I'm a celebrity investor, get me tech startups!
by Startacus Admin
2019 saw celebrities contribute to start-up investments in record numbers, surpassing a previous spike in 2015, with celebrities participating in $2.25bn worth of funding rounds towards startup investments in 2019.
Using Crunchbase data, Tide looked into which celebrities are the biggest investors in tomorrow’s start-ups and which years and business categories have seen the most celebrity investor participation from 2010 to 2019.
Ashton Kutcher has participated in nearly a quarter of these investments, contributing to $3.13bn for businesses in a range of different sectors. His biggest investment was 
on a $500m funding round for Zenefits.
Over the last few decades, savvy celebrities have found ways to increase their net worth by tens of millions outside of their day jobs by making lucrative investments in all areas of business.
Whether it’s was in software startups or esports enterprises, Tide, a fintech UK startup used Crunchbase data to find out which stars are the biggest investors, and which years and business categories have seen the most celebrity investor participation. To discover which celebrities are the busiest and biggest investors, their analysis considers £9.4 billion of investment rounds for 981 different investments.
The analysis identified that:
Rapper and entrepreneur Nasir "Nas" Jones has participated in 188 funding rounds (comprising a total investment figure of over £1.1bn), which is more than any other celebrity investor on our list. Ashton Kutcher comes in second place, having participated in 159 funding rounds.
Ashton Kutcher has participated in nearly a quarter of these investments, contributing to $3.13bn for businesses in a range of different sectors. His biggest investment was on a $500m funding round for Zenefits.
Legendary tennis player Tennis player, Serena Williams is the leading female celebrity investor with 29 investments, coming in at 6th on the decade long league table.
All data used in the study was sourced from Crunchbase and was valid from 31 October 2019. Crunchbase source its data via their venture program, machine learning, an in-house data team, and the Crunchbase community.
For this analysis, Tide analysed 150 celebrities’ Crunchbase profiles to find the total number of their investments and the companies into which they have made investments. For the purposes of the study, they did not make a distinction between personal investments (investments directly made by the celebrity) or partner investments (investments made by the company directly invested in by the celebrity).
Check out the full Tide study if you fancy too.
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.
Innovative project launched by UK Proptech startup to reduce workers' commuting and in turn help alleviate pollution and congestion
Startup funding is never easy, however here are a few of the options that can help you fund your startup without going broke in the process
Innovative startups are currently being sought by BMW Group Financial Services UK which has just launched the third instalment of its Innovation Lab
Starting a business can be a lot of hard work, so here's a few ways to avoid burnout and find a healthy work life balance.
The child health app on a mission to become the first nationwide digital redbook, just got a step closer to making their mission a reality...
The Cambridge-based startup that has created an empowering tool to drive the next wave of biological innovation
At one-day event Ideation NI Thon, students will get the chance to solve global and local sustainability, environmental, city and health problems.
NI startup ESTHER, a peer-2-peer giving platform allowing charitable donors to give money directly to people living in poverty, head to New York for a 4-day fact finding mission.
The lowdown on how an Australian startup generated global sales for their innovative product, "weighted blankets"...
At 82% the UK takes 4th place in the list of countries being most ready for automation and robotics, whilst 30% of UK population’s jobs are at risk of automation.
Published on: 13th January 2020
.png)
If you would like to enable commenting via your Startacus account, please enable Disqus functionality in your Account Settings.
- Ideation NI Thon at NI Science Festival sets out to solve global issues 17th Jan 2020 At one-day event Ideation NI Thon, students will get the chance to solve global and local sustainability, environmental, city and health problems.
- NI startup ESTHER takes flight to New York 16th Jan 2020 NI startup ESTHER, a peer-2-peer giving platform allowing charitable donors to give money directly to people living in poverty, head to New York for a 4-day fact finding mission.
- 2019 stats show that the gender pay gap continues 14th Jan 2020 Recent research by Starling bank shows that in 2019, women earned up to £12,319 less per year than their male colleagues of the same age and within the same industry
- Digital DNA Awards 2020 nominations now open 13th Jan 2020 The Digital DNA Awards, held in partnership with MCS Group, celebrate the best tech talent, from companies of all sizes, excelling in the world of Digital and Tech and not just in NI...
