Sterling Equity

ActiveVenture Capital

Updated: Jan 7, 2026 ·

About

Sterling Equity is a multi-strategy alternative investment firm focusing on early-stage investments, growth equity, buyouts, and fund of funds.

Financial History

Total Raised

N/A

Valuation

N/A

Investments Made

Date	Company	Round	Lead Investor(s)	Co-Investor(s)
Apr 1, 2025	Emmi AI	$17.0M Seed	—	3VC, 645 Ventures, Endeavor Catalyst, GS Futures, NFX, Playfair Capital, Primo Ventures, QED Investors
Mar 1, 2025	Swap	$40.0M Series B	—	11, 3VC, 645 Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, C2 Investment, Cherry Ventures, DTCP, Endeavor Catalyst, Greylock, GS Futures, ICONIQ Capital, Mosaic Ventures, NFX, O'Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, Outrun Ventures, Playfair Capital, Primo Ventures, QED Investors, sequel, Anjney Midha, Bartek Pucek, Bradley Horowitz, Brendan Iribe, Deborah Liu, Mattia Astori, Mike Krieger, Paul Forster, Phillip Chambers, Siqi Chen
Feb 1, 2025	Shop Circle	$100.0M Series B	—	3VC, 645 Ventures, Atomico, A'Z Angels, Better Tomorrow Ventures, Contrary Capital, Convective Capital, DN Capital, Endeavor Catalyst, FinTech Collective, GS Futures, Hyperplane Venture Capital, Insight Partners, NFX, Pareto Holdings, Playfair Capital, Primo Ventures, Project A Ventures, QED Investors, Jaan Tallinn, Karim Atiyeh, Ott Kaukver, Philippe Teixeira da Mota
Sep 1, 2024	Air Company	$69.0M Series B	—	2045 ventures, Afore Capital, Alpaca VC, Alumni Ventures, Aux21 Capital, Golden Ventures, Innovation Endeavors, Lightspeed Venture Partners, M13, Makers Fund, Multicoin Capital, Trucks Venture Capital, Kevin Lin
Sep 1, 2024	Agree.com	$3.0M Seed	—	Alex, AngelList, Better Tomorrow Ventures, Cambrian Ventures, Cedar Capital Group, E1 Ventures, Jenny Fielding, Scott Hartley, Everywhere Ventures (The Fund), Expedite Ventures, Lakeside Capital, Matchstick Ventures, Mucker Capital, NFX, SparkLabs Group, Summit Partners, Adeel Hussain, Alex Alpert, David S., Gokul Rajaram, Mattia Astori, Mengxi Lu, Richard Cooperstein, Ron Pragides, Russ Heddleston, Will Szczerbiak
May 1, 2024	Pencils Protocol	$2.0M Seed	—	OP Crypto, Polygon
Dec 1, 2023	Curvance	$4.0M Seed	—	OP Crypto, Polygon
Oct 1, 2023	Giga	$4.0M Seed	—	Ahead VC, Cedar Capital Group, E1 Ventures, Expedite Ventures, Lakeside Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, SparkLabs Group, Summit Partners, The General Partnership, Y Combinator, Adeel Hussain, David S., Mattia Astori, Richard Cooperstein
Sep 1, 2023	Shop Circle	$120.0M Series A	—	3VC, 645 Ventures, Atomico, Better Tomorrow Ventures, Contrary Capital, Convective Capital, DN Capital, Endeavor Catalyst, FinTech Collective, GS Futures, Hyperplane Venture Capital, Insight Partners, NFX, Pareto Holdings, Playfair Capital, Primo Ventures, Project A Ventures, QED Investors, Jaan Tallinn, Karim Atiyeh, Ott Kaukver, Philippe Teixeira da Mota
Jul 1, 2023	ChipFlow	$2.0M Seed	—	Fontinalis Partners, InMotion Ventures
Apr 1, 2023	ManholeMetrics	$380K Seed	—	3VC, 645 Ventures, Endeavor Catalyst, GS Futures, NFX, Playfair Capital, Primo Ventures, QED Investors
Mar 1, 2023	Mindset Health	$12.0M Series A	—	Alumni Ventures, Audrey Capital, Banana Capital, BBG Ventures, Decibel Partners, Flex Capital, Sherpalo Ventures, StartHer, The Hit Forge, TMV, Bob Young, Girish Mathrubootham, Jeff Hammerbacher, Spencer Kimball
Feb 1, 2023	The Believer Company	$55.0M Series A	—	2045 ventures, Afore Capital, Alpaca VC, Alumni Ventures, Aux21 Capital, Golden Ventures, Innovation Endeavors, Lightspeed Venture Partners, M13, Makers Fund, Multicoin Capital, Trucks Venture Capital, Kevin Lin, Andreessen Horowitz, Ashby Monk, BCF Ventures, Cleveland Avenue, Dune Ventures, Ingeborg Investments, Lauren Loktev, LOUD Capital, Mitch Garber, Revolution, Sixty8 Capital
