Listen

ActiveVenture Capital

Updated: Jan 22, 2026 ·

About

Listen is a venture firm that backs and builds the brands of tomorrow, focusing on consumer insights and innovative approaches to brand development.

Financial History

Total Raised

N/A

Valuation

N/A

Investments Made

Date	Company	Round	Lead Investor(s)	Co-Investor(s)
Jun 1, 2025	Landbase	$30.0M Series A	—	Gautam Gupta, A* Capital (A Star Capital), Alumni Ventures, Andrew Montgomery, Imaginary Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Sound Ventures, Emily Kramer, Gokul Rajaram, Megan Quinn
Apr 1, 2025	ZAR	$7.0M Seed	—	1/1 Capital, Accel, Bessemer Venture Partners, Castle Island Ventures, Chemistry VC, Comal Ventures, Cyberstarts VC, Haun Ventures, M13, Tony Florence, Northside Ventures, Preston-Werner Ventures, Solana Ventures, Y Combinator, Balaji Srinivasan, Derrick Li, Tekin Salimi, Wayne Chang
Feb 1, 2025	Raise	$63.0M Venture Round	—	1/1 Capital, Accel, Alumni Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Haun Ventures, Initialized Capital, Tony Florence, Preston-Werner Ventures, RTP Ventures, Solana Ventures, Ulu Ventures, Winklevoss Capital, David Hauser, Siqi Chen, Wayne Chang
Nov 1, 2024	Wordware	$30.0M Seed	—	10100, 6th Man Ventures, Acton Capital Partners, Adjacent, Albion VC, Alumni Ventures, Amplify Partners, Angel investor, Atomico, Audrey Capital, Blossom Capital, BlueRun Ventures, Broadway Angels, Chalfen Ventures, Climate Capital, Color Capital, Cool Climate Collective, Craft Ventures, Day One Ventures, Decibel Partners, Divergent Capital, DocuSign, Double Down, DST Global, Embedded Ventures, Emergence Capital, Essence VC, Aniq Kassam, Felicis Ventures, Felix Capital, FirstMark Capital, Flexcap, Flex Capital, Flybridge Capital Partners, Friends & Family Capital, Frontline Ventures, Fusion Fund, Ganas Ventures, General Catalyst, Global Founders Capital, Gradient Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Greenoaks Capital, Hummingbird Ventures, ICONIQ Capital, Indicator Ventures, Insight Partners, IVP, Kohala Ventures, La Famiglia, Lakestar, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Lockheed Martin Ventures, Matrix, Menlo Ventures, Meritech Capital Partners, Moxxie Ventures, Jonathan Golden, OpenCapital.vc, Openspace Ventures, Otherwise Fund, Paradigm, Paradox Capital, Partners Resolute, Pioneer Fund, Polymath Capital Partners, Prototype Capital, Radical Ventures, Red Beard Ventures, Runa Capital, Scribble Ventures, Seed Club Ventures, Seven Seven Six, Sherpalo Ventures, Shrug Capital, Spark Capital, Summit Partners, SV Angel, Web Smith, Techstars, The Hit Forge, Theory Forge Ventures, Todd and Rahul's Angel Fund, Trammell Venture Partners, Treble Capital, Tribe Capital, Unlock Venture Partners, Untapped Capital, Valhalla Ventures, Vibe Capital, Y Combinator, Adam D'Angelo, Alex Pattis, Amjad Masad, Andrew Gazdecki, Andrew Gluck, Andrew Steinwold, Azeem Azhar, Balaji Srinivasan, Ben Lang, Ben Tossell, Bob Young, Casey Neistat, David Peterson, Dharmesh Shah, Doug Monro, Elad Gil, Eric Ries, Gina Bianchini, Girish Mathrubootham, Gokul Rajaram, Jaime Schmidt, James Isilay, James Meekings, Jean Charles Samuelian, Jeff Hammerbacher, Jen Rubio Butterfield, Julia DeWahl, Kevin Stumpf, Kevin Weil, Kulveer Taggar, Kyle Vogt, Ligaya Tichy, Mark Chou, Mark Pincus, Mathilde Collin, Matt Mickiewicz, Moshe Lifschitz, Nkechi Iregbulem, Noah Sidman-Gale, Paul Graham, Paul Stahura, Peter Hunn, Peter Kazanjy, Ran Makavy, Sahin Boydas, Sam Corcos, Scott Belsky, Sergei Anikin, Sherry Coutu, Siqi Chen, Spencer Kimball, Stephen Cole, Thijn Lamers, Tim Ferriss, Tony Jamous, Vishal Rao, Will Brooks, Will Martin, Yann LeCun, Zachary Sims, Zach Segal
Oct 1, 2024	[cafeteria]	$3.0M Seed	—	Collaborative Fund, Imaginary Ventures, Sound Ventures, Thirty Five Ventures, Mark Wahlberg, Odell Beckham Jr., Ryan Tedder, Sebastian Ingrosso, Steve Aoki, Alumni Ventures, Andrew Montgomery
