested $3 million in LeadGenius. The Berkeley, CA-based company delivers a marketing and sales platform powered by best-in-class data that is continually refined through a unique combination of machine learning technology and skilled human researchers. Serving over 200 customers, from rapidly-scaling tech startups such as Weebly, to Fortune 500 businesses such as…
November 26, 2016
Yieldbot Yieldbot, a digital media technology and marketplace that connects brands with active consumer intent announced it placed second on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500™, a ranking of the 500 fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and energy tech companies in North America. Yieldbot, which delivers measured engagement and sales lift for brands across their…
October 27, 2016
Pressure from animal welfare groups and consumer interest in humane farming methods are fueling a quiet international race to develop technology that would end one of the egg industry’s most gruesome practices: the shredding to death of billions of newborn male chicks each year. Efforts are underway in North America and Europe to find an industrial-scale method to determine the gender…
October 27, 2016
SJF is proud to release its 2016 Impact Report, which highlights the organization’s impact strategy and portfolio company achievements across six impact objectives: mitigating climate change, conserving natural resources, increasing nutritious food & sustainable agriculture, improving education access & outcomes, enhancing health & wellness, and enabling greater economic access & quality job creation. The report…
October 14, 2016
In 2016, SJF Ventures undertook a project to better understand the climate change impact of its portfolio. SJF Ventures worked with a team from the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, along with its partners at the Duke Carbon Offset Initiative and with review by the Environmental…
September 15, 2016
San Diego, CA, September 15, 2016 – Portfolium announced on Monday that it has raised $6.55M in Series A Financing, led by SJF Ventures. The funds will fuel expansion of Portfolium’s talent marketplace for students and cement it’s position as this generation’s bridge between higher ed and the job market. “In every classroom, in every city in…
August 4, 2016
In the Spotlight … For the third time in three years, SJF Ventures Managing Director Cody Nystrom backs a company focused on preventive health — one founded and led by Brenda Schmidt, and one that, Cody tells Women’s PE Briefs, is “orchestrating a dialogue,” between insurers, doctors, non-traditional health providers and patients, “that will be…
