Becoming a venture capitalist has become the latest status symbol in Hollywood.
These days, everyone from Olivia Wilde to Emma Watson is either starting a venture capital firm or is backing the next hottest company. Robinhood, Uber, and Klarna all have glitzy names on their cap tables, paving the way for the rise of the “Hollywood angels.”
For founders, having celebrities at the cap table can bring a lot of buzz to the startup — and bonus points if the celebrity also knows what they're doing. Here are some of the top celebrity investors and what they typically look to invest in. (This list will be updated periodically).
Snoop Dogg
The famous rapper and personality is a prolific angel investor and is also one of the founders of Casa Verde Capital, a company focused on cannabis investments. As an angel investor, according to PitchBook, he has backed companies including Cameo, Reddit, Klarna, Robinhood, and fintech MoonPay, alongside other celebrities on this list. He has made at least 26 investments, according to PitchBook. The managing partner of Casa Verde Capital is Karan Wadhera and the company closed a $94 million project Fund II in 2020.
Sara and Erin Foster
The Foster sisters are two of Hollywood's most famous siblings, best known these days as producers of Kristen Bell's Netflix show “Nobody Wants This.” They launched a venture capital firm in 2022 seeks to raise $20 million to support consumer companies, and the fund has been officially closed, their representatives confirmed to us. They know the consumer sector well: they already have a podcast, a clothing line and a successful TV show.
PitchBook shows that the company, which they run alongside business partner Phil Schwarz, has issued at least six checks, including to companies like diaper brand Kudos (alongside Gwyneth Paltrow) and the luxury boxed wine company Juliet.
As angel investors, the sisters also invested in alkaline water company ZenWTR. Sara is also an angel investor in swimwear company Summersalt and breakthrough startup Rowan.
Kevin Hart
A few years ago, comedian Kevin Hart launched a venture capital firm, HartBeat Ventures, alongside Robert Roman, an investor with experience managing money for celebrities in entertainment and sports.
The firm was founded around 2021 with the mission of supporting minority and underrepresented founders. It received its first outside investment from JP Morgan as part of one of the bank's initiatives to finance more businesses run by women and people of color.
The firm has invested in at least 14 companies, according to PitchBook, including art marketplace Masterworks, 3D printing company Ready Player Me and Rihanna's Savage x Fenty lingerie line. Tashi Nakanishi and Walid Samaha are partners at the firm, according to LinkedIn, while Ron Everline is vice president.
HartBeat Ventures began raising its Fund I in 2022 with no target amount. As of January 2024, it has raised at least $28 million, according to a Filing with the SEC starting in January. An October SEC filing also shows that HartBeat is attempting to raise capital for what appears to be an SPV is looking to invest in the Aston Martin Formula 1 motor racing team.
Paris Hilton
The famous socialite is also an angel investor, according to PitchBook. She has made investments through her company 11:11 Media, of which she is CEO and co-founder. Its investments include crypto company MoonPaybiotechnology company Colossal Biosciences, community events platform AfterParty and podcast platform Fireside Chats.
The theme for her seems to be social platforms, biotechnology and SaaS products that make consumers' lives easier. She has made at least 22 investments, according to PitchBook, and happens to be married to Carter Reum, founder of the popular Los Angeles firm M13 Ventures, which has invested in companies such as ClassPass, Canvas and Pinterest, according to her website.
Ashton Kutcher
Perhaps one of the most famous and notable The celebrity VC is Ashton Kutcher. He is co-founder of two venture capital firms, A-Grade and Sound Ventures, both of which he created with Guy Oseary. Shortly after Sound launched, Effie Epstein joined the company as managing partner.
Sound Ventures, founded in 2015, seeks to support software companies and manages more than $1 billion in assets, according to PitchBook. It also invests from thematic funds and last year launched an AI Growth Thematic fund, which has invested in companies including Hugging Face, OpenAI, Anthropic and World Labs. He told the audience at TechCrunch's Disrupt 2024 event that it supports its competitors in the field of AI because he thinks there is room for multiple massive AI model companies. His other notable investments between A-Grade and Sound include Affirm, Airbnb, Airtable, Duolingo and Uber.
Nas
Famous rapper Nas founded his company QueensBridge Venture Partners in 2014. It has made more than 130 investments across various industries and has approximately $140 million in assets under management, according to PitchBook. Anand Murthy is a partner at the firm. The company has invested in companies like luggage brand Away (alongside Jay-Z) and Parachute bedding companyaccording to PitchBook.
As an angel investor, Nas has made more than 50 investments, according to PitchBook. He has backed SeatGeek, Robinhood, Ring, Coinbase and fintech Mercury.
Gwyneth Paltrow
The Goop founder has made at least 24 investments as an angel investor, according to PitchBook. Alongside Moj Mahdara, she is also a co-founder of Kinship Ventures, which invests in consumer and wellness companies. The company was looking to raise a $75 million venture capital fundAxios Reported Last Year and Supported Crypto payment company MoonPay. According to other SEC filings, it appears that Kinship Ventures has also raised what appears to be an SPV. support OpenAI and the bitcoin mining company TeraWulf.
As an angel investor, Paltrow has invested in the diaper company Congratulationshair company Crown Affair, beauty e-commerce marketplace Thirteen Lune and beverage brand Olipop, alongside actress Priyanka Chopra, according to PitchBook. Actress Mindy Kaling, rapper Logic and the Jonas Brothers, also supported Olipop.
Emma Watson
The actress received at least two checks from angel investors, according to PitchBook. The investments include at least two companies, including biomanufacturing company FabricNanoAnd Hertility Health. Watson is a highly regarded activist, particularly on the environment and women's rights. So it's no surprise that both of its angel investments are in companies looking to make product manufacturing more sustainable and a platform for women's health.
Olivia Wilde
Actress and director Olivia Wilde has teamed up with Neil Sirni, who ran Roc Nation's Arrive venture capital division, to launch venture capital firm Proximity, Bloomberg reported in October. Wilde doesn't yet have a PitchBook profile, but Bloomberg reports that his new company will focus on consumer and enterprise technologies and has already made some moves, including in Pendulum Therapeutics.
Investor Jason Mack and artist Santigold, known for her song “LES Artistes,” are also partners in the company, according to Bloomberg. SEC filings show Proximity is raising two new SPV funds, including one $5 million health fund And another fund of 10 million dollars.
Jay-Z
The music mogul is an angel investor and co-founder of RocNation and what is now MarcyPen Capital Partners, an investment firm formed from the merger of Jay-Z's Marcy Venture Partners with the investment arm of Pendulum Holding, Pendulum Opportunities.
Rock Nation has a venture capital arm called Arrive Opportunities Managementwhich was once run by Neil Sirni, the investor who now works with Olivia Wilde at Proximity. This venture capital arm has made at least 40 investments, according to PitchBook, backing companies such as Sweetgreen and Epic Games.
Before the merger, Marcy Venture Partners invested in several companies, like Rihanna's Fenty x Savage (making Rihanna one of the few black women in the world to have a unicorn company) and the company web3 Spatial Labs. Charlie Hanna and Mason O'Hanlon are listed as investors at MarcyPen Capital Partners on PitchBook and LinkedIn.
Additionally, as an angel investor, Jay-Z has made notable investments — at least 27, according to PitchBook — in companies like Oatly, Flowhub, Impossible Foods and luggage company Away.
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