Creator Ventures, a VC fund launched by Caspar Lee (pictured) and Sasha Kaletsky, has just announced a $45m fund to back its investments in consumer-facing internet companies. The new fund is more than twice the size of its previous $20m fund – underlining the growing appetite for backing companies in the creator economy.
Commenting on LinkedIn, internet pioneer Lee said: “Our mission with Fund II remains the same: to become the world’s best early-stage partner to the next great consumer internet founders. We believe consumer seed founders are massively underserved by the current ecosystem – and we’re determined to help them where we can drive the most value in today’s internet: social, creator, product-led growth and go to market.”
Creator Ventures was formed in 2019 and has had notable successes. Startups it has backed include ElevenLabs, an AI audio company now valued at over $3.3 billion. Another Creator Ventures-backed company, Runna, was recently acquired by Strava.
Explaining his journey from internet star to VC wizard, Lee said: “Sasha and I took very different paths to get here – and that’s what makes our partnership special. Sasha came from the world of tech startups and private equity, while I started uploading videos to the internet, eventually co-founding Influencer with the legendary Ben Jeffries and MVE Management with the awesome Joe Sugg.”
He continued: “I remember when Sasha told me he was leaving PE to go all-in on Creator Ventures. We hadn’t yet closed our first fund but I knew that it would work out because Sasha is the smartest, most relentless perfectionist I know.”
