FinTech Sweater Closes on $12M in Funding for Venture Capital

Sweater, which bills itself as a fintech company and venture capital fund on track to become the first full0managed VC fund open to average investors, closed a $12 million funding round, according to a company news release Thursday (Feb 24).

Sweater stated in the release that its “mission is to accelerate generational wealth creation through venture investing. It aims to level the playing field and give everyday investors a seat at the VC table.” 

The news release quotes David Weiland, co-founder and managing partner of motivate ventures, as stating: “Motivate believes that democratizing access to venture capital is inevitable.”

Sweater’s funding round was led by Motivate VC and Akuna Capital and also included Acorns co-founded Jeffrey Cruttenden, Betterment co-founder Eli Broverman, Litquidity, MRTNZ Ventures, Bison Venture Partners, Spacestation, First Chair Ventures, Zilliqa Capital, Monsen Ventures, Nick Perez, Jeb Bush Jr., Ryan Holtzman, Aaron Wolko and popular YouTubers Peter Hollens, Andrei Jikh, Nate O’Brien and Jake Tran.

Sweater said the retail investing sector is valued at $10 trillion and that the waitlist to invest in VC through Sweater has 50,000 people on it.

See also: D2C Brands Working Capital Alternatives Not Just for Startups Anymore

“The retail investor revolution is unfolding before our eyes, as investors continue to take further control over their investing futures, and fintech companies like Sweater are opening access to previously exclusive asset classes,” Sweater’s Chief Executive Jesse Randall said in a prepared statement.

Sweater calls its investors “members” instead of the usual term “limited partner” used with traditional private equity funds, including venture capital funds. 

“Our goal is to give our members courtside seats to the world of venture. That is why we will offer a fully-managed fund that allows any investor — accredited or not — to invest in the venture capital asset class,” Randall said.