Pillar VC Raises $192M for SaaS, Crypto, Biotech & Manufacturing Funds

Pillar VC Secures $192 Million to Fuel Northeast Startups

Venture capital firm Pillar VC concentrates its efforts on fostering the growth of foundational, or “pillar,” companies situated in Boston and throughout the Northeastern United States.

New Funding Rounds

Recently, the Boston-based, seed-stage investor successfully completed a capital raise totaling $192 million. This sum is distributed across two distinct funds: $169 million constitutes Pillar III, while $23 million is allocated to Pillar Select.

The new fund benefits from the support of over 25 investors, notably including founders from companies already within Pillar VC’s portfolio.

The Pillar VC Team

Jamie Goldstein, Sarah Hodges, and Russ Wilcox comprise the partnership at Pillar VC, with each partner actively leading investment decisions.

All three partners bring entrepreneurial experience to their roles. Goldstein, with two decades in venture capital, previously co-founded PureSpeech, a speech recognition firm later acquired by Voice Control Systems. Hodges held a position at online learning platform Pluralsight, and Wilcox formerly served as CEO of E Ink, an electronic paper company he sold in 2009.

Investment Strategy and Focus

Pillar VC typically directs investments towards both enterprise and consumer-focused startups.

Pillar III will prioritize startups operating within biology, enterprise SaaS, AI/ML, crypto, fintech, hardware, manufacturing, and logistics. The firm’s investment strategy encompasses pre-seed funding ranging from $50,000 to $500,000, and seed-round investments between $2 million and $6 million.

Alignment with Founders

A distinguishing characteristic of Pillar VC is its practice of acquiring common stock, thereby aligning its interests with those of the founders and sharing in the associated risks, as explained by Goldstein to TechCrunch.

Proven Track Record

Established in 2016, Pillar VC has already cultivated a portfolio of 50 companies through its initial two funds – Pillar I, which raised $57 million, and Pillar II, totaling $100 million.

Notable portfolio companies include Circle, a cryptocurrency firm that recently announced a SPAC deal; Desktop Metal, a 3D printing company that went public via SPAC last year; and PillPack, acquired by Amazon in 2018.

A Unique Approach to Venture Capital

“Pillar represents an experiment, exploring the impact of unicorn CEOs mentoring the next wave of startups,” Wilcox stated. “The model is proving effective, and Pillar delivers on the core function of venture capital: supporting groundbreaking, first-of-its-kind concepts.”

Portfolio Support and Platform

Hodges spearheads the Pillar VC platform, providing comprehensive support to the firm’s portfolio companies.

Many of these companies originate as spinouts from universities, requiring assistance in transitioning technology into viable businesses. Pillar VC offers guidance in areas such as CEO recruitment, leadership development, talent acquisition, and introductions to prospective clients.

Focus on Biology and Biotechnology

Pillar VC plans to dedicate approximately one-third of its new fund to the biology sector, with a particular emphasis on the intersection of life science and technology, according to Wilcox.

Petri Bio Accelerator

The firm launched Petri, a pre-seed bio accelerator focused on biotechnology, with its second fund. This accelerator supports founders utilizing computational and engineering approaches to advance technologies in agriculture, genetics, cell and gene therapies, medical data, and drug discovery.

The third fund will continue to bolster the accelerator through both pre-seed and seed-level investments.

Future Investments and Boston’s Ecosystem

Initial investments from Pillar III are currently being finalized, with Hodges anticipating capital infusion into another 50 companies.

“We maintain a strong belief in Boston’s potential,” she added. “Numerous companies here are experiencing substantial growth and becoming recognized brands, and a vibrant energy is emerging from the region.”