LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pritzker Group Venture Capital announced it is expanding its Los Angeles venture capital office—materially increasing its on-the-ground presence as it continues to pursue early-stage investment opportunities, particularly in enterprise, consumer tech, healthcare IT and emerging technology (artificial intelligence, internet of things, virtual reality).
PGVC partner Gabe Greenbaum has relocated from the firm’s Chicago office to Los Angeles where he will lead the PGVC office in Los Angeles. Joining him from Chicago is Peter Liu, vice president. The firm also recently hired Nico Gimenez, who joins as an associate.
“We’re bringing two of our best to expand our LA presence,” said Tony Pritzker, managing partner of Pritzker Group. “Gabe has led a number of the firm’s investments, such as X.ai, Catalytic, Augury, Hightower and AiCure, across our four main focus areas. He and Peter Liu are a perfect complement to the expanding LA technology ecosystem.”
Drawn by LA’s great entrepreneurial ecosystem, strong universities, ability to recruit talent, proximity to the valley and, most of all, ample startups and early stage companies seeking a capital partner, PGVC has been increasing its presence in Los Angeles over several years and has invested in more than 20 LA-area companies, including Dollar Shave Club, Honest Company, Hello Giggles, AwesomenessTV, BigFrame, Pluto.TV, Graphiq and Airmap. PGVC’s LA-based companies have yielded significant success. PGVC was an early investor in most of these companies. Dollar Shave Club signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by Unilever for $1 billion in July 2016. Hello Giggles sold to Time, Inc. in 2015, and AwesomenessTV and BigFrame were both sold to DreamWorks.
As PGVC expands in LA, it will continue its early stage focus with initial investments generally in the $3 million to $8 million range. The firm also deploys smaller amounts of capital (up to $1 million) into earlier stage companies to support serial entrepreneurs and other unique opportunities. While the firm typically invests $15 million to $20 million over the life of its investment in a company, PGVC has the flexibility to deploy up to $50 million in any one company.
“In addition to being a value-added partner for entrepreneurs, with the Pritzker network that spans more than 20 years of investing and building businesses with key stakeholders, we’re also a deep pocketed partner that scales as our entrepreneurs scale,” notes Greenbaum. “We’re excited to build upon the success we’ve had in the LA region and look forward to partnering with more great entrepreneurs.”
About Pritzker Group
Pritzker Group, led by Tony and J.B. Pritzker, has three principal investment teams: Private Capital, which acquires and operates leading North America-based companies; Venture Capital, which provides multi-stage venture funding to technology companies throughout the United States; and Asset Management, which partners with top-performing investment managers across global public markets.
Pritzker Group Venture Capital helps entrepreneurs build market-leading technology companies at every stage of their growth. Since its founding in 1996, the firm has worked side-by-side with entrepreneurs at more than 150 companies, building partnerships based on trust and integrity. The firm’s proprietary capital structure allows for tremendous flexibility, and its experienced team of investment professionals and entrepreneurs offers companies a vast network of strategic relationships and guidance. Successful exits in recent years include Cleversafe (acquired by IBM – NYSE: IBM), Dollar Shave Club (acquired by Unilever), Viv Labs (acquired by Samsung), Fleetmatics (IPO – NYSE: FLTX), SinglePlatform (acquired by Constant Contact), Playdom (acquired by Disney), and LeftHand Networks (acquired by Hewlett-Packard). For more information, visit pritzkergroup.com.
About Gabe Greenbaum
Gabe Greenbaum is a partner of Pritzker Group Venture Capital. He joined Pritzker Group in 2012 and has led a number of the firm’s investments across enterprise software, marketplace technologies, machine learning and health care IT. His new role expands on his more than 13 years of entrepreneurial and investment experience, including co-founding two companies of his own, StudentSpace and SwiftIQ. Greenbaum has also been instrumental in building the Pritzker Group Venture Fellows program, helping to expand the firm’s presence in both Chicago and New York, and has been recognized as one of Crain’s 2016 #Tech50. He holds a bachelor’s degree with honors from Washington University in St. Louis, an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law.
About Peter Liu
Peter joined Pritzker Group in 2012 and has been involved in evaluating, executing and supporting more than 25 early- and growth-stage technology investments including SMS Assist, Eved, Opternative and ViV. Liu will continue to source deals and provide oversight for firm investments in digital media, enterprise software, health care IT and emerging technologies. In 2013, Liu founded VentureUP, a network that has galvanized the next generation of VC leaders through peer collaboration, authentic relationship building and professional development. He is a member of the prestigious Kauffman Fellows innovation investment program, the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community and a mentor for the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and management from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia.
