Goodwater’s expertise in consumer tech positions it as the investor of choice for burgeoning startups.
Goodwater, a venture capital fund specializing in consumer tech investments, announced that it has raised over US$1 billion across its collection of early and growth stage funds. This substantial raise empowers Goodwater in its mission to support exceptional entrepreneurs in transforming the world for good. Since its inception in 2014 by industry pioneers Chi-Hua Chien and Eric Kim, Goodwater has shown a clear consumer tech focus, making investments in 79 early and growth stage startups spanning 19 countries worldwide. The firm now manages over US$3.3 billion in committed capital, continuing to expand while much of the venture industry slows down.
Chi-Hua Chien, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Goodwater, remarked, “During a tough time in the market, we are ready to support the very best early and growth stage consumer tech startups with US$1 billion of fresh capital. We appreciate the support and trust placed in us by our Limited Partners. This new capital will fuel our global investing approach and strengthen our position as the best consumer tech investing platform in the world.”
His sentiment was echoed by Eric Kim, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, who emphasized their commitment to supporting transformative digital solutions that cater to the needs of the world’s eight billion inhabitants. This encompasses sectors such as housing, healthcare, food, financial services, transportation, education and entertainment.
Goodwater’s esteemed track record in consumer tech
Over the years, Goodwater has built a reputation as a consumer tech venture capital powerhouse, with a successful track record of investing in impactful startups. These include social media company musical.ly (bought by Bytedance, China/ U.S.), fintech super app Toss (South Korea), ethnic grocery e-commerce leader Weee! (California), fintech disruptor Stash (New York), live entertainment platform Fever (Spain/ U.K.), social app Karrot (South Korea), neobank Monzo (U.K.), delivery service Getir (Turkey), and health tech innovator Everly Health (Texas). Before founding Goodwater, the firm’s partners had made early investments in Coupang, Facebook, Kakao, Spotify and Twitter.
Goodwater’s consumer tech focus provides startups with a unique edge in the market, offering proprietary data and services. As Seung-gun Lee, Founder and CEO of Toss, testifies, “[Goodwater’s] consumer tech expertise has been invaluable as we’ve navigated growth from an early stage startup to a multi-billion dollar company. Goodwater is truly a global firm that uniquely appreciates the consumer tech opportunity for companies like Toss.”
A distinctive, systematic global approach to investing
With its consumer-only sector focus, Goodwater employs a systematic global approach to investing, actively participating in key consumer tech innovation hubs across North America, Europe, North Asia, Southeast Asia and Latin America. The firm facilitates the exchange of best practices among portfolio companies and aids in their market-winning strategies. Goodwater also hosts regular Masterclasses and small group squads designed to enhance performance in areas like customer acquisition, conversion, engagement, retention and monetization. Over the past year, more than 1,400 Goodwater founders and executives have engaged in these Masterclasses, garnering over 5,000 times.
Goodwater’s team has experience investing in and operating global consumer tech giants like Coupang, Twitter, Kakao, Facebook, Activision Blizzard, Toss and Spotify. This uniquely positions them to invest in the best global opportunities and assist entrepreneurs in thriving in large, competitive markets.
A platform approach powered by proprietary software
Goodwater has developed its proprietary software to identify, invest in and accelerate the growth of top companies. The firm’s software-driven platform leverages insights on consumer tech trends to track millions of global products and understand consumer technology adoption patterns. The firm’s cross-functional team of engineers, data scientists, and product managers devise software tools to assist founders in enhancing their key performance indicators (KPIs).
Currently, Goodwater’s impressive portfolio includes 79 venture and growth investments and the largest dedicated consumer tech seed portfolio worldwide, with over 600 seed deals in over 50 countries. Along with founders Chi-Hua Chien and Eric Kim, the investment partnership includes Coddy Johnson, Hatim Khety, Jin Oh and Vivek Subramanian.
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Header image courtesy of Freepik
Press release link: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/goodwater-raises-over-1-billion-to-support-consumer-technology-startups-globally-301885840.html
