Chainsmokers, who consistently rank among the top five highest-paid DJs in the world, are quietly raising their third venture capital fund in years, On The Money has learned.
Best known for hits like “Closer” and “Don’t Let Me Down,” the electronic duo Mantis Venture Capital Since 2020. In the first round, Alex Pall and Drew Taggart raised his $41 million. In his second round, he raised $81 million and is now looking to exceed that, launching his third fund focused on artificial intelligence and Web 4.
Chainsmokers has been largely silent about its investment activity, investing in fintech companies such as Trace Finance and Vise rather than customer-facing brands.
Aside from promoting Jaja Tequila, which they own shares in, the pair haven’t appeared in advertising campaigns or used social media to promote their investments.
Sources close to the duo say they want to build a completely separate brand for their business, as opposed to music.
“They didn’t want to do a press release. They wanted the returns to speak for themselves.
Instead of pushing the brand onto consumers, they have spent time meeting with hundreds of investors. The group has not disclosed investors in the current fund, but previous backers include Shark Tank’s Mark Cuban, Founders Fund partner Keith Rabois and so-called “super angel” investor Ron Conway. was included.
A representative for the pair declined to comment.
Paul has nearly 550,000 followers and Taggart has more than 1.3 million Instagram followers, but a source close to them said “social media is not their added value.”
“Alex and Drew serve as advisors. They have spent over 10,000 hours looking at pitch decks, analyzing investments, meeting founders and understanding the companies they work with. rice field.
Of course, for some of the companies they work with, Chainsmokers’ fame is a big draw.
Although they haven’t increased their social media investments, they regularly call engineers who are considering receiving job offers at one of their portfolio companies.
“A FaceTime call from Chainsmokers can move the needle when a startup is looking to hire someone,” the source adds.
Paul, 36, studied art history and music business at New York University, and Taggart, 32, studied music at Syracuse University.
Neither performer has a financial background, but they have made a seed investment of about $250,000 in Ember, a coffee mug insulation company, and another in LoanSnap, a loan processing service.
According to previous interviews, the duo have said they look to “Margaritaville” singer Jimmy Buffett as an inspiration. It has been used to create merchandise, casinos, restaurants and even retirement communities.
