Thrive Capital, a New York venture firm founded in 2009 by Joshua Kushner, is known for its prescient early bets on startups like Instagram, Stripe, Affirm, Robinhood, Spotify, GitHub, Slack, Hims, and Plaid.
Now it's adding a splash of Hollywood to its portfolio, backing A24, the independent studio known for buzzy hits like "Civil War," "Everything Everywhere All at Once," "Talk to Me," "Uncut Gems," "Midsommar," "Lady Bird," "Moonlight," HBO's "Euphoria," and Netflix's "Beef."
Knowledgeable sources said the deal represented a $75 million investment and 40% increase in valuation since A24's last fundraise of $225 million in 2022, which gave it a valuation of $2.5 billion. The new infusion would bring A24's valuation to $3.5 billion, eye-popping to some given A24's art-house status.
A24 said it also received increased support from investors who participated in the previous round, without giving details. Previous investors have included Stripes LLC and Neuberger Berman.
As part of the deal, Kushner will join A24's board of directors.
A24 plans to use the funds to invest in and expand its productions and develop its business beyond the screen, a knowledgeable person said. It has expanded into an in-house music label, books based on its creators, merch featuring its logo, and live theater.
"At Thrive, we aim to invest in category-defining businesses across every industry," Thrive Capital said in a prepared statement. "In A24, we see a company bringing extraordinary talent and creativity together with business model and technology innovation to reinvent entertainment for the modern age."
Kushner is the brother of Jared Kushner, a son-in-law of former President Donald Trump. The Kushners' father is Charles Kushner, a real-estate investor who was sentenced to two years in prison in 2005 after pleading guilty to illegal campaign donations and witness tampering. He's friends with Daniel Katz, A24's cofounder and CEO.
Thrive announced in 2022 that it closed a massive $3 billion fund, with $500 million earmarked for early-stage startups and another $2.5 billion devoted to later-stage companies.
Last year, Disney CEO Bob Iger and the KKR cofounder Henry Kravis purchased a 3% stake in Thrive for $175 million, which valued the firm at $5.3 billion. Iger had joined the firm as a part-time venture partner the previous year after retiring from Disney.
The investment in A24 comes at an otherwise tepid time for fundraising in Hollywood. Institutional investment in traditional TV- and film-production companies has dried up as streamers' spending on original content has slowed as they've shifted from subscriber growth to chasing profits.
