Justin Ernest invests nearly $400M in startups via SPVs, not a traditional VC fund
7 reported
Justin Ernest, founder of Sabertooth VC, has invested nearly $400 million into 10 high-profile companies over the past 12 months without launching a traditional venture capital fund. Instead, he uses his network to secure allocations of stock in later-stage companies and offers these individual deals to about 30 smaller institutional investors through Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), which act as single-deal funds. Ernest, a Harvard Business School graduate who spent over five years at Playground Global, noticed a gap where family offices and smaller investors could not access fast-growing AI companies. His firm writes checks ranging from $10 million to $275 million and participates in official, company-approved funding rounds. Sabertooth has already seen one major return from chipmaker Groq, which was licensed and acqui-hired by Nvidia for $20 billion late last year. Ernest’s ultimate goal is to eventually raise a traditional venture fund, but he believes the strong returns from these SPVs will prove his track record.
What’s reported
Justin Ernest invested nearly $400 million into 10 companies over the last 12 months via Sabertooth VC.
Companies include Anthropic, Anduril, Databricks, PsiQuantum, and SpaceX.
He uses Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) instead of a traditional VC fund.
Checks range from $10 million to $275 million.
Ernest spent over five years at Playground Global and is a Harvard Business School graduate.
Sabertooth had a major return from chipmaker Groq, acqui-hired by Nvidia for $20 billion late last year.
Ernest’s ultimate goal is to raise a traditional venture fund.
Key figures
Justin Ernest, founder of Sabertooth VC
Benjamin Wagner, CIO for a family office managing wealth of 50 individuals
Sources: TechCrunch
