Behind the curtain of Joshua Kushner’s venture empire

But on Tuesday, the 39-year-old founder of Thrive Capital spoke at Fortune’s Global Forum in Manhattan as a newly minted VC titan, thanks to his lead role in OpenAI’s latest funding round last month that valued the startup at a staggering $157 billion. He had previously invested early in companies including Instagram, GitHub, and Spotify. 

Kushner is no stranger to Fortune, having appeared on our cover in August and as the 96th most powerful person in business in our inaugural ranking published on Tuesday. But his interview yesterday comes at perhaps the apex of his career thus far—and also its most precarious point. 

The election of Donald Trump throws every aspect of the tech industry into question. But Kushner is even more intertwined with the president-elect than most, thanks to his brother, Jared, the husband of Ivanka Trump and a former senior advisor to her father. The older Kushner brother will reportedly not return to the White House. 

Joshua Kushner has been characteristically private on the matter, declining to comment on the record about any political differences with his brother for the cover story outside of a brief statement: “I love my brother dearly. Anyone who has an issue with that is not someone I care to have in my life.” 

Interviewed on Tuesday by Fortune editor-in-chief Alyson Shontell, who also wrote the magazine profile, Kushner provided a similarly guarded response when asked about Trump’s return. “Irrespective of who our president is, it’s very important that we’re all patriotic,” he said. He also declined to blame the Biden administration for the chilly M&A market, instead arguing that investors need to “disconnect liquidity from progress in terms of technology,” a ding at prioritizing public market performance over innovation. 

Elon Musk may pose a greater risk to Joshua’s portfolio than Jared’s political activity. Musk, after all, has a longstanding public feud with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, the man to whom Kushner has staked his firm’s fortune. But even about Musk, Kushner proved unflappable. “My core belief is he leads with intentionality and an orientation with regards to what is best for humanity,” Kushner said. 

In an age where VCs stand out for their bombast, Kushner continues to prove an enigma. Thanks to its massive gamble on OpenAI, Thrive has established itself as one of the most influential firms in the space—a far cry from its beginnings, when Kushner said that every investor he met with turned him down. (Princeton University’s endowment ended up providing Thrive with its seed funding.)

Kushner even seemed nonplussed about his gutsy stake in OpenAI, arguing that he has full conviction that the company will be among the few winners in the nascent space. “Our view is you want to invest in Fifth Avenue,” he said. “You want to be in the high-quality companies that you want to own for decades to come.”

Kushner’s colleague, Thrive Capital executive chairman Nitin Nohria, took the stage later in the afternoon, joined by none other than NFL superstar Tom Brady (As a New Englander, I have to admit this was the highlight of my week.) Brady made up for Kushner’s reticence, revealing his personal philosophy on competition, which didn’t really seem to mesh with Thrive’s approach. 

“I had to create an enemy,” as Brady put it. “FEA.”

Or, in less delicate terms, “F**k ‘em all.” 

Elsewhere…Jessica Mathews has a deeply reported investigation on Canoo, the once-red-hot electric vehicle company that has seen its stock plummet more than 99% since its 2020 SPAC offering. Mathews uncovered that one of Canoo’s bright spots, an agreement with Walmart, led the startup to deliver vans without airbags—a critical, legally required component. You can read her full article, which dives into Canoo’s tenuous financial position, here.

Leo Schwartz
Twitter: @leomschwartz
Email: [email protected]
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VENTURE DEALS

– Writer, a San Francisco-based full-stack generative AI platform for enterprises, raised $200 million in Series C funding. Premji Invest, Radical Ventures, and existing investor ICONIQ Growth led the round and were joined by Salesforce Ventures, Adobe Ventures, B Capital, existing investors Accenture, Balderton, Insight Partners, and Vanguard, and others.

– Trace Neuroscience, a South San Francisco, Calif.-based genomic medicine for neurodegenerative diseases developer, raised $101 million in Series A funding. Third Rock Ventures led the round and was joined by Atlas Venture, GV, and RA Capital Management.

– Conduktor, a New York City-based enterprise data management platform, raised $30 million in Series B funding. RTP Global led the round and was joined by M12, Ansa, and existing investor Accel.

– LocalStack, a Zurich-based local cloud development platform, raised $25 million in Series A funding. Notable Capital led the round and was joined by existing investors CRV and Heavybit.

– Klim, a Berlin-based regenerative agriculture solutions provider, raised $22 million in Series A funding. BNP Paribas led the round and was joined by Earthshot Ventures, Rabobank, AgFunder, and others.

– Fleek, a London-based second-hand fashion online marketplace, raised $20.4 million in funding. HV Capital led the $14.8 million Series A funding round and was joined by a16z, Y Combinator, and others. a16z led the $5.6 million seed round and was joined by Y Combinator.

– PointFive, a New York City-based cloud cost optimization platform, raised $20 million in Series A funding. Salesforce Ventures led the round and was joined by existing investors Index Ventures, Entree Capital, Sheva VC, and others, and angel investors.

– Bounce, a San Francisco-based luggage storage network, raised $19 million in Series B funding. Sapphire Sport led the round and was joined by Thayer Ventures, FJ Labs, 20VC Growth, Shilling, and existing investors Andreessen Horowitz and General Catalyst.

– Neon, a San Francisco-based direct-to-consumer platform for games, raised $14 million in funding from Renegade Partners, Thrive Capital, a16z Speedrun, and others.

– Alison.ai, a Wilmington, Del.-based creative AI advertising platform, raised $13.3 million in seed funding. Almaz Capital led the round and was joined by Foresight Group, Cardumen Capital, Crescendo Venture Partners, and Alumni Ventures.

