Arowana, the leading B Corporation-accredited global investment firm, today announced the successful spin-off of its UK based venture capital unit, Alicorn Venture Partners, into an independent entity, after scaling up the business in the secondaries investing space.
Alicorn was established in 2018, initially with internal capital of Arowana’s leadership. The firm focussed on investing into growth-stage frontier technology companies backed by leading VC firms through a combination of secondaries and bespoke primary transactions. Under the Arowana umbrella, Alicorn scaled to more than US$65 million of invested capital through co-investment opportunities, Fund I, and more recently towards the first close of Fund II.
Alexander Assim, Managing Partner, Alicorn, said: “Very few people had heard of secondary VC opportunities in 2018, far less a fund devoted to that activity. Arowana noticed and executed this strategy and supported the growth of the business as Alicorn took its initial steps in that marketplace. Without that early support, in what has now become a non-core area for Arowana, we would not be in the situation where we are today. We are more convinced than ever of the opportunities in the secondary venture space, which is now worth over US$150 billion. Alicorn now has an enormous and timely market opportunity to exploit and the entire Alicorn team is looking forward to executing on this.”
Kevin Chin, Founder & CEO, Arowana, said: “Arowana has been proud to support Alicorn’s development over the years. Our decision to spin off Alicorn is in sync with Arowana’s strategy to sharpen our focus on impact as well as to stay true to our core purpose of growing people, companies, and value. We believe that, as an independent entity, Alicorn will have the flexibility and focus to further grow and expand its operations. We are excited to see them continue to pursue their vision as an independent VC firm, leveraging their expertise in secondaries to invest in and support innovative companies. Arowana will remain a close ally and strategic stakeholder, encouraging them to further success.”
At the same time, Arowana announced the launch of its impact-focussed venture studio, Vivarium.
About Arowana
Arowana is a leading B Corp-certified global investment firm with operating companies and investments in electric vehicles, renewable energy, vocational and professional education, technology and software, venture capital, and impact asset management. Arowana’s purpose is to grow people, companies, and value.
About Alicorn
Alicorn Venture Partners (AVP) is a secondary-dominant venture capital firm focussed on investing across the capital structure in growth-stage companies across a range of technology thematics. It is a European-orientated VC with a strong focus in Israel and the UK, working with leadership teams, existing investors, and other stakeholders since 2018 to solve capital problems in high-growth areas.
