Kapor Capital
Kapor Capital is an Oakland-based venture capital firm investing pre-seed through Series A in tech-enabled startups that close gaps of access for low-income communities and communities of color, managing Fund III at $126M across 170+ portfolio companies.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1999
- HeadquartersOakland, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Kapor Capital does
Kapor Capital is an Oakland-based venture capital firm founded in 2011 by Mitch Kapor and Freada Kapor Klein that invests exclusively in pre-seed, seed, and Series A tech-enabled startups closing gaps of access, opportunity, and outcomes for low-income communities and communities of color in the United States. The firm's core offering is multi-year venture funds deployed into portfolio companies — Fund III at $126 million (closed September 2022) is the largest to date — with revenue generated through standard 2-and-20 economics: management fees on committed capital and carried interest on profitable exits. Beyond capital, Kapor provides portfolio services including people-operations technology and bias-mitigation training, a Talent Network connecting founders to candidates, strategy and fundraising support, and the proprietary Founders' Commitment (G.I.V.E.) framework requiring portfolio companies to adopt structured diversity and inclusion goals.
Across 170+ portfolio companies spanning education (ClassDojo, Newsela, Kai XR, Lirvana Labs), work (interviewing.io, ChargerHelp), finance (Daylight, TomoCredit, Promise, Penny Finance), health (Cayaba Care, Affect Therapeutics, AnswersNow, Air Protein), climate (Planet FWD, Aclima), and AI infrastructure (Woodrow AI, AdeptID, Lumi), the firm reports that 62% of founders identify as underrepresented people of color and/or women, 34% of first-time investments are in racially underrepresented founders, and 38% are in woman-identifying founders. Day-to-day operations are led by Co-Managing Partners Brian Dixon and Ulili Onovakpuri (elevated in 2021), supported by Partner Batul Joffrey, Venture Partner Brandon Boros, Head of Platform Hilliary Turnipseed, Head of Portfolio Marketing Cliff Worley, Director of Finance Landry Nicks, and Senior Advisor Art Berliner. The firm operates as part of a broader Kapor family of organizations — Kapor Foundation, Kapor Center, and SMASH — providing an integrated ecosystem for sourcing, talent pipeline, and portfolio support. Disclosed fund performance ranks in the top quartile of comparable venture funds by TVPI.
Kapor Capital firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Kapor Capital
- Legal name
- Kapor Capital Management Company
- Website
- http://www.kaporcapital.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1999
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Kapor Capital is an Oakland-based venture capital firm investing pre-seed through Series A in tech-enabled startups that close gaps of access for low-income communities and communities of color, managing Fund III at $126M across 170+ portfolio companies.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Kapor Capital industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital / Impact Investing
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), Miscellaneous Intermediation (52391)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Micro-VC & Angel Funds (FSANAAAI)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)
Keywords
Where Kapor Capital is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Oakland
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Kapor Capital business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Venture fund management (Fund III): Kapor Capital raises capital from Limited Partners (LPs) into multi-year venture funds (e.g., Fund III at $126M with multiple LPs including Ford Foundation, Bank of America, PayPal, Twilio, Foot Locker) and earns revenue through standard venture capital economics: management fees on committed capital and carried interest (carry) on profitable exits across portfolio investments.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | — | Pre-seed/Seed-stage venture capital investment |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Kapor Capital product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Kapor Capital is an Oakland-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage (pre-seed, seed, Series A) tech-enabled startups that close gaps of access, opportunity, and outcomes for low-income communities and communities of color in the United States. Beyond capital, it delivers portfolio support services including people operations training, a talent network, fundraising strategy, and the proprietary Founders' Commitment (G.I.V.E.) diversity & inclusion framework.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Kapor Capital Founders' Commitment: Initiated in 2015 and officially launched in January 2016, the Kapor Capital Founders' Commitment is a set of four G.I.V.E. actions (Goals, Invest, Volunteer, Educate) that all incoming founding teams in the Kapor Capital portfolio agree to uphold to advance diversity and inclusion.
- Kapor Capital Talent Network
- Kapor Capital Fellows Program
Products and services
- Kapor Capital Fund III ($126M) Venture capital fund that invests at pre-seed, seed, and Series-A stages in tech-enabled startups with gap-closing solutions for low-income communities and communities of color in the U.S. Fund III composition: 46% women founders, 53% Black founders, 100% underrepresented people of color.
- Kapor Capital Founders' Commitment (G.I.V.E. Framework) A proprietary diversity & inclusion operating framework consisting of four actions (Goals, Invest, Volunteer, Educate) that all incoming Kapor Capital portfolio founding teams agree to uphold to advance diversity and inclusion.
