While the business of hip-hop continues to grow, hip-hop’s first billionaire continues his climb into the thermosphere of business. Marcy Venture Partners (MVP), the venture capital company co-founded by Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, has raised $85 million, according to Crunchbase.
According to an SEC filing, the San Francisco-based entity raised the money from 54 different investors. The company has already invested in six other companies, according to Crunchbase, including electric mobility startup Wheels last October. The biggest round MVP has led so far was the $70 million round for singer and businesswoman Rihanna’s lingerie line, Savage X Fenty. Its first investment was made in March 2019 with Hungry Marketplace’s $8 million Series A in April 2019.
The firm was co-founded by Roc Nation rapper/owner Jay-Z, former Roc Nation CEO Jay Brown, and longtime venture investor Larry Marcus. Brown has also invested in Bay Area brands like RightRice. Marcus is a venture capitalist and the director of Walden Venture Capital, which has invested in companies like Pandora. Marcus also backed companies like Netflix as an angel investor; Jay-Z has backed Bay Area companies like Uber and Impossible Foods.
According to MVP’s Crunchbase page, “the firm has a passion for building game-changing consumer businesses and mass-market brands that resonate with culture across products and services, media and technology. We combine unique access, instincts, deep networks, operating and venture capital expertise to be long term partners in growth.
“MVP’s portfolio companies embrace positive values including sustainability, empowerment, inclusivity, accessibility, convenience, health & wellness and personal expression. Our companies are led by top-tier management teams with clear vision, purpose and executional excellence. We lead or co-invest in companies that have meaningful brand values, high customer joy driven by an outstanding product, demonstrated growth and clear catalysts for the next level of scale.”
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