Dec 1, 2022	ChipFlow	$1.0M Seed	—	Alumni Ventures
Dec 1, 2022	Shop Circle	$17.0M Series A	—	Fontinalis Partners, InMotion Ventures
Nov 1, 2022	ARTA	$90.0M Series A	—	2045 ventures, Accel, Afore Capital, Alpaca VC, Alumni Ventures, Asylum Ventures, Aux21 Capital, B Capital Group, Berkeley Angel Network, Coinbase Ventures, Commerce Ventures, DST Global, FTAC Ventures, Golden Ventures, Innovation Endeavors, Intuit Ventures, Kindred Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, M13, Makers Fund, Merak Ventures, Multicoin Capital, Shailendra Singh, Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India & SEA), Penny Jar Capital, Point72 Ventures, Quona Capital, Sarona Ventures, Serena Ventures, Seven Seven Six, Trucks Venture Capital, Venture Highway, Y Combinator, Aaron Harris, Alex Lieberman, Andre Iguodala, Baris Gultekin, Claire Hughes Johnson, Gokul Rajaram, Justin Timberlake, Kelvin Beachum Jr., Kevin Lin, Kunal Shah, Mohit Saxena, Peter Kight, Rohit Gupta, Ryan Shea
Nov 1, 2022	Nillion	$20.0M Seed	—	March Capital
Oct 1, 2022	Abingdon Software Group	$20.0M Seed	—	2045 ventures, Afore Capital, Alpaca VC, Alumni Ventures, Aux21 Capital, Golden Ventures, Innovation Endeavors, Lightspeed Venture Partners, M13, Makers Fund, Multicoin Capital, Trucks Venture Capital, Kevin Lin
Oct 1, 2022	Ultra Safe Nuclear Company	$250.0M Series B	—	1435 Capital Management, Afore Capital, E1 Ventures, Flucas Ventures, Heavybit, Invariantes Fund, LombardStreet Ventures, Robert Bosch Venture Capital, Starbridge Venture Capital, William Guo, Dylan Taylor, Richard Cooperstein, Rob Meyerson, Sung ho Choi
Sep 1, 2022	Atlas UP	$3.0M Seed	—	—
Jun 1, 2022	Shop Circle	$65.0M Series A	—	3VC, 645 Ventures, Better Tomorrow Ventures, Credo Ventures, DN Capital, Endeavor Catalyst, FinTech Collective, GS Futures, NFX, Playfair Capital, Primo Ventures, QED Investors, Techstart Ventures, Calum Forsyth, Karim Atiyeh, Philippe Teixeira da Mota, Will Brooks, Will Martin
May 1, 2022	Rain	$11.0M Series B	—	A'Z Angels, Stanley Ventures, Valor Capital Group
Mar 1, 2022	Firstbase	$50.0M Series B	—	2045 ventures, Accomplice VC, Afore Capital, Alpaca VC, Alumni Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Aux21 Capital, Banana Capital, Contrary Capital, Forum Ventures, Golden Ventures, Gradient Ventures, Innovation Endeavors, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, M13, Makers Fund, Multicoin Capital, NFX, Quiet Capital, Race Capital, Rally Ventures, Relay Ventures, R-Squared Ventures, Sinai Ventures, Trucks Venture Capital, Vine Ventures LP, Visionaire Ventures, Emil Michael, Farzad Nazem, Gary Lauder, Gil Hirsch, Kevin Lin, Leore Avidar, Marc Benioff, Noosheen Hashemi, Ran Makavy, Tirto Adji
Mar 1, 2022	Lightforge Games	$15.0M Series A	—	2045 ventures, Afore Capital, Alpaca VC, Alumni Ventures, Animoca Brands, Arkitekt Ventures, Aux21 Capital, BITKRAFT Ventures, Convective Capital, CRV, Fabric Ventures, Founders Fund, Golden Ventures, Greylock, Hashed, Innovation Endeavors, Intel Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, M12, M13, Makers Fund, MizMaa Ventures, Multicoin Capital, Section 32, Trucks Venture Capital, Adam Gries, Andrew Nutter, Chris Murphy, Chris Wang, Chuck Eesley, Eoghan McCabe, Evan Brown, Greg Tseng, James Park, Kevin Lin, Mark Cuban, Mark Pincus, Michael G. Rubin, Sebastien Borget, Shane Neman
Dec 1, 2021	AxeHedge	$400K Seed	—	—