- Kapor Capital Talent Network A network and jobs portal connecting professionals and emerging professionals with roles inside Kapor Capital's portfolio companies, giving founders access to a curated talent pipeline.
- Kapor Capital Fellows Program A fellowship program that provides a pathway for individuals typically underrepresented in venture capital to enter investing, with 60+ graduates since 2011.
Quantifiable outcome
- 34% of first-time investments in racially underrepresented founders
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Kapor Capital
Customer profileNamed customers20 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Kapor Capital technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Kapor Capital partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and flagship.
- Plug In VenturesminorKapor Capital participated alongside Vamos Ventures in Plug In Ventures' Founder & Investor Roundtable Series in Los Angeles, focused on early-stage startup growth, fundraising, AI, and infrastructure. NBA Foundation Pitch Competition finalists were featured.
- Freedom Trail CapitalminorCo-participant in Plug In Ventures' Founder & Investor Roundtable Series alongside Kapor Capital and Vamos Ventures.
- Vamos VenturesminorCo-participant in Plug In Ventures' Founder & Investor Roundtable Series alongside Kapor Capital and Freedom Trail Capital.
- Kapor FoundationflagshipSister organization within the Kapor family of organizations (kaporfoundation.org). Kapor Foundation provides philanthropic support and shares research on tech diversity and entrepreneurship.
- Kapor CenterflagshipSister organization (kaporcenter.org). Works collectively with Kapor Capital at the intersection of tech, diversity, and entrepreneurship to end racial and gender inequities in the tech ecosystem.
- SMASHflagshipSister organization (smash.org). SMASH is a STEM higher education program that supports underrepresented students; part of the Kapor family of organizations.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Kapor Capital competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- NewSchools Venture Fund: EdTech-focused impact VC funding pre-seed through Series A in companies closing equity gaps in education; directly comparable given Kapor's deep EdTech portfolio exposure.
- Obvious Ventures: Values-aligned early-stage VC backing founders solving world-positive problems; comparable mission-led thesis, stage focus, and fund size range.
- Acumen: Global impact investment firm deploying patient capital into early-stage companies addressing poverty; highly comparable as a pioneer impact VC with a similar mission-mandated, gap-closing thesis.
- Omidyar Network: Mission-driven investment firm founded by Pierre Omidyar backing early-stage companies with social impact; comparable in thesis, stage focus, and LP-backed fund structure.
- Emerson Collective: Laurene Powell Jobs' mission-aligned investment and philanthropy organization that backs gap-closing startups; operates with a similar values-based, founder-friendly capital model.
- Builders Vision: Chicago-based impact investment platform funding early-stage companies across climate, health, and economic opportunity; comparable in mission scope and gap-closing thesis.
- Harlem Capital: Early-stage VC investing in diverse founders; comparable in diversity-led thesis, pre-seed/seed focus, and commitment to underrepresented founders.
- Backstage Capital: Pre-seed fund investing in startups led by underrepresented founders; comparable in stage focus, founder thesis, and gap-closing mandate.
- Impact America Fund: Early-stage VC investing in companies solving America's biggest social and economic challenges; directly comparable gap-closing, U.S.-focused thesis.
- Precursor Ventures: Pre-seed and seed-stage fund focused on early-stage tech investing across diverse founders; comparable stage, check size, and discovery-driven investing approach.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Kapor Capital social profiles
Digital presenceKapor Capital financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Kapor Capital leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Kapor Capital funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Kapor Capital M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments376 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Kapor Capital
What does Kapor Capital do?
Kapor Capital is an Oakland-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage (pre-seed, seed, Series A) tech-enabled startups that close gaps of access, opportunity, and outcomes for low-income communities and communities of color in the United States. Beyond capital, it delivers portfolio support services including people operations training, a talent network, fundraising strategy, and the proprietary Founders' Commitment (G.I.V.E.) diversity & inclusion framework.
Is Kapor Capital a public or private company?
Kapor Capital is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Kapor Capital founded?
Kapor Capital was founded in 1999. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Kapor Capital based?
Kapor Capital is headquartered in Oakland, United States, in the North America region.
How does Kapor Capital make money?
One revenue line is on record: venture fund management (Fund III).
Who are Kapor Capital's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are NewSchools Venture Fund, Obvious Ventures, Acumen, Omidyar Network, Emerson Collective, Builders Vision, Harlem Capital, Backstage Capital, Impact America Fund and Precursor Ventures.
Does Kapor Capital have an API?
No public API is recorded for Kapor Capital.
What industry is Kapor Capital in?
Kapor Capital's product category is Venture Capital / Impact Investing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAI, Micro-VC & Angel Funds, with a secondary code of FSANAAAM, Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated). Its NAICS code is 523940 and its SIC code is 6282.