Los Angeles-based venture capital firm Mantis VC has completed the closure of its third fund, raising US$100 million to invest in early-stage technology startups.

The fund will focus on sectors including cybersecurity, AI, health technology, data infrastructure, and frontier technology.

Founded in 2019, Mantis VC is led by general partners Jeffrey Evans, Milan Koch, Alex Pall, and Drew Taggart.

The firm has raised a total of US$225 million across three funds and has invested in over 170 startups to date.

Limited partners in the latest fund include Summit Peak, TriplePoint Capital, and Allocate. Entrepreneurs Mark Cuban, David Blitzer, and Michael Rubin are also among the limited partners.

🔗 Source: Mantis VC

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Celebrity-backed VCs evolving beyond fame-based investing

Mantis VC represents a significant evolution in the celebrity-backed investment model, shifting from passive brand association to genuine operational expertise.

Founded by The Chainsmokers (Alex Pall and Drew Taggart) alongside professional investors Jeffrey Evans and Milan Koch in 2019, the firm has strategically built domain expertise by adding specialists like Gaurav Bhogale for AI infrastructure and Saveena Mandadi for cybersecurity 1.

This transformation mirrors a broader industry trend where celebrity investors are transitioning from mere capital providers to active value-add partners, as evidenced by founder testimonials praising Mantis for concrete contributions beyond their famous names 2.

The $100M Fund III represents substantial institutional validation of this model, with sophisticated LPs like Allocate (which evaluates nearly 1,000 funds annually) specifically citing Mantis’s “differentiated approach” as a key selection factor 1.

This evolution suggests that celebrity investors who develop genuine operational capabilities and sector expertise can build sustainable venture firms that transcend their initial fame-based advantages.

2️⃣ Vertical specialization emerges as differentiator for emerging managers

Mantis’s focus on specific verticals like cybersecurity, AI, and healthtech illustrates how smaller funds are competing in a concentrated market where larger firms control most capital.

By developing specialized expertise through dedicated vertical leads like healthcare specialist Caroline Menkes and cybersecurity expert Saveena Mandadi, Mantis can offer founders deeper domain knowledge and more targeted connections 1.