A-Grade Investments
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| Private | |
| Industry | Private equity |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Founder | Ashton Kutcher, Guy Oseary, Ron Burkle, |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California |
| Products | Venture Capital |
| Website | www.agradeinvestments.com |
A-Grade Investments is a venture capital firm founded in 2010 by actor Ashton Kutcher, entertainment manager Guy Oseary, and billionaire investor Ron Burkle to opportunistically invest in technology start-up companies. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.
Founding and partners
Ashton Kutcher, Guy Oseary, and Ron Burkle invested in private equity deals individually, but in 2010, they formed A-Grade Investments to invest in technology startups as a group.[1]
Chris Hollod is a Partner at the firm and works directly with the founders to manage the fund.[2]
On May 1, 2013 onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt NYC, Kutcher and Oseary confirmed rumors that the fund was valued at over $100 million.[3]
Investments
Among its portfolio companies, A-Grade has invested in Spotify, Uber, Shazam, Couple, Soundcloud, and Airbnb.[4] The firm mainly takes part in Seed and Series A rounds.
The firm’s targets tend to be consumer-focused businesses that change the way consumers share information, or shake up traditional marketplaces.[5]
In a 2011 interview with The New York Times, Kutcher said, “I look for companies that solve problems in intelligent and friction-free ways and break boundaries.”[6]
In a 2013 interview with The Daily Telegraph, Kutcher said, “If we can create efficiencies in that which is mundane, then we accelerate our paths to happiness. The companies that will ultimately do well are the companies that chase happiness. If you find a way to help people find love, or health or friendship, the dollar will chase that.” [7]
Assets
- Katango, acquired, 2011[8]
- GroupMe, acquired, 2011[9]
- Socialcam, acquired, 2012[10]
- Bufferbox, acquired, 2012[11]
- Summly, acquired, 2013[12]
- Nest, acquired, 2014[13]
- Gyft, acquired, 2014[14]
- SmartThings, acquired, 2014[15]
References
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- ↑ http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/10/google-acquires-katango-the-automatic-friend-sorter/
- ↑ http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/23/what-skype-really-paid-for-groupme/
- ↑ http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/17/socialcam-autodesk-60-million/
- ↑ http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/30/google-acquires-waterloo-based-e-commerce-startup-amazon-locker-competitor-and-yc-graduate-bufferbox/
- ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/business/media/nick-daloisio-17-sells-summly-app-to-yahoo.html?_r=0
- ↑ http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303595404579318952802236612
- ↑ http://techcrunch.com/2014/07/30/first-data-acquires-mobile-gift-card-platform-gyft/
- ↑ http://www.forbes.com/sites/aarontilley/2014/08/14/samsung-smartthings-acquisition-2/
External links
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