Oct 1, 2024	SMB	$1.0M Seed	—	Collide Capital, Gutter Capital, Sheila Lirio Marcelo, Turing Capital, Charles Huang, Josh Resnick
Sep 1, 2024	Wealth.com	$30.0M Series A	—	Alumni Ventures, Angel investor, BlueRun Ventures, Climate Capital, Color Capital, Craft Ventures, Divergent Capital, Double Down, DST Global, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Insight Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, Partners Resolute, Scribble Ventures, Shrug Capital, Web Smith, Techstars, Todd and Rahul's Angel Fund, Alex Pattis, Andrew Gluck, Balaji Srinivasan, Casey Neistat, Jaime Schmidt, Jen Rubio Butterfield, Kevin Weil, Ligaya Tichy, Mark Chou, Moshe Lifschitz, Peter Hunn, Sahin Boydas, Tim Ferriss, Zach Segal
Aug 1, 2024	Vanilla	$35.0M Series B	—	Alumni Ventures, Angel investor, Ballistic Ventures, BlueRun Ventures, Climate Capital, Color Capital, Craft Ventures, Divergent Capital, Double Down, DST Global, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Insight Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, Partners Resolute, Scribble Ventures, Shrug Capital, Web Smith, Techstars, Todd and Rahul's Angel Fund, Venrock, Alex Pattis, Andrew Gluck, Balaji Srinivasan, Casey Neistat, Gokul Rajaram, Jaime Schmidt, Jen Rubio Butterfield, Kevin Weil, Ligaya Tichy, Mark Chou, Moshe Lifschitz, Peter Hunn, Sahin Boydas, Tim Ferriss, Zach Segal
Jan 1, 2024	PlayGreen	$6.0M Seed	—	Vice Ventures
Aug 1, 2023	Daybreak Health	$13.0M Series B	—	125 Ventures, 14W, Adjacent, Audrey Capital, BBG Ventures, B Capital Group, Beckley Waves, Bond, BoxGroup, Cherubic Ventures, Ali Tamaseb, Dragoneer Investment Group, Elefund, Fifty Years, Future Perfect Ventures, General Catalyst, GenNx360, GE Ventures, Giant Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Hoxton Ventures, LAUNCH, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Lionheart Ventures, LombardStreet Ventures, Lux Capital, Maven Ventures, Mystic Ventures, Oak HC/FT, PsyMed Ventures, Resolute Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Sound Ventures, Supply Change Capital, Target Global, Teamworthy Ventures, Uncork Capital, Union Square Ventures, Uprising, Anne Wojcicki, Darius Contractor, Darran Garnham, Edvard Engesæth, Jeremy Yap, Joe Greenstein, Julie McDermott, Kirill Makharinsky, Liron Petrushka, Marc Benioff, Michael Birch, Oleg Tscheltzoff, Pete Moore, Raj Luhar, Saki Georgiadis, Yoni Assia
Jul 1, 2023	LunarCrush	$5.0M Series A	—	Blockchain Founders Fund, Chingona Ventures, Draper Associates, Alon Goren, gener8tor, Manutara Ventures, Zeal Capital Partners
Mar 1, 2023	Huupe	$11.0M Seed	—	1/1 Capital, Accel, Bessemer Venture Partners, Haun Ventures, Tony Florence, Preston-Werner Ventures, Solana Ventures, Tekin Salimi, Wayne Chang
May 1, 2022	Crown Affair	$5.0M Series A	—	BITKRAFT Ventures, Casa Verde Capital, Craft Ventures, K2 Global, Kearny Jackson, RRE Ventures, Shrug Capital, Sound Ventures, Thomas Pentz, Tribe Capital, True Beauty Ventures, XFactor Ventures, Ahmir Khalib Thompson, Brad Handler, Gee Roberson, James Corden, Marc Benioff, Nik Sharma, Paul George, Ryan Tedder, Steve Aoki, Steven Alan, Warren Shaeffer
May 1, 2022	Black Buffalo	$30.0M Series A	—	Muse Capital, Vice Ventures
Apr 1, 2022	Evernow	$29.0M Series A	—	Abstract Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Angel investor, Jana Messerschmidt, Atomic, Banana Capital, Beringea, Big Idea Ventures, BoxGroup, Coelius Capital, Collide Capital, Craft Ventures, DFJ Growth, DST Global, Evolution VC Partners, First Round Capital, Forerunner Ventures, Frontline Ventures, General Catalyst, Gutter Capital, Inspired Capital, Khosla Ventures, Mayfield, Menlo Ventures, Moving Capital, New Enterprise Associates, Pioneer Fund, Point Nine Capital, Polychain Capital, QueensBridge Venture Partners, Quiet Capital, Republic Records, SOSV, Sweet Capital, Turing Capital, Volition Capital, YLEM, ZhenFund, Aaron Harris, Charles Huang, Demetrios Christofidis Jr, Eric Ries, Harry Hurst, Jason Stockwood, Jeffrey Lee, Jen Rubio Butterfield, Josh Mohrer, Josh Resnick, Kristian Segerstrale, Leonard Picardo, Marc Benioff, Nick Jonas, Ning Sung, Rashaun Williams, Stephan Thoma, Steve Aoki, Steve Chen
