Investors include Apollo Global Management and Endeavor
NEW YORK, April 29, 2021 – 25madison, a leading venture studio and incubator, today announced that it has closed on its latest funding round. Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE: APO), the global alternative investment manager, Endeavor and a number of prominent high net worth individuals and family offices are among investors backing the venture studio’s focus on building early-stage companies.
With $60 million of capital raised to date, 25madison is well positioned to execute on its mandate to build and invest in early stage companies. Built by founders who have run successful companies, 25madison has generated early successes with its first incubations including harbor, an app making disaster preparedness easy and accessible; The Beet, an authoritative destination for plant-based living; and sparkling tequila beverage company Onda.
“We are delighted to announce this additional capital raise and our new strategic partnerships with both Apollo and Endeavor. 25madison builds businesses. And we know that one of the most difficult challenges startups face is finding beta or distribution partners. These new relationships, in particular our partnership with Apollo, provides both companies a tremendous opportunity to significantly lower execution risk while increasing the likelihood of market acceptance” said Steven Price, 25madison CEO.
In its strategic partnership with Apollo, 25madison will help the investment firm and its portfolio companies anticipate disruption and create new revenue streams by partnering with, investing in, and co-incubating early-stage companies to accelerate growth.
David Sambur, Co-head of Private Equity at Apollo said, “We’re excited to work with 25madison. Apollo is well-known for its innovative approach to building better businesses and 25madison has successfully incubated and invested in early stage companies with deep operating engagement. Working together we can quickly identify synergistic partnerships, new revenue streams and early-stage investment opportunities for Apollo and our funds’ portfolio companies.” Aaron Sobel, a Partner in Apollo’s private equity group, has joined the 25madison Board of Directors.
Apollo funds have invested in a diverse array of innovative companies including ADT, Shutterfly, Tech Data, Rackspace Technology and Sun Country, one of the most successful IPO’s of 2021.
Ben Enowitz, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development & Talent Ventures, Endeavor remarked, “We share 25madison’s vision for building next-gen businesses and look forward to continuing to identify opportunities for the clients we represent and the brands we own to forge meaningful partnerships with these new companies.”
The Apollo and Endeavor strategic partnerships are the latest step by 25madison to support building best-in-class start-up companies. In December, 25madison announced additions to its leadership team of Chair Michael Lynton, CEO Steven Price, President Matt-Fremont-Smith, and Chief Partnership Officer Kirk Posmantur including naming Justine Lee as COO, Matt Berberian as Head of Studio and Scott Brown as Head of User Experience. They are supported by a 15-person team with deep experience launching successful start-ups across industries.
“With this capital raise and our new partnerships, we are better positioned to execute on building breakthrough businesses and brands within our focused themes: Enabling easier access to opportunity jobs; fintech and services for our growing senior population; modern wellness — from plant-based living to promoting better health in the home and workplace; and building next-gen B2B SaaS businesses,” says Price.
About 25madison: Founded in 2018, 25madison is a venture studio, incubating companies from the ground up and investing in early-stage companies from its offices in New York City, Miami, Atlanta, and Tel Aviv. For more, see www.25madison.com.
About Apollo: Apollo is a leading global alternative investment manager with offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, Bethesda, London, Frankfurt, Madrid, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Delhi, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo. Apollo had assets under management of approximately $455 billion as of December 31, 2020 in credit, private equity and real assets funds. For more information about Apollo, please visit www.apollo.com.
