Collaborative Fund
Collaborative Fund is a New York-based venture capital firm founded in 2010 that invests across Consumer, AI, Money, Health, and Energy via multiple fund vehicles, accelerators, and studios, serving limited partners and backing roughly 130 portfolio companies.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Collaborative Fund does
Collaborative Fund is a New York-based venture capital firm founded in 2010 by Craig Shapiro that invests across five verticals — Consumer, AI, Money, Health, and Energy — and currently backs roughly 130 portfolio companies. The firm operates a multi-vehicle platform that includes traditional venture funds (Fund IV of $100M closed in 2018, Fund V plus a Growth Fund totaling approximately $200M closed in 2021), the Shared Future / Collab SOS vehicle at approximately $200M closed in 2022, a private-equity and commercial real estate arm (Collab Holdings), an AI-focused accelerator (AIR), venture studios in media and crypto (Collab+Currency, Collab+Sesame, Collab Crypto), and a geographic extension into Asia via Collaborative Fund Asia.
The firm builds and operates a content engine around its investments, including the "Versus" podcast and high-profile newsletters such as Morgan Housel's Sunday Newsletter, which function as a distribution layer to source deals, cultivate founders, and retain limited partners. Notable investments include a lead role in WHOOP's $575M Series G, alongside earlier positions in companies such as Kickstarter, Sweetgreen, Reddit, OLIPOP, and Phaidra, with a co-investor bench that includes NVIDIA, Sony, Foundry Group, Khosla, and DST Global.
Collaborative Fund generates revenue through standard alternative-asset economics — 2% management fees on committed and invested capital across its fund vehicles, plus 20% carried interest on fund profits — augmented by fees and economics from its accelerator, studio, and private-equity vehicles. Its customers are limited partners allocating into successive venture and growth funds, and its product to founders is capital combined with brand, network, and content reach.
Collaborative Fund firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Collaborative Fund
- Legal name
- Collaborative Fund Management, LLC
- Website
- https://collabfund.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Collaborative Fund is a New York-based venture capital firm founded in 2010 that invests across Consumer, AI, Money, Health, and Energy via multiple fund vehicles, accelerators, and studios, serving limited partners and backing roughly 130 portfolio companies.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Collaborative Fund industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital and Private Equity Investment Management
- NAICS
- Other Financial Vehicles (525990)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- SDG / Thematic Sustainable Investment Funds (FSANAJAN)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Sustainable Private Markets (Impact PE/VC, Private Credit, Infrastructure) (FSAAALAG), Gender Lens / Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Funds (FSANAJAM)
Keywords
Where Collaborative Fund is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Collaborative Fund business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Fund Management Fees: Recurring management fees charged to limited partners across multiple fund vehicles (Collaborative IV, V, Growth, Shared Future, SOS, Collab Holdings, Collab+Currency). Standard 2% management fee structure typical of venture capital funds.
- Carried Interest: Performance-based carried interest (typically 20%) on fund returns above a hurdle, the standard VC fee structure. Generated when portfolio companies exit at gains.
- Private Equity Returns (Collab Holdings): Long-term private equity strategy for consumer brands without the 10-year fund clock. Generates returns through cash flow and customer devotion rather than engineered exits, with no forced exits.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Accredited investors / qualified purchasers only |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Collaborative Fund product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Collaborative Fund is a multi-strategy venture capital and private equity firm that raises capital from limited partners and invests in early-stage and growth-stage companies across five thematic verticals: Consumer, AI, Money, Health, and Energy. The firm operates a diversified platform of fund vehicles, accelerators, and specialty programs spanning venture, growth, private equity, digital assets, and impact investing. It generates revenue through management fees on assets under management and carried interest on investment performance.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Collab Holdings: Long-term private equity strategy purpose-built to be a home for extraordinary consumer brands without forced exits.
- AIR
- Collab+Currency
- Collab+Sesame
- Collab Crypto
- Shared Future Fund
- Collab SOS
Products and services
- Collaborative Fund (main venture fund series) Early-stage venture capital fund backing companies across the firm's five thematic verticals: Consumer, AI, Money, Health, and Energy. Invested via primary rounds into founders seeking venture capital to scale.
- Collab Holdings (Private Equity Strategy) Private equity investment strategy operated under the Collaborative Fund platform, targeting control or significant-minority positions in later-stage or more mature companies than the flagship venture fund.
- AIR (AI Residency Accelerator) Accelerator/residency program focused on AI startups, providing capital, mentorship, and resources to early-stage AI founders.
- Collab+Currency (Digital Assets Fund) Specialized investment vehicle dedicated to digital assets, cryptocurrencies, and blockchain-native companies.
- Collab+Sesame (Pre-seed/Seed Fund with Sesame Workshop) Pre-seed and seed-stage venture fund operated in partnership with Sesame Workshop, focused on mission-driven and education-adjacent startups.
- Shared Future Fund Impact-focused venture fund backing companies addressing social and environmental challenges, aligned with the firm's broader mission orientation.
- Collaborative Growth (Growth-stage Fund) Growth-stage investment vehicle providing capital to later-stage portfolio companies and growth-oriented businesses.
- Collab Crypto Crypto-focused investment activity operated as a sub-brand or program of the firm.
