Wholesale Investor is launching a $10 million seed-stage VC fund in partnership with Singapore-based Hatcher+

• VC firm Hatcher+ and Wholesale Investor will invest A$10 million in 50+ startups
• The fund will use deep learning to invest in promising technology companies through to series A
• The fund will partner with leading incubators, accelerators, and research groups.  

Australian investment platform Wholesale Investor has launched a joint venture plan to raise A$10 million venture capital fund with Singapore-based Hatcher+ to back tech startups from seed to series A.

The partnership plans to use networks the two companies have, including leading incubators, accelerators, and research groups, to build its deal flow, which could exceed 10,000 startups annually. They plan to invest in around 50 startups, predominantly in Australia and New Zealand, as well as some global ventures.

Called the H+WI ANZ Fund, Wholesale Investor will invite Sophisticated Investors to be part of the fund and they will also be allowed to co-invest alongside the fund itself.

John Sharp, founding partner of Hatcher+, said the fund will primarily follow his company’s data-driven approach to venture investing.

The VC firm has analysed more than 600,000 VC transactions and constructed over 4 billion virtual VC portfolios to explore the return profiles of various investment strategies. Hatcher+ already has 118 companies in its investment portfolio. 

Sharp said Australia is producing a remarkable number of unicorns, and startups have transformed the business profile of the nation from a heavy focus on mining and agriculture.

“The early-stage investment scene is going through a period of massive growth and investors are no longer looking to simply be passive participants – they want to add value in addition to capital, form groups with like-minded individuals and family offices, and get direct access to meaningful data – this alliance will allow investors to find deals more easily, be better informed as to a company’s progress, and  to engage more directly and successfully with the founders,” he said.

“We view this synergistic tie-up as a potential win-win for everyone involved.”

Wholesale Investor Managing Director, Steve Torso said more than 50 companies that found investors on the platform have already gone on to exit via IPO or M&A, including Booktopia, MadPaws, Ai-Media and MyDeal.com.au.

“Over the last decade, we have worked with many companies from seed stage through to exit.  Observing this has taught us the power of founder-led startups and the role the ecosystem  plays in helping companies navigate their way to scale and exit,” Torso said.

“If you combine our access to deal flow, the scalability of the Hatcher+ data-driven approach and our ecosystem of  investors, dealmakers and industry, you have a powerful combination for success.”

The VC fund’s portfolio companies will gain access to Wholesale Investor’s 31,100-strong ecosystem of investors, dealmakers and professional services to help scale their businesses during its later-stage growth.  

Torso and Sharp also believe the joint venture will enable founders to easily upload and share data, including cap tables, pitch decks, investor documents, and KPI updates.

“We are pioneering a unique way in which we are not only investing into companies but then providing software, distribution and networks of people that can provide value to the companies,” Torso said.

Torso said they’re currently running a pre-registration of interest process. Investor can register here and will make the offer available on Wholesale Investor’s CRIISP platform shortly

Here are Torso and Sharp talking about their plans.