Venture University Celebrates Graduation Of Four Venture Capital Investor Accelerator Cohorts (Cohorts 33–36) & Twelve New Investments In 2H 2023.

Venture University (VU), the world’s leading investor accelerator for venture capital, private equity, and angel investing, is proud to announce the graduation of the recent four venture capital investor accelerator cohorts in the 2nd half of 2023 (VC Cohorts 33 to 36, growing to 700+ VU Alumni) and the twelve new investments they have made, growing portfolio to 90+ companies. Apply To An Upcoming Cohort.

Each venture capital investor accelerator cohort is an intensive three-month program, including four Education Programs (Masterclass, Advanced Modules, Fireside Chats, & Startup Madness) and an Investment Apprenticeship Program at a top tier global venture capital fund, where individuals focus on building skills (deal sourcing, conducting due diligence, and investment evaluation), developing a track record by making portfolio company investments, and receive a profit sharing agreement to benefit from the financial upside of the investments. Watch Video Of VU’s Quarterly Graduation Trip To Napa Valley, CA.

Venture University attracts a diverse group of talent for the venture capital and private equity industry, including individuals looking to enter at the Analyst to Partner level role, recent hires at VC/PE funds, emerging fund managers, angel investors, family offices, and individuals at corporations with innovation roles.

Key Achievements of Cohorts 33–36:

1. Diversity & Quality of Talent Among Venture Capital Investors:

Two of VU’s core missions is to increase the diversity and quality of talent of individuals working within the venture capital and private equity industry. The vast majority of individuals currently working within the venture capital and private equity industry have not been trained, which is quite scary given that they are deploying the highest risk capital of investors. An investment team with a diverse background provides broader sourcing capabilities and perspectives when evaluating opportunities.

Cohorts 33–36 included over 100 cohort members (~28 Members per Cohort), with ~36% being women (~2–3x industry average.) and ~20% being underrepresented minorities (~3–4x industry average), reflecting a rich arsenal of capabilities, perspectives, and backgrounds.

Cohort 33–36 consisted of two West Cohorts (Cohorts 33 & 35) across North America, LatAm, & Europe, and two East Cohorts (Cohorts 34 & 36) across Asia-Pacific, Middle East, & Africa. VU had its largest Asia cohort in VU history, Cohort 34, in partnership with Penjana Kapital (Leading Fund-of-Fund in Malaysia), with 41 cohort members across Malaysia, Singapore, & Hong Kong. Watch Video 1. Watch Video 2.

2. Large Scale & UnprecedentedThorough Review Of Startups:

Cohorts 33–36 collectively reviewed over 11,000+ startups and narrowed in on the companies with the largest target market opportunities, where the solutions had the most significant magnitude of improvement compared to the status quo, impressive and notable traction, led by strong founders, and with top performing co-investors.

3. Extensive Founder & Investor Engagement:

Cohorts 33–36 scheduled over 4,000 founder and investor meetings, engaging directly with entrepreneurs to gain deep insights into the challenges and opportunities within each startup, and discussed top deal flow with other venture capital funds and startup accelerators.

4. Deep Due Diligence:

Cohorts 33–36 conducted deep due diligence into over 100+ companies, including market and financial analysis; customer, competitor, and investor interviews; and return analysis, to decide on which companies to bring to the Investment Committee.

5. Exceptional Investment Selectivity:

Cohorts 33–36 identified and invested in 12 companies, including 5 new portfolio companies and 7 follow-on investments within the portfolio, leveraging fresh unbiased eyes and perspectives. These twelve companies represent a ~0.1% selectivity (12 investments out of 11,000+ opportunities), 10x more selective than an average venture capital fund at ~1%. The selected opportunities had an average SAM (Serviceable Addressable Market) of $77 Billion, average revenue projections of over $1+ Billion, and average potential return multiples of 21x-91x.

6. Diverse Investments:

Cohort 33–36 selected investments that were across industry verticals including AI Drug Discovery, Biological Sensors, Early Wage Access For Employees, Innovative Protein for Food, Mental Health, Organ Biotech, Reproductive Healthcare, Retail Technology, Super Apps, Team & Project Management, Underground Infrastructure, & Vertical Farming.

Five New Portfolio Company Investments:

• Early Wage Access: Empowers the modern workforce by offering early access to earned wages, providing much-needed financial flexibility and security.
• Innovative Protein For Food: Leverages innovative protein technology to create delicious, nutritious, and convenient high-protein pantry staples like bread and pasta, truly changing the way people think about protein.
• Team & Project Management: Provides an analytical and comprehensive platform specifically designed for engineering teams.
• Underground Infrastructure: Revolutionizes underground tunneling using a plasma technology that digs tunnels 100x faster and at a 1/10th the cost to provide access to power, water, and data.
• Vertical Farming: Vertical farming of shrimp using robotics and AI to provide local supply, that is grown 2x faster, healthier, better tasting, and operating at much higher profit margins.

Follow-on Investments:

• AI Drug Discovery: A novel approach to drug discovery to produce a portfolio of breakthrough drugs much faster, significantly less capital, and with a much higher success rate for commercialization.
• Biological Sensors: A smart patch capable of tracking over 100+ biological data points with high accuracy, continuously, and in real-time.
• Mental Health: Mental health platform for schools and communities, providing both in-person and telehealth services.
• Organ BioTech: Cryogenically freezing organs to increase the supply for transplants.
• Reproductive Healthcare: Male birth control that is long lasting (1–5 years, non-hormonal, and easily reversible.
• Retail Technology: Enables frictionless self-checkout for faster and more convenient shopping experiences using visual AI.
• Super App: The Super App for Africa across transportation, financing, and commerce.

“I am incredibly proud of the accomplishments of our recent venture capital investor accelerator cohorts,” said J. Skyler Fernandes, the Founder of Venture University and General Partner of VU Venture Partners. “The diversity and quality of talent among our venture capital cohort investors and alumni reflect our core mission to enhance the industry. With these cohorts, we’ve seen an unprecedented level of quantity as well as quality of deal flow sourcing, extensive founder and investor engagement, and deep due diligence efforts. The exceptional selectivity in our investments, choosing only 12 out of over 11,000 opportunities, a ~0.1% selectivity, highlights the rigorous and analytical approach our cohorts have taken.”

—

For media inquiries, please contact VU using this link.