While VCs crowd into San Francisco, Endeavor Catalyst raises $320M for founders 'elsewhere'

Endeavor Catalyst has closed its fifth fund with $320 million in capital commitments, lifting the venture firm's total assets under management above $850 million. The raise stands out at a moment when many funds are concentrating on AI startups in Silicon Valley, and it is aimed at founders building outside the Bay Area. Endeavor Catalyst is the venture arm of Endeavor, a New York-based global nonprofit that has spent 30 years supporting founders outside major tech hubs, a group it refers to in its marketing as "elsewhere."

The fund is led by managing partner Allen Taylor, a 20-year Endeavor veteran, and managing director Jackie Carmel, who joined Endeavor Catalyst 12 years ago, alongside a 16-person team. Endeavor itself serves as the official general partner. Linda Rottenberg, who co-founded Endeavor and helped launch Endeavor Catalyst in 2012, said half of the fund's profits return to Endeavor, so each investment supports the next generation of founders building elsewhere.

Founders must first enter Endeavor's network, which offers mentoring and connections, and the selection process is strict. The group said it screened more than 10,000 candidates last year and chose 88, and its network now includes more than 3,100 entrepreneurs across over 50 countries. When a network founder's company raises at least $5 million in a round led by another institutional investor, Endeavor Catalyst can invest on the same terms as that lead, typically writing checks of $1 million to $3 million and never more than 10% of the round.

The team plans to make 40 to 50 investments a year and back up to 150 companies with the new fund. Taylor declined to share cash-on-cash return figures for earlier funds but pointed to the firm's track record: across all five funds, Endeavor Catalyst has backed 437 companies in 44 markets, 83 of which are valued at $1 billion or more, with 39 exits and 11 IPOs.

Current holdings include ElevenLabs, the AI voice tool maker founded in Poland and recently valued at $22 billion in a secondary sale, and Bending Spoons, the Italy-based conglomerate that went public in July and carries a $26 billion market cap. Others include New York-based Reflection AI, valued at $25 billion; Checkout.com, founded by a Swiss founder and valued at $12 billion last year; African payments company Flutterwave, valued at $3.2 billion this summer; and AI coding startup Replit, co-founded by Palestinian-Jordanian Amjad Masad, which reached a $9 billion valuation earlier this year.

The new fund counts 400 limited partners, among them Reid Hoffman, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and Dutch investment group Prosus. Taylor said roughly 30% of the backers are Endeavor founders themselves, including founders of Nubank, Revolut and Checkout.com. About 90% of the venture arm's investments are outside the U.S.; Europe is its fastest-growing region, with 12 new investments in the first half of 2026 versus 14 in all of last year, while Latin America remains the largest. Repeat founders are a growing share, with roughly 14% of the fourth fund going to second companies at seed or Series A, a figure expected to reach 20% with the new fund.

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