Apr 1, 2022	Wisq	$20.0M Series A	—	Norwest Venture Partners, Red Swan Ventures, Shasta Ventures, True Ventures, What If Ventures
Apr 1, 2022	Sigo Seguros	$5.0M Seed	—	Blockchain Founders Fund, Chingona Ventures, gener8tor, Zeal Capital Partners, Jason Towns
Apr 1, 2022	BriteCo	$9.0M Series A	—	Kevin Hartz, Alumni Ventures, Brand Foundry Ventures, Broadway Angels, Comeback Capital, DNX Ventures, Flex Capital, Lazerow Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners, quadratura.it, Recursive Ventures, Richmond Global Ventures, Saints Capital, SemperVirens Venture Capital, SignalFire, Slow Ventures, SNR, Spark Capital, WGI Group, Adam D'Angelo, Brian O'Kelley, Charlie Songhurst, David Chang, Diane Hessan, Eric Ries, Eric Stein, Ethan Beard, Evangelos Simoudis, Jeremy Lizt, Joanna Rees, Joe Zawadzki, Kim Perell, Mark Gerson, Ron Hirson, Russell Fradin, Russ Fradin, Scott Faber, Tien Tzuo, Travis May, Warren Jenson
Mar 1, 2022	MeliBio	$6.0M Seed	—	Alumni Ventures, Angel investor, Astanor Ventures, Big Idea Ventures, BlueRun Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Climate Capital, Collaborative Fund, Color Capital, Craft Ventures, Darco Capital, Divergent Capital, Double Down, DST Global, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Insight Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, Partners Resolute, Rajan Anandan, Scribble Ventures, Shrug Capital, SOSV, Web Smith, Techstars, Todd and Rahul's Angel Fund, Ahmir Khalib Thompson, Alex Pattis, Andrew Gluck, Balaji Srinivasan, Casey Neistat, Gokul Rajaram, Jaime Schmidt, Jen Rubio Butterfield, John Legend, Kevin Love, Kevin Weil, LeBron James, Ligaya Tichy, Mark Chou, Mark Cuban, Moshe Lifschitz, Peter Hunn, Sahin Boydas, Tim Ferriss, Zach Segal
Mar 1, 2022	Kolleno	$5.0M Seed	—	2050 Capital, 7percent Ventures, American Express Ventures, Atomico, Backed VC, Creator Fund, Double Prime LLP, EQT Ventures, Expert Dojo, Global Ventures, Haatch, MassMutual Ventures, Mercuri, Notion Capital, Outrun Ventures, Passion Capital, Plug & Play Ventures, Seedcamp, Stride VC, Tribe Capital, Alison Engel, Charles Delingpole, Charlie Songhurst, Jeff Carter, Jose Gaztelu, Mik Attisani, Paul Forster, Paul Townsend, Phil McGriskin, Will Brooks, William Hockey
Feb 1, 2022	Daybreak Health	$10.0M Series A	—	Adjacent, Audrey Capital, Rexhep Dollaku, B Capital Group, Cherubic Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Ali Tamaseb, Elefund, Firework Ventures, Giant Ventures, GSV Acceleration, LAUNCH, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Lionheart Ventures, LombardStreet Ventures, Maven Ventures, Resolute Ventures, Sinai Ventures, Sound Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures, Uncork Capital, Uprising, Vine Ventures LP, Anne Wojcicki, Darius Contractor, Darran Garnham, Joe Greenstein, Kirill Makharinsky, Marc Benioff, Michael Birch, Oleg Tscheltzoff, Pete Moore, Raj Luhar, Saki Georgiadis
