Apr 5, 2024   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Maniv Announces Third Early-stage Venture Fund of $140m to Accelerate the Decarbonization and Digitization of Global Transportation

Maniv, a global venture capital firm based in Tel Aviv and NYC, today announces the closing of its third fund, an $140m vehicle to invest in Seed and Series A stage startups that brings the firm’s assets under management to nearly $320m.

Investing since 2016, Maniv was among the first institutional investors to articulate a global, early-stage investment strategy focused on the intersection between mobility, transportation and energy. Maniv invests in deep technologies and business model innovations around two central themes:

The movement of people and goods continues to be marked by analog processes and data-poor operating environments. From manufacturing to fulfillment and logistics, vehicle access, maintenance and repair, insurance, fleet management, and more, startups are driving the digitization of transportation’s value chains across land, sea, and air. Simultaneously, the market-driven decarbonization of transportation – representing as much as one quarter of global GHG emissions – is at an inflection point. Private sector incentives are tipping towards clean propulsion, a process accelerated by brisk regulatory tailwinds worldwide. These seismic shifts create a massive opportunity for startups to advance new technologies, form factors, business models, and platforms.

Maniv has already made four investments out of the new fund. Celadyne, based in Chicago, extends the lifespan and efficiency of proton-exchange membranes to make green hydrogen production financially viable. Neologic, based in Israel, introduces a proprietary chip design for dramatic performance and power gains in data centers, automotive and beyond. Circular, based in San Francisco, mainstreams post-consumer recycled plastics adoption in manufacturing, by closing pervasive information and testing gaps. Vammo, based in São Paulo, is electrifying LATAM’s B2B two-wheeler market, by orchestrating vehicles, financing, and a ubiquitous battery swapping network.

From its first two, top-performing funds, Maniv led investments in breakout companies including AI edge silicon scaleup Hailo from Tel Aviv, EV ridehail and charging network Revel from New York, medium-duty EV truckmaker Harbinger Motors from Los Angeles, intercity bussing platform Kolors from Mexico City, two-wheeler EV OEM River from Bangalore, and Madrid-based car subscription startup Bipi, acquired by Renault’s financing arm RCI Banque in 2021.

Maniv’s third fund is backed by institutional capital, high-net-worth individuals, and a consortium of industry leaders at the forefront of the transportation sector. Maniv’s prior funds were substantially backed by leading carmakers and Tier-1 suppliers. Maniv III maintains those automotive partnerships – including return investors Valeo and InMotion Ventures, the investment arm of Jaguar-Land Rover, joined by Woven Capital of Toyota Motor Corp. The new fund has expanded its LP base to reflect critical automotive adjacencies through partners including global vehicle leasing and mobility solutions leader Arval and the automotive finance experts of BNP Paribas Personal Finance of Europe’s leading bank BNP Paribas; Shell Ventures of the global energy giant Shell; global sustainable infrastructure leader Ferrovial; Enterprise Mobility Ventures, the VC arm of Enterprise Mobility; industrial manufacturing leader ITT Inc.; fleet payments leader WEX; a major European insurance company; several major automotive dealer and distributor groups; and more.

“Our third fund builds on two decades in the trenches of the global mobility ecosystem,” said Michael Granoff, the firm’s Managing Partner. “Maniv has built a platform to summon the best of two worlds – the agility of a traditional VC, and close proximity to the underlying industries surrounding mobility and transportation. We believe we are uniquely structured to leverage our deep institutional memory and access to industry decision-makers, for the benefit of our portfolio companies and ultimately our investors. Announcing this new vehicle amidst a backdrop of geopolitical uncertainty and shaky private markets is a testament to the resilience of the sector and our strategy.”

“Maniv’s mandate is to deliver outsized returns by joining forces with those rare entrepreneurs with both the vision and tenacity to drive the transportation sector into the 21st century,” added Nate Jaret, General Partner at Maniv. “Human prosperity depends on the seamless and sustainable movement of people and goods; mobility continues to represent a generational opportunity for entrepreneurs and investors alike.”

“When we met Maniv, we had spoken to over 100 investors and operators of electric mobility around the world and nobody – repeat nobody – was more knowledgeable about the space than the Maniv team,” said Jack Sarvary, Co-founder & CEO of portfolio company Vammo based in São Paulo. “Getting them not just onto our cap table but also our board quickly became a priority.”

"From the outset it was clear that Maniv is deeply connected to forward-thinking mobility players,” said Ian Arthurs, Founder & CEO of portfolio company Circular. “Within weeks of our first conversation, the Maniv team found us new enterprise partners and customers in the auto space, which would have taken us months to figure out on our own.”

Website: www.maniv.com