I love watching “Next Man Up” basketball, where the spotlight rotates unpredictably. One night it’s the bench guard dropping 30, the next it’s the role player posting a triple-double.
CapitalG’s Jill Chase—who captained her college basketball team at Williams College—says this logic actually applies to Alphabet’s growth firm. When I ask her what basketball team is most like CapitalG, she lists the WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries.
“Everybody has a different skill set, and everybody is willing to drop anything to help each other win,” said Chase. “It’s a different person every night who wins the game. And I think that’s really consistent with the way CapitalG is building its culture.”
For the first time since the firm was started in 2013, it’s promoting two general partners, Chase and Alex Nichols, Fortune has exclusively learned. Chase, who joined CapitalG in 2020 specifically with a thesis around AI, has backed Abridge, Baseten, Canva, LangChain, Physical Intelligence, and Rippling.
Nichols, meanwhile, joined CapitalG in 2018 as an associate and was promoted to partner just two years ago. He previously worked with managing partner Laela Sturdy on the firm’s investments in Duolingo, Stripe, and Whatnot, and recently led CapitalG’s investment in Zach Dell’s energy startup BasePower. At a moment where there’s mounting angst around data centers and what it will take to power them, Nichols has a surprising take on how AI will affect energy—that both batteries and solar are getting cheaper and better at something like Moore’s Law speed. Those twin cost curves, over time, should actually drive energy prices down.
“I’m actually very optimistic about the future of energy prices,” he said. “You look at the history of energy consumption versus GDP. And cheap energy means more production, more income, and means a higher standard of living.”
At a moment when venture is perhaps more competitive than ever—and there are certainly some solo GPs out there making their mark—there’s an argument that as lines blur between disciplines in an AI-ified world, venture is by necessity a team sport.
Sturdy—who’s been CapitalG’s managing partner since 2023 (and also captained her college basketball team)—and Chase both have clearly taken some learnings from their time on the court. Chase sees venture overall as becoming more team-oriented: “Historically, it used to be like ‘you made general partner, go out and win your deal.’ To me, that’s not the right way to be successful in venture ever.”
Sturdy adds that in basketball, like venture, “We have to look at the scoreboard every once in a while, and you have to get back up when you get crushed… And, of course, coming together is better than playing alone.”
Term Sheet Podcast…This week, I spoke with Exelon CEO Calvin Butler! As resource-hungry data centers continue to sprout across the country, many are questioning whether the nation’s utility network can keep pace with the growing demand for AI. Butler says it can. Listen and watch here.
See you tomorrow,
Allie Garfinkle
X: @agarfinks
Email: [email protected]
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VENTURE CAPITAL
– humans&, a San Francisco-based AI lab, raised $480 million in seed funding. SV Angel and Georges Harik led the round and were joined by NVIDIA and others.
– Emergent, a San Francisco-based platform designed for AI software creation, raised $70 million in Series B funding. Khosla Ventures and SoftBank led the round and were joined by Prosus, Lightspeed, Together, and Y Combinator.
– Exciva, a Heidelberg, Germany-based developer of therapeutics designed for neuropsychiatric conditions, raised €51 million ($59 million) in Series B funding. Gimv and EQT Life Sciences led the round and were joined by Fountain Healthcare Partners, LifeArc Ventures, and others.
– Pomelo, a Buenos Aires, Argentina-based payments infrastructure company, raised $55 million in Series C funding. Kaszek and Insight Partners led the round and were joined by Index Ventures, Adams Street Partners, S32, and others.
– Cloover, a Berlin, Germany-based operating system designed for energy independence, raised $22 million in Series A funding. MMC Ventures and QED Investors led the round and were joined by Lowercarbon Capital, BNVT Capital, Bosch Ventures, and others.
– Statusphere, a Winter Park, Fla.-based influencer marketing technology platform, raised $18 million in Series A funding. Volition Capital led the round and was joined by HearstLab, 1984 Ventures, and How Women Invest.
– Dominion Dynamics, an Ottawa, Canada-based defense technology company, raised $21M CAD ($15.2M USD) in seed funding. Georgian led the round and was joined by Bessemer Venture Partners and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation.
– Cosmos, a New York City-based image collection and discovery platform, raised $15 million in Series A funding. Shine Capital led the round and was joined by Matrix and others.
– Mave, a Toronto, Canada-based real estate AI company, raised $5 million in seed funding from Staircase Ventures, Relay Ventures, N49P, and Alate Partners.
– Stilla, a Stockholm, Sweden-based developer of an AI designed to accommodate entire teams, raised $5 million in pre-seed funding. General Catalyst led the round and was joined by others.
– Asymmetric Security, a London, U.K. and San Francisco-based cyber forensics company, raised $4.2 million in pre-seed funding. Susa Ventures led the round and was joined by Halcyon Ventures, Overlook Ventures, and angel investors.
PRIVATE EQUITY
– ConnectWise, backed by Thoma Bravo, acquired zofiQ, a Toronto, Ontario-based agentic AI technology company designed to automate high-service desk operations. Financial terms were not disclosed.
– Grant Avenue Capital acquired 21st Century Healthcare, a Tempe, Ariz.-based vitamins, minerals, and supplements company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
– Highlander Partners acquired Tapatio, a Vernon, Calif.-based hot sauce brand. Financial terms were not disclosed.
– Platinum Equity acquired Czarnowski Collective, a Chicago, Ill.-based exhibit and events company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
– United Building Solutions, backed by AE Industrial, acquired DFW Mechanical Group, a Wylie, Texas-based HVAC solutions company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
IPOS
– PicPay, a Sao Paolo, Brazil-based digital bank, now plans to raise up to $435.1 million in an offering of 22.9 million shares priced between $16 and $19 on the Nasdaq. The company posted $1.7 billion in revenue for the year ended September 30. J&F International and Banco Original back the company.
– Ethos Technologies, a San Francisco-based online life insurance provider, plans to raise up to $210 million in an offering of 10.5 million shares priced between $18 and $20. The company posted $344 million in revenue for the year ended Sept. 30. General Catalyst, Heroic Ventures, Eric Lantz, and others back the company.
FUNDS + FUNDS OF FUNDS
– Blueprint Equity, a La Jolla, Calif.-based growth equity firm, raised $333 million for its third fund focused on enterprise software, business-to-business, and tech-enabled services companies.
PEOPLE
– Area 15 Ventures, a Castle Pine, Colo.-based venture capital firm, promoted Adam Contos to managing partner.
– Bull City Venture Partners, a Durham, N.C.-based venture capital firm, hired Carly Connell as a principal.
– Harvest Partners, a New York City-based private equity firm, promoted Lucas Rodgers to partner, Matthew Bruckmann and Ian Singleton to principal, and Connor Scro to vice president on the private equity team.
– Wingman Growth Partners, a Greenwich, Conn.-based private equity firm, hired Cheri Reeve as CFO. She previously served as principal and CFO at Atlas Holdings.
