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§ Venture Capital · USA
Learn which startups SB Opportunity Fund invests in, what size check sizes they write, and who their partners are (e.g. Masayoshi Son).
The SB Opportunity Fund is a venture capital initiative dedicated to investing in and supporting Black, Latinx, and Native American entrepreneurs. It provides crucial capital to underrepresented founders, aiming to bridge existing funding gaps within the startup ecosystem. The fund focuses on identifying promising businesses and empowering them with resources beyond just financial investment, fostering growth and innovation from diverse perspectives.
The SoftBank Group launched the SB Opportunity Fund in June 2020. This initiative, spearheaded by leaders like Marcelo Claure, emerged from the recognition of significant disparities in venture capital funding for minority-owned businesses. The core insight was to actively address systemic inequalities by directing substantial investment towards a segment of the entrepreneurial community often overlooked by traditional capital sources.
The fund serves a critical role for Black, Latinx, and Native American founders, enabling them to scale their ventures and contribute to economic growth. Its long-term vision is to cultivate a more inclusive and equitable entrepreneurial landscape, demonstrating that investing in diverse founders leads to robust innovation and sustainable value creation across various industries.
Key people at SB Opportunity Fund.
Key people at SB Opportunity Fund.
SB Opportunity Fund has 5 tracked investments across 5 companies. The latest tracked deal is $40.0M Series B in Atomic in March 2022.
The SB Opportunity Fund, launched by SoftBank Group in June 2020 with $100 million, is a venture capital firm dedicated to investing in Black, Latinx, and Native American entrepreneurs overlooked by traditional VC.[1][2][5] Its mission centers on building a supportive community of diverse founders and investors, providing access to SoftBank's extensive network while targeting exceptional businesses for strong returns; in March 2022, it transitioned to an uncapped evergreen fund, growing its portfolio to over 70 companies including Quicknode, Eight Sleep, Brex, and Atomic.[1][2][5] The investment philosophy emphasizes high-potential startups across stages like pre-seed, seed, and Series A, with check sizes from $0-$1M, primarily in the US (e.g., life sciences, consumer products, business services), fostering impact in the startup ecosystem by increasing capital access for underrepresented groups amid declining VC for such founders.[2][5]
SoftBank Group launched the SB Opportunity Fund in June 2020 amid heightened focus on diversity in venture capital, initially with $100M to support Black, Latinx, and Native American founders.[1][2][5] Key figures included Marcelo Claure, then CEO of SoftBank International and a co-founder, who drew from his experiences as a Latino entrepreneur facing funding barriers, alongside Paul Judge, a serial entrepreneur and early investment committee member.[4][5][6] By early 2022, the fund evolved into an uncapped evergreen structure, and later that year, SoftBank divested it—rebranding to Open Opportunity Fund—with Claure and Judge acquiring the portfolio and leading as co-leaders (Claure as general partner, Judge as chairman/managing partner); SoftBank remained an investor in the $200M second fund targeting Black- and Latino-led startups.[1][4][5][7]
The fund rides the wave of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in VC, addressing stark funding gaps—e.g., US Black-founded startups saw VC drop from $5.1B in 2021 to $2.3B in 2022—by proving a robust pipeline of overlooked talent exists.[5][6] Timing was pivotal post-2020 social justice movements, spurring ecosystem growth like Latin America's VC surge from $1B to $8B; it influences the landscape by normalizing investments in underrepresented founders, enabling exits and scaling (e.g., Quicknode, Brex), and inspiring spin-offs like Upload Ventures.[4][5][6] Market forces favoring it include SoftBank's backing and Claure/Judge's credibility, countering VC pullbacks while amplifying Miami and US tech hubs.[2][4]
As the Open Opportunity Fund, it will expand Fund 2 to $200M+ with external LPs, continuing investments in diverse-led tech amid recovering VC markets projected for 2026.[4][5] Trends like AI-driven scaling for underrepresented founders and renewed DEI focus post-downturn will shape it, potentially evolving its influence through more exits, larger rounds, and ecosystem-building in emerging US hubs. This ties back to its origins: from SoftBank's $100M bet, it has validated diverse capital's returns, positioning it to redefine VC access long-term.[1][4][5]
