由 Alexa von Tobel 和 Penny Pritzker 于 2019 年创立的早期投资机构 Inspired Capital 已完成第四只基金的募集，承诺出资总额达 4.5 亿美元。von Tobel 告诉 TechCrunch，这笔新资金将使该公司的管理资产规模达到近 14 亿美元。
Inspired Capital, the early-stage firm founded in 2019 by Alexa von Tobel and Penny Pritzker, has closed its fourth fund with $450 million in commitments. The new capital will bring the firm’s assets under management to nearly $1.4 billion, von Tobel tells TechCrunch.
此次募资正值风投资金大量涌向西海岸之际。根据 PitchBook 数据，2020 年至 2025 年底，旧金山湾区为风投基金募集了 3520 亿美元，约占美国全部风险投资的 46%。去年，这一比例进一步攀升，湾区机构锁定了美国风投基金新增承诺出资总额的 55%。
The raise comes as venture dollars are piling up on the West Coast. Between 2020 and the end of 2025, the Bay Area had raised $352 billion for VC funds — roughly 46% of all U.S. venture capital, according to PitchBook. Last year, that percentage shot up even higher, with Bay Area firms locking down 55% of the total new commitments to U.S. venture funds.
总部位于纽约的 Inspired Capital 最新一只基金提醒人们，资本也在其他地方积聚。事实上，Inspired 正在成长：该公司于 2024 年初完成了 3.3 亿美元的第三只基金募集，此前还有 2.81 亿美元的第二只基金和 2 亿美元的首只基金。
New York-based Inspired’s new fund is a reminder that capital is accruing elsewhere, too. In fact, Inspired is growing: it closed a $330 million third fund in early 2024, following a $281 million second fund and its $200 million debut fund.
尽管手握可投资资金，von Tobel 表示公司将坚持既定策略。Inspired 每年大约投资 10 家公司，阶段涵盖从“纸上构想”到 A 轮，单笔投资额在 100 万至 1500 万美元之间。曾任美国商务部长的 Pritzker 仍是公司活跃的联合创始人。
Despite having money to invest, von Tobel says the firm is sticking to its formula. Inspired backs roughly 10 companies a year, which can be anywhere between “napkin” stage and Series A, writing checks between $1 million and $15 million. Pritzker, the former U.S. Commerce Secretary, remains an active co-founder in the firm.
拥有六年投资经验的 von Tobel 现在也愿意谈论业绩。她表示，首只和第二只基金共有 12 家公司成为独角兽，约占投资组合的 15%。“其中 10 家营收已突破 1 亿美元，4 家突破 4 亿美元，1 家突破 5 亿美元，”她说。
With six years of investing experience under her belt, von Tobel is now willing to talk about results, too. She says that 12 companies across the firm’s first two funds have become unicorns, representing about 15% of the portfolio. “Ten of them have passed $100 million in revenue, four have crossed $400 million and one has crossed $500 million,” she says.
对于有限合伙人或许更相关的是，Inspired 已实现 10 多次退出，包括 MosaicML（6 月以 13 亿美元被 Databricks 收购）、DeepTune（7 月被 Mercor 收购，金额未披露）和 Saturn（去年被 Snap 收购）。
Perhaps more relevant to the firm’s limited partners, Inspired counts more than 10 exits, including MosaicML (acquired for $1.3 billion in June by Databricks), DeepTune (which Mercor acquired in July for an undisclosed amount), and Saturn (snapped up last year by Snap).
另一家投资组合公司 TeamShares 是一家收购其他企业的金融科技初创公司，于 6 月通过一家特殊目的收购工具上市。冯托贝尔声称，该公司的第二支基金在所有指标上均位列同期基金前 5%，但她拒绝透露现金回报倍数，理由是公司成立时间尚短。
Another portfolio company, TeamShares, a fintech startup that buys up other businesses, went public in June through a special purpose acquisition vehicle. Von Tobel claimed the firm’s second fund ranks in the top 5% of its cohort by all metrics, though she declined to share cash-on-cash returns, citing the relative newness of the firm.