Financial History

Total Raised

N/A

Valuation

N/A

Leadership Team

Key people at Sterling Equity.

Faris Lodin

Managing Director

Leadership Team

Key people at Sterling Equity.

Faris Lodin

Managing Director

Deep Dive

Sterling Equity is a diversified investment company primarily known for its roots in real estate development since its founding in 1972 in New York. It operates with a mission centered on collaboration, agility, and civic responsibility, managing a broad portfolio that includes real estate assets across multiple sectors, private equity investments, and ownership stakes in sports and media entities such as the New York Mets and SportsNet New York. Sterling Equity’s investment philosophy emphasizes long-term value creation through strategic development, financing, and partnership opportunities, impacting the startup and broader business ecosystem by providing capital and operational expertise across real estate and private equity sectors[1].

Founded by the Wilpon family, Sterling Equity originated as a real estate developer and has evolved into a multi-faceted investment firm. Over the decades, it expanded beyond real estate into private equity and sports franchise ownership, notably designing and financing Citi Field, home of the New York Mets. This evolution reflects a strategic broadening from local real estate projects to national investments and diversified asset management, leveraging its entrepreneurial approach and deep market knowledge[1].

Core Differentiators

Unique Investment Model: Combines real estate development with private equity and sports franchise ownership, offering diversified investment platforms.
Network Strength: Strong ties in New York and national markets, including partnerships with institutions and sports entities.
Track Record: Over 50 years of experience with significant projects like Citi Field and a portfolio spanning multifamily housing, industrial, and office spaces.
Operating Support: Provides project consulting, debt financing, and active management to maximize asset value and growth opportunities[1].

Role in the Broader Tech and Investment Landscape

Sterling Equity rides the trend of integrated investment models that blend real estate, private equity, and media/sports ownership, capitalizing on urban development and entertainment sectors. The timing aligns with growing urbanization, increased demand for mixed-use developments, and the rising value of sports franchises as media and branding platforms. Sterling’s influence extends to shaping urban real estate markets and supporting business growth through strategic capital deployment, thereby contributing to economic development and innovation ecosystems indirectly through its investments[1].

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Looking ahead, Sterling Equity is poised to continue leveraging its diversified portfolio to capitalize on emerging real estate trends, including sustainable development and technology integration in property management. Its sports and media assets offer additional growth avenues through digital content and fan engagement innovations. The firm’s long-term, entrepreneurial approach suggests it will maintain a steady course of expansion and value creation, adapting to market shifts while reinforcing its foundational sectors. Sterling Equity’s blend of tradition and innovation positions it well to influence both real estate and broader investment landscapes in the coming years[1].

Sources

Core Differentiators

Unique Investment Model: Combines real estate development with private equity and sports franchise ownership, offering diversified investment platforms.
Network Strength: Strong ties in New York and national markets, including partnerships with institutions and sports entities.
Track Record: Over 50 years of experience with significant projects like Citi Field and a portfolio spanning multifamily housing, industrial, and office spaces.
Operating Support: Provides project consulting, debt financing, and active management to maximize asset value and growth opportunities[1].