Paul Judge And Marcelo Claure Acquire Property From SoftBank In Clare Market

ACQUISITION IMAGE: Marcelo Claure & Paul Judge DATE: 12/19/2023 BUYER: Paul Judge & Marcelo Claure SELLER: SoftBank SALE PRICE: $250,000,000 NOTE: SoftBank is divesting its Open Opportunity Fund, with chairman and managing partner Paul Judge and Marcelo Claure, the fund’s vice chairman and general partner, set to acquire it. Judge and Claure will take ownership of the $100 million Open Opportunity Fund 1, the $150 million Fund 2, and the entire portfolio, with Fund 2 increasing its target to $200 million. Claure, who was SoftBank’s COO until 2022, is returning to work with the fund, emphasizing the move towards diverse representation in the venture capital ecosystem. Fund 1, deployed under Claure's leadership, invested $100 million in 75 Black and Latino companies, achieving seven exits and 46 follow-on rounds. The rebranded Fund 2 aims to invest in 50 pre-seed to growth-stage companies in various sectors, prioritizing diversity in the tech ecosystem. SoftBank will continue its involvement as an LP in Fund 2. SoftBank HQ: #Tokyo #Japan #VentureCapital #MarceloClaure #PaulJudge #SoftBank #TradedVC

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Puppy Sphere Secures Seed Round Of $24 Million From Strategic Investors Including The School Of Hard KnocksPuppy Sphere (@ThePuppySphere), a New York-based wellness brand centered on the human-animal bond, has raised a Seed round from a group of strategic investors including The School of Hard Knocks, Tobi Oluwole, Jake Fleshner, Torch Collective, former Massage Envy CEO David Humphrey, and other founders and operators. Founded by Francesca Albo and Lea Burbidge Izquierdo, Puppy Sphere has scaled its puppy yoga concept into a broader experiential wellness platform with 13 studios, corporate wellness programs, brand partnerships, and live activations, serving more than 450,000 customers and partnering with companies including Google, Amazon, Netflix, TikTok, and the NBA. FUN FACT: Puppy Sphere was born from two Canadian founders’ own mental health journeys and has since grown into 13 studios across North America, $14M+ in cumulative revenue, and 450,000+ customers, all without outside capital. Along the way, the brand has welcomed names like Sabrina Carpenter, Simu Liu, Trevor Noah and Alessia Cara, while building a broader wellness platform around the gentle power of puppy therapy. Now Puppy Sphere is opening its cap table for the first time through a strategic angel round, bringing together leaders across media, consumer growth and wellness, including The School of Hard Knocks, former Massage Envy CEO David Humphrey, growth entrepreneur Tobi Oluwole, and Nucleus Network co-founder Jake Fleshner, alongside a broader group of strategic founders and operators. The vision: bring the gentle power of puppy therapy across the globe. FOUNDERS: Francesca Albo (@FrancescaaAlbo), Lea Burbidge Izquierdo (@LeaburbIz) INVESTORS: The School of Hard Knocks (@TheSchoolofHardKnockz), Tobi Oluwole (@TheTobiOluwole), Jake Fleshner (@JakeFleshner) Torch Collective, Heather Stark, Will Bodewes, Craig Zingerline & more ROUND: Seed VALUATION CAP: $24,000,000 HQ: New York, New York #VentureCapital #PuppySphere #TradedPartner #FrancescaAlbo #TradedVC