– Vatn Systems, a Portsmouth, R.I.-based autonomous underwater vehicles developer for the U.S. military, raised $13 million in seed funding. DYNE Ventures led the round and was joined by Lockheed Martin Ventures, RTX Ventures, IQT, existing investors Centre Street Partners, The Veteran Fund, Blue Collective, Decisive Point, and others.

– tozero, a Munich-based lithium-ion battery recycler, raised €11 million ($11.7 million) in seed funding. NordicNinja led the round and was joined by IQT, Honda, JGC Group, and existing investors Atlantic Labs, Verve Ventures, and Possible Ventures.

– big xyt, a London-based financial markets data analytics company, raised €10 million ($10.6 million) in funding from Finch Capital.

– IOTA Software, a Raleigh, N.C.-based industrial and business data visualization software developer, raised $10.4 million in Series A2 funding. Altira Group led the round and was joined by Oxy Technology Ventures, existing investors Aramco Ventures, Second Avenue Partners, and others.

– Copernic Catalysts, a Cambridge, Mass.-based catalysts developer for sustainable chemicals and e-fuels, raised $8 million in seed funding. Breakout Ventures led the round and was joined by Innospark Ventures, New Climate Ventures, Impact Science Ventures, and existing investors Future Ventures and Engine Ventures.

– General Galactic, an El Segundo, Calif.-based fossil-free fuel generation technology developer, raised $8 million in seed funding. Harpoon Ventures and Refactor Capital led the round and were joined by Pathbreaker, BoxGroup, Seraphim, and others.

– Bluespine, a New York City-based AI-powered claims cost reduction platform for self-insured employers, raised $7.2 million in seed funding. Team8 led the round and was joined by others.

– Brightpick, a Erlanger, Ky.-based warehouse order fulfillment automation solutions provider, raised $6.5 million in funding from EBRD Venture Capital, existing investors Pavel Baudiš, Eduard Kučera, Miroslav Trnka, and others.

– Starform, a Seattle-based game studio, raised $6 million in funding. BITKRAFT Ventures led the round and was joined by Dune Ventures.

– PuppyGraph, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based graph query engine company, raised $5 million in seed funding. defy.vc led the round and was joined by Eastlink Capital and SV Tech Ventures.

– Continuum, a Chicago-based automated returns software developer for distributors and manufacturers, raised $4.1 million in seed funding. Cowboy Ventures led the round and was joined by M25, Clocktower Ventures, and Cambrian.

– NitroVolt, a Søborg, Denmark-based green ammonia developer for farmers, raised €3.5 million ($3.7 million) in seed funding. BackingMinds and EIFO led the round and were joined by EQT Foundation, Satgana, DivisionM, and Breakthrough Energy Fellows.

– Mona AI, a Saarbrücken, Germany-based AI-powered recruitment automation platform, raised €2 million ($2.1 million) in seed funding. Earlybird-X led the round and was joined by angel investors.

PRIVATE EQUITY

– Sumeru Equity Partners invested $330 million in JobNimbus, a Lehi, Utah-based SaaS platform for the roofing industry.

– ACA Group, backed by Genstar Capital, acquired FINOP Consulting, a Rye, N.H.-based financial and operations principal outsourcing firm for broker-dealers. Financial terms were not disclosed.

– Aero Accessories & Repair, a portfolio company of ATL Partners, acquired AirGroup America, a Pittsburgh-based aerospace replacement parts distributor. Financial terms were not disclosed.

– Argentum acquired a minority stake in Alarm Masters, a Spring, Texas-based fire alarm and security services provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.

– BGF acquired a minority stake in BWP Group, a Marlow, England-based marketing agency. Financial terms were not disclosed.

– HighPost Capital acquired a minority stake in Front Row Group, a New York City-based e-commerce agency for beauty, health, wellness, and consumer brands. Financial terms were not disclosed.

– Lone View Capital acquired a majority stake in CargoSprint, a Peach Tree, Ga.-based solutions provider for the cargo industry. Financial terms were not disclosed.

– Pinnacle MEP, a portfolio company of Blue Point Capital Partners, acquired Bell Plumbing Services, a Greenwood, Ind.-based commercial plumbing solutions provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.

– Stonepeak agreed to acquire Boundary Street Capital, an Alexandria, Va.-based private credit investment manager. Financial terms were not disclosed.

– Tria Federal, a portfolio company of Sagewind Capital, acquired Softrams, a Leesburg, Va.-based technology firm for federal agencies. Financial terms were not disclosed.

EXITS

– Branford Castle Partners acquired Testek Solutions, a Wixom, Mich.-based aviation component testing equipment manufacturer, from Odyssey Investment Partners. Financial terms were not disclosed.

– Cardinal Health agreed to acquire Advanced Diabetes Supply Group, a Carlsbad, Calif.-based diabetes supplies distributor, from Court Square Capital Partners. Financial terms were not disclosed.

OTHER

– Elliott Investment Management invested $5 billion in Honeywell, a Charlotte, N.C.-based technology developer for the safety, security, energy, and other sectors.

– Norwest acquired a minority stake in Divi, a Dallas-based scalp and hair health brand. Financial terms were not disclosed.

– SAS acquired the principal software assets from Hazy, a London-based synthetic data company. Financial terms were not disclosed.

FUNDS + FUNDS OF FUNDS

– Intudo, a Jakarta-based investment firm, raised $75 million for its fourth fund focused on Indonesian companies and $50 million for a new fund focused on downstreaming natural resources and renewable energy in Indonesia.