Endeavor Catalyst Closes $320M Fund for Founders 'Elsewhere'

Endeavor Catalyst has closed a $320 million fund—its fifth—pushing the venture arm's assets under management past $850 million and sharpening its bet that the next wave of billion-dollar companies will emerge far from Silicon Valley.

The vehicle is the for-profit investing arm of Endeavor, a New York-based global nonprofit founded 30 years ago to back founders outside major tech hubs—a universe the organization collectively calls "elsewhere" in its marketing materials. Catalyst itself launched in 2012.

Managing partner Allen Taylor, a 20-year Endeavor veteran, runs the 16-person team alongside managing director Jackie Carmel, who joined Endeavor 12 years ago. Endeavor itself serves as general partner, and co-founder Linda Rottenberg says the structure is central to the model.

"Half of the fund's profits go back to Endeavor, so every investment helps the next generation of founders who are building elsewhere," Rottenberg told TechCrunch.

What does the bar look like?

Founders must first enter Endeavor's selective network, which admitted 88 entrepreneurs last year after screening more than 10,000 candidates. The network now spans 3,100 founders across more than 50 countries. Only after a portfolio company's founders qualify can Catalyst consider backing them.

To qualify for a Catalyst check, a company must raise at least $5 million in a round led by another institutional investor. Catalyst then writes $1 million to $3 million into that round at matching terms, though no single check can exceed 10% of the round. Over the life of fund five, Taylor expects Catalyst to back 40 to 50 companies a year, or up to 150 in total.

What has the portfolio produced?

Across all five funds, Endeavor Catalyst has invested in 437 companies in 44 markets. Taylor declined to share cash-on-cash returns for earlier vehicles but pointed to the broader numbers: 83 of the portfolio's startups now carry valuations of $1 billion or more, and the unit has recorded 39 exits and 11 IPOs.

Top holdings include:

• ElevenLabs, the Poland-founded AI voice company recently valued at $22 billion in a secondary sale
• Bending Spoons, an Italian consumer-tech conglomerate that went public in July with a $26 billion market cap
• Reflection AI, a New York-based startup founded by two former Google DeepMind researchers, valued at $25 billion
• Checkout.com, founded by a Swiss entrepreneur, valued at $12 billion last year
• Flutterwave, an African payments-infrastructure company valued at $3.2 billion this summer
• Replit, co-founded by Palestinian-Jordanian entrepreneur Amjad Masad, valued at $9 billion earlier this year

Who is backing the new fund?

The fifth fund drew 400 limited partners. LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman, and Dutch investment group Prosus are among the named backers. Roughly 30% of the limited partners are Endeavor founders themselves—Taylor counts the founders of Nubank, Revolut and Checkout.com among them.

Endeavor's global board counts Hoffman, Matrix and Venrock veteran Nick Beim, and Edgar Bronfman Jr., the former Warner Music and Seagram chief who chairs Endeavor Global's board. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has appeared regularly at Endeavor events.

Where is the capital flowing?

Europe has become Catalyst's fastest-growing region, with 12 new investments in the first half of 2026 against 14 in all of last year. Latin America remains the largest region by deal count, the firm said.

Repeat founders also take a larger share of the dollars than before. About 14% of Endeavor Catalyst's fourth fund went to second companies started by Endeavor alumni at the seed or Series A stage. Taylor expects that share to climb to 20% in fund five, betting that the nonprofit's network will compound its returns as alumni launch new ventures.

As venture capital crowds into San Francisco to chase artificial intelligence deals, Endeavor Catalyst is leaning the other way: roughly 90% of its bets sit outside the U.S., and Taylor said the firm sees a deeper pipeline of vetted, non-U.S. founders than at any point in its 13-year history.