Torch Capital Announces Over $200M In New Funding to Continue Investing in Tech-enabled Consumer Brands and Platforms

Torch Capital, the NYC-based early-stage VC fund, announced the closing of over $200M in new capital to continue investing in the next generation of disruptive tech-enabled consumer brands and platforms.

Since launching in 2018, Torch has established itself as one of the top performing consumer tech funds in NYC, with their latest fundraising announcement bringing the firm’s total AUM to over $400M.

Torch has a track-record of investing early in some of the fastest growing companies across the consumer ecosystem including Ro (Roman), Acorns, Highsnobiety (acquired by Zalando), Tia, Naadam, Sollis Health, Lili Bank, and Rho Banking.

“This is a once in a cycle opportunity to be investing at the intersection of consumer and technology. We are committed to continue investing in companies that are transforming entire consumer verticals and
using technology to make products and services more accessible, transparent, and affordable. Our investment lens has always been razor focused on brand and a company’s ability to create and sustain
deep relationships and trust with their end-consumer, subsequently working in the trenches with our entrepreneurs to help them identify, nurture and scale their audience bases,” said Founder and Managing
Partner Jonathan Keidan.

Since the beginning of his career, Keidan has built a reputation as a taste-maker. Before entering venture, Keidan co-founded digital media company InsideHook and spent time at McKinsey in their TMT practice.

He started his career as a manager in the music industry, discovering talent and nurturing the careers of young artists, songwriters, and producers. With an innate ability to spot and develop up-and-coming musical talent, working early with artists such as John Legend, The Dave Matthews Band, and songwriters for Robbie Williams and Tim Mcgraw, Keidan is now applying the same eye for talent to entrepreneurs.

Torch surrounds itself with some of the world’s leading founders, operators and institutional investors across industries, from Diplo (Grammy award-winning and renowned DJ, producer and artist) to James Murdoch (Former Chairman & CEO, 21st Century Fox), Bob Pittman (Chairman & CEO, iHeartMedia).

As strategic LPs, they provide far more than just capital with a fresh take when it comes to early stage investing due to their wide range of experience.

With an investment history stemming back to 2008, Jon’s early investments include Compass (IPO 2021), Digital Ocean (IPO 2021), Sweetgreen (IPO 2021), and Zocdoc, with several other early investments
being strategically acquired over recent years including Say (acq. Robinhood), Swarm (acq. SpaceX), Sir Kensington’s (acq. Unilever), and Parcel (acq. Walmart).

Torch has been at the forefront of investing in a new definition of “consumer” over recent years, applying their learnings of what makes a great traditional consumer brand to an ever increasing range of industries
and verticals that extend beyond the purely B2C ecosystem.

“As technological capabilities become more and more commoditized and the consumerization of B2B becomes more prolific, we view a company’s brand stack as equally as important as their tech stack when creating value for consumers, SMB’s or larger enterprises,” said Keidan.

Torch has already seen this thesis translate into early success across Fund II with notable seed investments, including Embed, the next-gen clearing and custody platform, which was recently acquired, and Little Otter, one of the fastest-growing mental health platforms for kids and their families, which recently closed a significant Series A led by Charles River Ventures.

Over the past year, the team at Torch has received several industry recognitions.

Keidan was listed by Business Insider as one of the Top VCs in New York City. Sam Jones (Partner) was named as one of the Top 5 Investment Professionals Originating from the UK in Both Consumer and Fintech. Katie Reiner (Principal) was named in Forbes 30 Under 30 in VC and Chris Harper (Principal) was recognized by Business Insider as a Rising Star in VC.

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