Atlanta early-stage investment firm Silicon Road Ventures closed its first fund of $31 million, which will be focused on commerce technology, according to a March 1 release.
The firm, founded in 2019, invests in startups across the country that focus on innovation in retail, e-commerce, financial technology, payments, logistics and supply chain.
The goal is to fund 40 startups over four years, said managing partner and founder Sid Mookerji.
"I found that this industry really does not have a whole lot of innovation,” Mookerji said. “Retailers are always behind in adopting the latest technologies."
Silicon Road Ventures has 10 startups in its portfolio, six of which are based in Atlanta, and include robotics company Softwear Automation and job marketplace Wripple. The firm backed those startups with the first half of the $31 million fund, managing director and partner Ross Kimbel said.
The firm provides startups innovating in commerce with pre-seed to Series A investments. Those companies typically generate some revenue, usually between $250,000 and $2 million annually, Kimbel said. Investment amounts range from $400,000 to $2 million.
"We want to invest in companies that are ready to scale and use our capital to help scale,” Kimbel said. “Fortunately, Atlanta is quite ripe for companies at that stage.”
In addition to capital, Silicon Road Ventures connects startups to potential corporate customers through its “Corporate Connect” program and gives founders real-world opportunities to test their retail technology through a partnership with Ponce City Market shop Citizen Supply.
Those partnerships are unique to this firm and allow for startups to gain valuable, real-world experience for their products with either corporations or retail, Kimbel said.
Though the firm invests across the country, the partners are more likely to take bets on earlier-stage companies based in Atlanta because they can help them scale through these local partnerships, Kimbel said.
Mookerji, who spent decades in retail technology and founded a global retail IT company, said he sees cashier-less stores, drone delivery and experiential technology as the next innovations in commerce.
Mookerji also leads Silicon Road India, which invests in commerce and food technology in India and has an accelerator for startups.
