SOSV is a venture capital firm that provides pre-seed, seed, Series A and later stage funding to deep tech startups that join its startup development programs, which are located in New York City, Newark, New Jersey, and San Francisco.[1][2] SOSV was founded in 1995 by Sean O'Sullivan.[3] It is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, with additional offices in Cork, Pune, Shenzhen and Tokyo.[4][5][6][7]
![]() | |
Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Venture capital and private equity |
Founded | 1995 |
Founder | Sean O'Sullivan |
Headquarters | |
Number of locations | Cork, New York City, Newark, Pune, Princeton, San Francisco, Shenzhen, Tokyo |
Number of employees | 100+ |
Website | www |
History
editIn July 2018, then governor of New York state Andrew Cuomo announced that the state would invest $25 million in an IndieBio facility in New York City.[6] In January 2023, SOSV opened a 30,000 sq. ft. IndieBio NY at 7 Penn Plaza in Manhattan.[8]
In December 2020, TechCrunch's former COO, Ned Desmond joined SOSV as senior operating partner.[9][10]
As of November 2021, SOSV has backed approximately 150 startups that are developing climate technologies, with a focus on the transport, supply chain, logistics, and agriculture sectors.[11][12]
In September 2021, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority announced that the state was investing $25 million to establish a HAX location in Newark, New Jersey.[7]
The new 35,000 sq ft HAX office in Newark, New Jersey opened officially in April 2024.[13][14]
Investments
editSOSV invests in startups that specialize in deep tech, including climate and health.[15][16][17] Notable companies within its portfolio include Opentrons, Formlabs, NotCo, Prolific Machines, unSpun, Neptune Robotics, Smartex, and BitMEX.[18][19][20][21][22]
In 2020, SOSV closed its fourth fund totalling $277 million.[23]
In 2021, SOSV closed a $100 million Select Fund.[2]
In 2024, SOSV closed its fifth core fund, totalling $306 million.[24]
Programmes
editSOSV runs the following programmes:
- HAX, a development program headquartered in Newark, NJ for startups focused on hard tech in categories including Industrial decarbonization, automation, robotics, and human health.[25][7]
- IndieBio, a startup development program centered on life sciences and addressing human and planetary health, with offices in New York City and San Francisco.[26][27][21]
References
edit- ^ Devitt, Niall. "Bill Liao of SOSventures Discusses Exit Strategies & the Value of Brand Story at #nsclunchnlearn". Bizsugar. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
- ^ a b Loizos, Connie (June 11, 2021). "SOSV, the global venture firm, just closed a $100 million fund to back its maturing startups". TechCrunch.
- ^ Collins, Dylan. "Founder Interviews: Sean O'Sullivan (SOSventures Avego)". Business Insider. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
- ^ Gain, Vish (April 17, 2024). "SOSV raises $306m for climate and health deep-tech start-ups". Silicon Republic.
- ^ Katie, Fehrenbacher (April 17, 2024). "SOSV raises $306m for climate and health deep-tech start-ups". Axios.
- ^ a b King, Kate (July 19, 2018). "New York Gives $25 Million to Breathe Life Into City's Biotech Scene". Wall Street Journal.
- ^ a b c Heater, Brian (September 16, 2021). "SOSV is building a New Jersey HAX facility for industrial, healthcare and climate startups". TechCrunch.
- ^ Baird-Remba, Rebecca (July 18, 2023). "How a VC Firm Set Up a Biotech Incubator in an Older Manhattan Building". Observer Media.
- ^ "TechCrunch ex-COO Ned Desmond has joined VC firm SOSV as senior operating partner". Startup News, Networking, and Resources Hub. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
- ^ "The venture firm SOSV has hired former TechCrunch COO Ned Desmond to help grow its startups". TechCrunch. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
- ^ Srivastava, Moulishree (2021-11-14). "3 thoughts on India's climate tech ecosystem from William Bao Bean of SOSV". KrASIA. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
- ^ Shieber, Jonathan (April 22, 2021). "SOSV's burgeoning climate portfolio is worth nearly $6 billion as planetary health bets pay off". TechCrunch.
- ^ Heater, Brian (April 22, 2024). "Here are the 30+ startups showcasing at HAX's May 1 Demo Day". TechCrunch.
- ^ Bergeron, Tom (April 30, 2024). "How HAX is making Newark into global destination for hard tech startups". ROI-NJ.
- ^ Kong, Xavier (7 September 2022). "New SOSV program announces inaugural cohort". Tech in Asia.
- ^ Hernbroth, Megan (July 26, 2022). "Generalists head for the hills in Q2". Axios.
- ^ Betuel, Emma (January 13, 2022). "Meet the 13 startups in IndieBio's SF cohort, and discover what about each swayed investors". TechCrunch.
- ^ Hall, Christine (July 26, 2021). "NotCo gets its horn following $235M round to expand plant-based food products". TechCrunch.
- ^ Hall, Christine (September 14, 2022). "Cultured meat startup Prolific Machines unveils its 'Henry Ford approach' to cell growth". TechCrunch.
- ^ Warren, Liz (September 8, 2021). "Unspun Raises $7.5M for US-Based Robotic Manufacturing". Sourcing Journal.
- ^ a b Liu, Coco (March 26, 2024). "Underwater Robots Are Helping Maritime Shipping Clean Up Its Act". Bloomberg.
- ^ Kamps, Haje Jan (November 3, 2022). "Smartex sews up $24.7M to put smarter eyes on textile manufacturing". TechCrunch.
- ^ "Global VC, SOSV secures $277 million in its fourth fund — looks to invest in early-stage deep tech startups". BEAMSTART - Business Community, Resources, & Opportunities. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
- ^ Chant, Tim De (April 16, 2024). "SOSV founder says climate investing is a 'war effort' as firm closes $306M fund". TechCrunch.
- ^ "HAX accelerator program to launch 100 businesses, help catalyze regional tech hub". Princeton Engineering. September 19, 2021.
- ^ Gewin, Virginia (2013). "Biotechnology: Independent streak". Nature. 499 (7459). Naturejobs.com: 509–511. doi:10.1038/nj7459-509a. PMID 23894751.
- ^ Buhr, Sarah (May 12, 2015). "Biotech Accelerator IndieBio Bumps Funding To $250K Per Startup To Give Founders More Runway". TechCrunch.