TLDR: Early stage venture capital firm Exponent Founders Capital has raised $125 million to date, including a new $75 million Fund II vehicle. The fund will be used to invest in inception and early stage companies in various sectors across the US, Canada, and Europe.
Exponent Founders Capital was co-founded in 2021 by Charley Ma and Mahdi Raza. Both founders have extensive operating careers and experience as angel investors. They aim to help startup teams grow from $0 to $100 million and beyond in revenue.
Charley Ma brings fintech and B2B software expertise to the fund. He has experience at Plaid, Ramp, Alloy, and JPMorgan. Mahdi Raza has a background in growth, advising, and investing in early-stage fintech and enterprise software companies. He has experience at Robinhood and Stytch.
The fund has attracted investment from nonprofit endowments and hospitals, with limited partners including Carnegie Mellon University, Cook Children’s Health Care System, LGT Capital Partners, and Next Legacy Partners.
The fund will focus on enterprise software, fintech and payments, infrastructure, applied AI, and vertical SaaS sectors. The aim is to back non-consensus founders at the early stages and help them become category leaders.
