Citi's venture capital side hustle is surprisingly active — and it's trying before buying
"The Shazam for food"... Sounds promising. Venture capitalists invest in private startups with high growth potential. In exchange for money, they get shares (which they hope will eventually translate to way more money). When you think of VC, you're probably thinking Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, and Monica from Silicon Valley. But banking OG Citi also has a surprisingly active venture arm:
- 9: The number of unicorns Citi Ventures has invested in. Six of its companies have exited (aka: gone public) at $1B+ valuations.
- 61: The number of new portfolio companies Citi has backed since 2015.
The OG misspelled company name... Citi's been doing it for years. It also invested early in companies like Plaid (which Visa's trying to acquire for $5.3B) and Jet.com (which Walmart bought for $3.3B). When those companies get bought or go public, Citi cashes in — sometimes, with massive returns. Other notable Citi investments:
- Square: The mobile payments company IPO'd at a $9 share price in 2015. Now the stock is worth ~$200.
- DocuSign: The e-signature classic has more than 5X'd in value since its 2018 IPO.
- Honey: PayPal bought the digital coupon company for $4B. From all the ads we hear from YouTubers and podcasters, it seems to be doing swimmingly.
Citi invests in what it knows... Wild stat: two-thirds of Citi's portfolio companies have a commercial relationship with Citibank. For example, Citi uses DocuSign to offer customers free e-signatures. By knowing and using the products it's investing in, Citi has a better grasp of their value and growth potential.