需要明确的是，Inspired Capital 并非专注于纽约。其投资组合大致分为 45% 东海岸、45% 西海岸和 10% 其他地区。她表示，这种平衡反映了初创企业的成长方式。“一家在硅谷发展得相当大的公司，往往想要并需要第二个人才基地，而纽约变得非常重要，”她说。
To be clear, Inspired is not squarely focused on New York. Its portfolio is split roughly 45% East Coast, 45% West Coast and 10% elsewhere. That balance reflects the way that startups grow, she says. “A company that’s getting quite big in Silicon Valley often wants and needs a second talent footprint, and New York becomes really important,” she says.
当然，对另一些人来说，纽约是唯一的选择。在这方面，冯托贝尔表示，最近几周至少有 10 位创始人向她推介项目，他们专门选择纽约，是为了避免招聘到频繁跳槽、对任何一家公司都缺乏忠诚度的员工，而这种情况在旧金山常见。
Of course, for others, New York is the only choice. On that front, von Tobel says she has been pitched by at least 10 founders in recent weeks who selected New York specifically to avoid hiring job-hopping employees who have little allegiance to any one company, as is often the case in San Francisco.
冯托贝尔绝不轻视硅谷。她表示，她的团队每周都有人在湾区实地考察，她自己也经常去那里。“我们必须极度关注两大海岸，”她说。
Von Tobel definitely doesn’t dismiss the Valley. She says that someone from her team is on the ground in the Bay Area every week, and that she’s in the area routinely, too. “We have to pay extreme attention to both [coasts],” she says.
在策略方面，她描述该公司会尽早确定主题，并尽可能避免随大流。例如，当许多公司追逐 AI 应用时，Inspired Capital 已投资了实体 AI 和量子计算初创公司。Inspired Capital 正是遵循这一投资理念，发现了创作者商业平台 ShopMy。
As for strategy, she describes a firm that picks themes early and avoids the herd as much as possible. While many companies chase AI applications, for example, Inspired has backed physical AI and quantum computing startups, she says. Inspired came upon the creator-commerce platform ShopMy by following that thesis.
Inspired Capital 与其他机构没太大区别的地方在于，它偏爱投资连续创业者。冯托贝尔表示，公司投资组合中约三分之一是由连续创业者创立的。
Where Inspired isn’t so different is in its penchant for backing serial entrepreneurs. Von Tobel says roughly a third of the firm’s portfolio is by repeat founders.
当被问及对二级市场交易的立场时，她表示，一旦公司估值达到数十亿美元，Inspired 会出售“一小部分股份”，但倾向于保留超过 90% 的股权，主要利用二级市场交易在突破性投资组合公司中加仓。话虽如此，von Tobel 称，如果错过了早期轮次，Inspired 会领投后续的初级轮融资，并且已经为估值超过 1 亿美元的公司开出过支票。
Asked about her stance on secondaries, she says Inspired will sell “a few chips” once companies reach multi-billion-dollar valuations, but it tends to keep more than 90% of its ownership, mostly using secondaries to add to positions in breakaway portfolio companies. That said, Inspired will lead later primary rounds if it misses an early one, and it has written checks for companies that are already valued above $100 million, according to von Tobel.
von Tobel 于 2009 年在 TechCrunch 50 大会上推出在线金融学习平台 LearnVest，六年后以据报 3.75 亿美元的价格将其出售给 Northwestern Mutual。她坚称，Inspired 最大的优势在于耐心，以及结合东西海岸优势的能力。“我们带来了西海岸的雄心与东海岸的财务纪律，”她说。
Von Tobel, who launched her online financial learning platform LearnVest on the TechCrunch 50 stage in 2009 and sold the company six years later to Northwestern Mutual for a reported $375 million, insists that Inspired’s strongest edge is patience and its ability to combine the best of both coasts. “We bring West Coast ambition with East Coast financial discipline,” she says.