Patron Raises $100M Fund II

"Venture firm led by alumni from a16z, Discord, and Riot Games secures its second institutional fund, targeting founders serving the next generation of consumers."

SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / September 17, 2024 / Patron, an early-stage VC firm investing in the next generation of consumer startups announced the raise of a $100 million USD Fund II. The company's second fund has attracted significant institutional and individual support, anchored again by Horsley Bridge Partners and joined by new institutional investors including university endowments, sovereign wealth funds and institutional family offices. Individual investors include Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Marc Andreessen and general partner Chris Dixon; Union Square Ventures co-founder Fred Wilson, Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan, Benchmark general partner Mitch Lasky; FirstMark co-founders Rick Heitzmann and Amish Jani; SV Angel founder Ron Conway; and Altos Ventures co-founder Ho Nam. The robust, ongoing support for Fund II underscores investors' confidence in Patron's vision of a future where the mass consumer adoption of games shapes technology.

"Hundreds of millions of consumers are growing up immersed in platforms like Roblox and Discord, spending the bulk of their online time in these environments as the first truly gaming-native generation," said Brian Cho, General Partner and Co-Founder at Patron. "We are excited to continue backing visionary founders who are pioneering new experiences for this generation, using gaming as the initial wedge to build venture-scale businesses and reshape how these consumers engage with the internet."

Patron was founded in 2021 by Jason Yeh and Cho, both of whom held executive positions at Riot Games, with Yeh playing a pivotal role in the launch of League of Legends and Cho in the launch of VALORANT. They each bring investment experience from firms like Andreessen Horowitz and FirstMark Capital, with early-stage investments including Riot Games and Oculus. In 2023, Amber Atherton joined the team full-time as the third partner after first serving as a venture partner. Atherton is a former founder of the Y Combinator-backed startup that Discord acquired. She is the author of "The Rise of Virtual Communities" and has helped spearhead sourcing new deals and developing the Patron platform.

Fund II is poised to build on the success of Patron's $90M Fund I, which invested in 21 companies, many of whom have gone on to raise additional capital, including:

• Altera, an AI company building digital human beings, raised $11.1M in its first five months of operation.

• Kudos, an AI-powered smart wallet, has built a customer base of 200,000 users and completed an oversubscribed Series A round led by QED Investors in a second investment.

• Tonic Music, a platform for live-streaming music practice, secured a follow-on investment from a top venture firm.

• Raid Base, a sandbox gaming studio from the creators of VALORANT at Riot Games, which prioritizes player feedback in its development process, has received follow-on investments from Andreessen Horowitz and a top global game publisher

"Kudos has received numerous benefits from being a Patron portfolio company. They have brokered pivotal introductions, provided advice whenever we need it and helped us continue to scale and build our company and community. Their partnership was invaluable for our Series A and will continue to be as we grow," said Tikue Anazodo, CEO and co-founder at Kudos. "We congratulate them for their successful fundraise."

Patron has already invested in four companies with Fund II, with more details to be announced.

About Patron

Founded in 2021, Patron is an institutional seed fund investing in the next generation of consumer startups. Its three partners (Jason Yeh, Brian Cho and Amber Atherton) have deep experience across investing and operations, with their collective backgrounds including roles at FirstMark Capital, Riot Games, Andreessen Horowitz and Discord. Patron is currently investing from its $100m Fund II. For more information, visit https://patron.fund/, follow the firm on LinkedIn, or subscribe to the /all chat podcast on Apple Podcasts or YouTube.

Media Contact

Songue PR for Patron
patron@songuepr.com

SOURCE: Patron