Collide Capital raises $95M
Collide Capital closed a $95 million fund targeting fintech and future‑of‑work startups, signalling fresh late‑stage capital focused on infrastructure and platform plays in finance. That kind of funding typically accelerates demand for engineers who can build compliant, resilient payment and treasury systems. (x.com)
A lot of venture firms spent 2023 and 2024 just trying to survive a frozen fundraising market, and Collide Capital just closed an oversubscribed $95 million second fund on April 9, 2026. The firm now says it manages more than $170 million across its funds. (morningstar.com) This is not a giant multibillion-dollar fund, but it is large enough to write first checks of $1 million to $3 million into at least 30 startups. Collide told TechCrunch it has already invested from the new fund into five companies and plans to deploy the rest over about 3.5 years. (techcrunch.com) The targets are not consumer apps chasing downloads. Collide says Fund II will keep backing early-stage companies in financial technology, supply chain software, and tools for how people work inside businesses. (morningstar.com) That focus tells you what kind of market Collide thinks is opening up. Co-founder Brian Hollins said the firm is most interested in platforms that automate manual work, let teams collaborate in real time, and help companies make faster decisions from data. (techcrunch.com) Collide is still a young firm by venture capital standards. It was founded in 2021 by Brian Hollins and Aaron Samuels, and its first fund closed at $66 million in 2022. (techcrunch.com) The founders are selling more than a sector thesis. Hollins previously worked at Goldman Sachs, Lightspeed, and Slow, while Samuels worked at Bain, Lightspeed, and co-founded AfroTech, which became one of the largest technology conferences built around Black professionals and founders. (techcrunch.com) The investor list shows who is willing to bet on that pitch in a tight market. TechCrunch reported that limited partners in Fund II include the University of California endowment, Accolade Partners, Fairview Capital, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan. (techcrunch.com) Collide says it has backed more than 75 companies and already logged five exits across its proof-of-concept fund and Fund I. That matters because second funds usually get harder, not easier: investors want evidence that the first checks turned into real companies and real returns. (morningstar.com) The firm is also trying to build its own talent pipeline instead of waiting for one to appear. Its Collide Campus program, launched in 2022, now spans more than 20 campuses including Harvard and Johns Hopkins, and the firm says more than 50 students have gone through the program. (techcrunch.com) So the news is not just that one venture firm raised money. It is that, on April 9, 2026, investors were still willing to hand a newer specialist manager $95 million to hunt for the plumbing behind payments, logistics, and workplace software while bigger parts of venture are still picking through the wreckage of the last cycle. (morningstar.com)