- Collab SOS Specialty program operated under the Collaborative Fund umbrella supporting startups in an identified focus area.
Quantifiable outcome
- Led $575M Series G for WHOOP at $10.1B valuation (March 2026) — Collaborative Fund's largest investment ever
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Collaborative Fund
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Collaborative Fund technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Collaborative Fund partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered regional, strategic and flagship.
- Collaborative Fund AsiaregionalCollaborative Fund Asia participated in Seoul Beauty Club's $2M pre-seed round alongside Sazze VC, Hustle Fund, Mashup Ventures, and TheVentures — a Korean affiliate/extension of the Collaborative Fund brand.
- NVIDIAstrategicParticipated in Collaborative Fund-led Series B for Phaidra (>$50M) to support AI infrastructure optimization and AI factory energy efficiency.
- Sony Innovation FundstrategicParticipated in Collaborative Fund-led Series B for Phaidra (>$50M) to expand AI agent platform globally.
- Woven Capital (Toyota Growth Fund)strategicLed WeaveGrid's $28M funding round with participation from Collaborative Fund (Collab Fund), Activate Capital, Emerson Collective, Salesforce Ventures, and HSBC Innovation Banking debt.
- Sesame WorkshopflagshipLaunched Collab+Sesame in January 2016 as a pre-seed and seed-focused fund with a simple but powerful thesis: as tech entrepreneurs scale, they want measurable social impact. Combines Collaborative Fund's investment expertise with Sesame Workshop's mission-driven brand.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Collaborative Fund competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Lowercarbon Capital: Climate-focused venture firm led by Chris Sacca that co-invested with Collaborative Fund in Fuse Energy and Pendulum. Highly comparable given the shared focus on climate and consumer sustainability themes.
- Cowboy Ventures: Early-stage venture firm led by Aileen Lee with a consumer-and-enterprise thesis. Comparable in stage, size, and brand-driven approach to fund marketing.
- Precursor Ventures: Early-stage venture firm focused on pre-seed and seed consumer, enterprise, and frontier-tech bets. Comparable in stage and check size to Collaborative Fund's early-stage venture activity.
- Khosla Ventures: Multi-stage venture firm backing ambitious founders across AI, consumer, health, and sustainability. Co-invested with Collaborative Fund in Highlight AI and Overlap, making it a direct co-investor peer.
- Initialized Capital: Early-stage venture firm backing founders at the beginning, with a multi-fund structure similar to Collaborative Fund's successive vintages. Comparable in stage and founder-first approach.
- Forerunner Ventures: Consumer-focused early-stage venture firm with a thesis-driven approach to category-defining brands. Direct peer in the consumer vertical where Collaborative Fund has built its longest track record (Kickstarter, Sweetgreen, OLIPOP, Reddit).
- Lerer Hippeau: Early-stage New York-based venture firm focused on consumer and commerce. Comparable in stage, geography (NYC-based), and consumer-thesis orientation.
- Cantos: Early-stage venture firm investing in frontier technology and science, co-led MoldCo's $8M seed with Collaborative Fund. Comparable size and stage focus on deeptech-adjacent consumer and health bets.
- Foundry Group: Early-stage venture firm with a multi-fund, multi-vertical thesis that co-led WHOOP's $575M Series G alongside Collaborative Fund. Highly comparable in size, stage focus, and multi-vehicle structure.
- Balderton Capital: European early-stage venture firm that co-invested with Collaborative Fund in Fuse Energy. Comparable in stage and multi-vertical approach, with shared focus on climate and consumer.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Collaborative Fund social profiles
Digital presenceCollaborative Fund compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
Collaborative Fund financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Collaborative Fund leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Collaborative Fund subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Collaborative Fund funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Collaborative Fund M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments444 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Collaborative Fund
What does Collaborative Fund do?
Collaborative Fund is a multi-strategy venture capital and private equity firm that raises capital from limited partners and invests in early-stage and growth-stage companies across five thematic verticals: Consumer, AI, Money, Health, and Energy. The firm operates a diversified platform of fund vehicles, accelerators, and specialty programs spanning venture, growth, private equity, digital assets, and impact investing. It generates revenue through management fees on assets under management and carried interest on investment performance.
Is Collaborative Fund a public or private company?
Collaborative Fund is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Collaborative Fund founded?
Collaborative Fund was founded in 2010. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Collaborative Fund based?
Collaborative Fund is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Collaborative Fund make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Fund Management Fees are the primary driver. The others are carried Interest and private Equity Returns (Collab Holdings).
Who are Collaborative Fund's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Lowercarbon Capital, Cowboy Ventures, Precursor Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Initialized Capital, Forerunner Ventures, Lerer Hippeau, Cantos, Foundry Group and Balderton Capital.
Does Collaborative Fund have an API?
No public API is recorded for Collaborative Fund.
What industry is Collaborative Fund in?
Collaborative Fund's product category is Venture Capital and Private Equity Investment Management. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAJAN, SDG / Thematic Sustainable Investment Funds, with a secondary code of FSAAALAG, Sustainable Private Markets (Impact PE/VC, Private Credit, Infrastructure). Its NAICS code is 525990 and its SIC code is 6282.