Jan 1, 2022	Wilder World	$30.0M Venture Round	—	8VC, AIX Ventures, Alt Capital, Alumni Ventures, Angel investor, Axiom Partners, Bain Capital, Balderton Capital, BlueRun Ventures, Bullpen Capital, Climate Capital, Collab Capital, Color Capital, Craft Ventures, Divergent Capital, Double Down, DST Global, Footprint Coalition, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Initialized Capital, Insight Partners, Inspired Capital, K9 Ventures, Kapor Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Madrona Ventures, Maveron, Menlo Ventures, Obvious Ventures, Pareto Holdings, Partners Resolute, RET Ventures, Scribble Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Shrug Capital, Sound Ventures, South Park Commons, Web Smith, TechSquare Labs, Techstars, Todd and Rahul's Angel Fund, Tribe Capital, Twelve Below, Ulu Ventures, Unshackled Ventures, Village Global, Vista Venture Partners, WorkLife Ventures, XYZ Venture Capital, Y Combinator, Yes VC, Zeno Ventures, Alex Pattis, Andrew Gluck, Andy Coravos, Balaji Srinivasan, Bangaly Kaba, Baron Davis, Casey Neistat, Gokul Rajaram, Gwyneth Paltrow, Halle Tecco, Jaime Schmidt, Jen Rubio Butterfield, John Henry, Justin Rosenstein, Kelvin Beachum Jr., Kevin Lee, Kevin Weil, Ligaya Tichy, Mark Chou, Mathilde Collin, Moshe Lifschitz, Nick Caldwell, Paul George, Peter Hunn, Peter Sonsini, Sahin Boydas, Tim Ferriss, Trevor McFedries, Yan-David Erlich, Zach Segal
Jan 1, 2022	Passport	$39.0M Series B	—	Able Partners, Alumni Ventures, Angel investor, BDC Venture Capital, BlueRun Ventures, Climate Capital, Color Capital, Craft Ventures, Divergent Capital, Double Down, DST Global, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Insight Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, M13, Menlo Ventures, Partners Resolute, Sands Capital, Scribble Ventures, Shaan's All Access Fund, Shrug Capital, SRB Ventures, Web Smith, Techstars, Todd and Rahul's Angel Fund, Alex Pattis, Andrew Gluck, Balaji Srinivasan, Casey Neistat, Gokul Rajaram, Jaime Schmidt, James Beshara, Jen Rubio Butterfield, Julian Shapiro, Kevin Lee, Kevin Weil, Ligaya Tichy, Mark Chou, Moshe Lifschitz, Peter Hunn, Tim Ferriss, Zach Segal
Nov 1, 2021	Block Renovation	$50.0M Series C	—	75 & Sunny, Adjacent, Amplify Partners, Audrey Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Cherubic Ventures, Elefund, Elron Ventures, Ethereal Ventures, Frontier Ventures, Galaxy Digital, Giant Ventures, Incisive Ventures, Insight Partners, LAUNCH, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Lionheart Ventures, LombardStreet Ventures, Main Sequence Ventures, MYASIAVC PTE LTD, Operator Collective, Penny Jar Capital, Rainfall Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, SoftBank Investment Advisers, Sommet AB, Sound Ventures, Uncork Capital, Uprising, Vista Venture Partners, Voyager Capital, Allison Pickens (Allison Pickens Ventures), Darius Contractor, Darran Garnham, Didier Valet, Eric Wu, Joe Greenstein, Kirill Makharinsky, Kunal Shah, Marc Benioff, Michael Birch, Nate Matherson, Oleg Tscheltzoff, Pete Moore, Philippe Teixeira da Mota, Raj Luhar, Saki Georgiadis, Scott Belsky
Nov 1, 2021	Party Round	$7.0M Seed	—	Kevin Hartz, Addition, Andreessen Horowitz, Audrey Capital, Big Sky Health, Coinbase Ventures, Connect Ventures, Craft Ventures, Creative Juice, Dreamers VC, Electric Capital, ENIAC Ventures, Jenny Fielding, Scott Hartley, Exponent Founders Capital, Firstminute Capital, Freestyle Capital, Future Africa, General Catalyst, Gradient Ventures, Hustle Fund, Interlock Partners, Kearny Jackson, Khosla Ventures, LightShed Ventures, Luno Expeditions, NewFund, Next Coast Ventures, Norrsken VC, Not Boring Capital, Precursor Ventures, Presence Capital, QED Investors, Quona Capital, Redpoint Ventures, RRE Ventures, Seven Seven Six, Shrug Capital, Social Capital, Sound Ventures, Spark Capital, Stellar Capital, Tekton Ventures, The Community Fund, Thirty Five Ventures, True Beauty Ventures, Vera Equity, XFactor Ventures, Y Combinator, Adam Gross, Adrian Aoun, Andre Mohamed, Brad Bao, Brad Garlinghouse, Brad Handler, Bradley Horowitz, Charles Delingpole, David de Picciotto, Eric Hahn, Gabriel Weinberg, Iqram Magdon-Ismail, Jared Leto, Jason Gardner, Jason Goldberg, Joshua Reeves, Kevin Weil, Mario Gabriele, Mike Krieger, Odell Beckham Jr., Richard Chen, Sam Altman, Scott Belsky, Steven Alan, Tikhon Bernstam, Tom Blomfield, Trevor Noah, Warren Shaeffer, Will Gaybrick

