Black Woman-Owned VC Firm Raises $13.5M Inaugural Fund To Close The Racial Wealth Gap
Pre-seed venture capital firm Symphonic Capital has announced the launch of its inaugural fund of $13.5 million to invest in early-stage companies.
Symphonic Capital focuses on founders who are closing critical access gaps within healthcare and financial services.”That’s because we believe everyone should have access to reliable healthcare and financial freedom, regardless of their race, gender or ethnicity,” Founder Sydney Thomas and partner Shruti Shah said in a press statement.
The fund is led by experienced pre-seed investors and operators and backed by leading institutions, such as Known, Candide, Illumen Capital, Bank of America, and Sweater Ventures.
Who founded Symphonic Capital?
Sydney Thomas founded Symphonic Capital in 2022 after seven years of investing. Before launching the VC firm, she joined one of Silicon Valley’s first pre-seed funds and scaled it from a Solo Operating GP with 10 investments to a three-person team with over 400 investments and more than $200 million in assets under management.
Shruti Shah is a partner at Symphonic Capital. Before joining the company, she was an entrepreneur in residence at Nike and an advisor, investor, and consultant to a number of startups.
Supporting companies creating an impact
Symphonic supports companies making an impact. “We want to be clear: we’re not sacrificing returns for impact,” Thomas and Shah explained. “Our goal is to help increase the number of healthy, thriving communities and close the racial wealth gap — building a more equitable future for all. We know this approach will deliver outsized returns to our communities, partners and LPs.”
The VC firm is building a community of diverse founders and ecosystem builders. They’re proud to be supported by a group of institutional investors who are dedicated to backing founders that week to build a more equitable future. “To our LPs: thank you for your trust in us. We’re excited to be on this journey with you,” they added.
Building a fund on their own terms
Symphonic explains that they built their own fund based on a business model that works—”not one that requires a $10 billion outcome to be considered successful.” They’re focused on making wins that deliver meaningful impact for underserved communities and our LPs. They hope to work with founders who can bridge the gap of health and wealth disparities in the US.
Image: Symphonic Capital
