Wix announces new venture arm
source link: https://www.vccafe.com/2020/09/16/wix-announces-new-venture-arm/
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Wix announces new venture arm
Global Corporate Venture-backed funding fell 30% in Q2 2020, reviving the sector’s stigma of ‘tourist capital’ which disappears in the low season. Nevertheless, there are over 2,000 global corporate venture (CVC) firms, which collectively raised $41 billion in 2019 alone, according to Global corporate venturing.
Today Wix , the publicly traded website builder from Israel with a market cap of $13.2 Billion, announced today it will be launching Wix Capital, an internal venture arm to invest in global startups. The fund will invest in seed and series A rounds in software startups that accelerate the digital landscape.
Specific areas of focus include software and technology companies that sit at the intersection of online design and development, commerce and business management and AI and automation solutions.
Wix has been investing in startups off the balance sheet for some time. The company said the total volume of investments to date was $5.6 million, and its portfolio companies include:
- Spike – an email workflow tool
- Oriente – a consumer fintech app for emerging Asia
- RestAR – 3D visualisation software for commerce
- Modalyst – a dropshipping platform
The company’s announcement didn’t include a fund size, so it will likely continue to deploy capital off its balance sheet. Wix Capital will be led by Wix’s CFO, Lior Shemesh who said:
“Launching Wix Capital will help us stay on top of emerging trends in our fields and be a targeted effort of allocating strategic support to companies that are looking at us as an example of a strong growth company”
I'm a former general partner at google ventures, head of Google for Entrepreneurs in Europe and founding head of Campus London, Google's first physical hub for startups.
I'm also the founder of Techbikers, a non-profit bringing together the startup ecosystem on cycling challenges in support of Room to Read. Since inception in 2012 we've built 8 schools and 31 libraries in the developing world.
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