Financial History

Total Raised

N/A

Valuation

N/A

Leadership Team

Key people at Listen.

Leadership Team

Key people at Listen.

Deep Dive

High-Level Overview

Startup and entrepreneurial ecosystems are dynamic networks that support the creation, growth, and scaling of startups through resources such as funding, mentorship, infrastructure, and community engagement. Investment firms and ecosystem builders focus on metrics like jobs created, entrepreneurs served, funds allocated, revenue generated, and business retention to evaluate their impact and health. These ecosystems typically target sectors with high innovation potential and economic impact, fostering startups that solve real-world problems and contribute to economic growth. Their investment philosophy often emphasizes sustainable growth, diversity, and inclusion to build resilient communities that nurture entrepreneurship over time[1][2][3].

Origin Story

Startup ecosystems and investment firms usually emerge from a recognition of the need to support innovation and economic development. Founding partners often include experienced entrepreneurs, investors, and community leaders who identify gaps in resources or coordination within a region. Over time, these ecosystems evolve by expanding their focus from early-stage startups to include scaleups, incorporating new sectors like AI and sustainability, and refining their support models based on data-driven insights. Early traction is often marked by successful exits, increased funding rounds, and growing numbers of startups and investors participating in the ecosystem[1][2][3].

Core Differentiators

Unique Investment Model: Many firms adopt tailored approaches combining capital with operational support, mentorship, and network access to accelerate startup growth.
Network Strength: Robust connections with local and global investors, corporates, universities, and government bodies enhance resource availability and market reach.
Track Record: Demonstrated success through exits, unicorn creation, and sustained startup growth validates their approach.
Operating Support: Beyond funding, providing strategic guidance, talent acquisition assistance, and ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) integration differentiates leading firms[4][6].

For ecosystems, differentiators include comprehensive data measurement frameworks that track not only financial metrics but also diversity, inclusion, and community engagement, enabling continuous improvement and targeted resource allocation[1][2].

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Startup ecosystems and investment firms ride the wave of global trends such as digital transformation, AI adoption, sustainability, and ESG investing. The timing is critical as technological advances and societal shifts create new market opportunities and challenges. Market forces like increasing venture capital availability, government innovation policies, and talent mobility favor ecosystem growth. These entities influence the broader ecosystem by shaping startup success rates, fostering innovation clusters, and promoting inclusive economic development, thereby contributing to regional and global competitiveness[3][4][8].

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Looking ahead, investment firms and startup ecosystems will increasingly integrate ESG metrics and impact measurement to align with global sustainability goals. The rise of AI-native startups and climate-tech ventures will shape investment priorities. Ecosystems that leverage data-driven insights to optimize resource allocation and foster diversity will likely outperform. Their influence will expand as they become pivotal in translating innovation potential into scalable economic and social impact, reinforcing their role as engines of growth and transformation in the tech landscape[4][9]. This evolution ties back to their foundational mission of enabling entrepreneurship to thrive sustainably and inclusively.

Sources

High-Level Overview

Origin Story

Core Differentiators

Unique Investment Model: Many firms adopt tailored approaches combining capital with operational support, mentorship, and network access to accelerate startup growth.
Network Strength: Robust connections with local and global investors, corporates, universities, and government bodies enhance resource availability and market reach.
Track Record: Demonstrated success through exits, unicorn creation, and sustained startup growth validates their approach.
Operating Support: Beyond funding, providing strategic guidance, talent acquisition assistance, and ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) integration differentiates leading firms[4][6].