Arjun Sethi
Description
Arjun Sethi is a distinguished venture capitalist and co-founder of Tribe Capital, a data-driven investment firm based in San Francisco. He established Tribe Capital in 2018 alongside Jonathan Hsu and Ted Maidenberg, aiming to leverage proprietary data science to identify and back high-growth companies. Sethi's unique blend of operational experience and investment acumen underpins Tribe Capital's strategy, which focuses on predicting product-market fit and scaling potential, positioning the firm as a significant player in the venture ecosystem.
Tribe Capital employs a quantitative approach to venture investing, analyzing vast datasets to uncover patterns indicative of sustainable growth and market leadership. The firm typically invests across various stages, from seed to growth equity, with a particular focus on Series A, B, and C rounds. Their portfolio spans diverse sectors, including fintech, enterprise software, consumer technology, and space tech, with notable investments in companies like Slack, Carta, and Apollo.io. Before co-founding Tribe, Sethi was a Partner at Social Capital, where he honed his venture investment skills and contributed to significant deals.
Sethi's investment philosophy is deeply informed by his extensive operational background. He has a proven track record as a serial entrepreneur, having co-founded and successfully exited multiple technology companies, including MessageMe, which was acquired by Yahoo, and LOLapps, acquired by Zynga. This firsthand experience as a founder provides him with a profound understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by startups, enabling him to offer invaluable strategic guidance to portfolio companies. His recent co-founding roles at Termina.ai, an AI sales platform, and Kapital, a fintech venture, further underscore his active engagement in building and scaling innovative businesses.
Arjun Sethi and Tribe Capital are known for their significant capital deployment and strategic support. The firm has raised substantial capital, with their various funds collectively exceeding $2 billion in committed capital since inception. For instance, in 2021 alone, Tribe Capital closed a $275 million Fund III and a $300 million Growth Fund II. While their investment strategy is flexible across stages, typical initial check sizes for companies range from $1 million for early-stage opportunities to upwards of $50 million for later-stage growth rounds, demonstrating their capacity to lead significant financing rounds and support companies through multiple growth phases.
Investor Profile
Arjun Sethi has backed more than 78 startups, with 1 new investments in the last 12 months alone. The firm has led 1 rounds, about 1% of its total and boasts 24 exits across its portfolio.
Investment Focus Highlights
- Concentrates on Seed, Series A, Series B rounds (top funding stages).
- Majority of deals are located in United States, India, Canada.
- Strong thematic focus on Software, Financial Services, FinTech.
- Typical check size: $1M – $50M.
Stage Focus
- Seed (50%)
- Series A (26%)
- Series B (8%)
- Convertible Note (5%)
- Series D (4%)
- Series Unknown (3%)
- Pre Seed (3%)
- Angel (1%)
- Series C (1%)
Country Focus
- United States (73%)
- India (10%)
- Canada (5%)
- Sweden (4%)
- Cayman Islands (3%)
- Singapore (3%)
- Mexico (1%)
- Brazil (1%)
Industry Focus
- Software
- Financial Services
- Fintech
- Mobile
- Saas
- Apps
- Information Technology
- Payments
- Finance
- E-commerce
Frequently Asked Questions
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