Thrive Capital, the New York-based venture capital firm helmed by 26-year-old Josh Kushner*, announced today that it has successfully raised a $150 million fund for early and later stage startups. The news comes almost a year to the day after Thrive announced a $40 million raise from investors like Princeton University. The fresh $150 million comes from a slew of some of the same investors, including Princeton, Wellcome Trust and Hall Capital Partners.
Thrive has backed many of New York’s recent notable startup exits. The firm was an investor in Instagram, purchased by Facebook for $1 billion; Hot Potato, also purchased by Facebook for around $10 million; and GroupMe, purchased by Skype for more than $50 million.
The current Thrive portfolio reads like a who’s who in New York tech: the company is also an investor in Pinterest competitor The Fancy, flash sales site Fab and e-commerce glasses hub Warby Parker.
“Many see the way the Internet has already transformed our daily lives and conclude that most of the change that was going to happen already has.” Mr. Kushner told The New York Times. “I am of the belief that it is only the beginning.”
*Disclosure: thrive capital is invested in several start-up companies. Josh Kushner, a Thrive principal, is also part-owner of Observer Media Group, which owns Betabeat. Betabeat has no affiliation with Thrive Capital and the views expressed in Betabeat do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Thrive Capital or its principals.
