Shawn “Jay Z” Carter once said success is defined by “your way, your terms.” The rapper grew up understanding the value of budgets and the need for funding to start a business, whether it was a barbershop in Brooklyn or, more recently, the Uber $UBER of private jets.
Jay Z now plans to launch a venture capital fund with business partner and Roc Nation president Jay Brown, reports Axios business editor Dan Primack thanks to a tip from unnamed sources. Primack reported yesterday that Jay Z and Brown are also seeking a full-time investment partner and have partnered with San Francisco-based VC firm Sherpa Capital, which has invested in Uber and Airbnb $ABNB. They haven’t set a target for the size of the fund.
No one involved has spoken publicly on the issue. The focus is said to be on seed-stage tech opportunities, “with this really being the institutionalization of Jay Z and Jay Brown’s previous angel investing activities,” such as Uber, JetStarter and Tidal, according to Axios.
Earlier this year, Jay Z sold a third of Tidal to US wireless carrier Sprint for $200 million, valuing the music streaming service at $600 million—more than 10 times what Jay Z paid for the company. Here are just a few of Jay Z’s other entrepreneurial efforts:
Primack tweeted that Jay Z’s move could signal a saturated market for venture capitalists.
Perhaps the millionaire, who became the first rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame today, felt inspired by his friend and fan Kobe Bryant’s $100 million venture capital fund. Jay Z’s verse in a 2016 Pusha T song shows he’s no stranger to the hustle.
