A Houston-based venture capital fund has promoted a new partner with the aim of expanding its investments into data platforms, fintech and Web3, a new stage of the internet driven by blockchain.
Samantha Lewis was promoted to partner at Mercury Fund after more than two years as a principal. Lewis was previously named as a Kauffman Fellow in 2022 and currently serves on the board of directors of Mercury portfolio companies, including Houston-founded blockchain startup Topl.
Before joining Mercury, Lewis served as the investment director for Houston venture capital fund Goose Capital. Lewis was involved in funding rounds including local biotech Syzygy Plasmonics' $23 million Series B in 2021.
According to Mercury’s announcement, Lewis’ background includes agribusiness, logistics and supply chain, beauty, and deep tech or high-investment tech solutions.
Mercury Fund ranked No. 5 on the Houston Business Journal's 2022 Largest Houston-Area Venture Capital and Private Equity Firms List, based on its $700 million of assets under management last year. The VC fund, co-founded by Blair Garrou and Aziz Gilani, targets startups and early-stage companies. In 2022, Gilani was named to the recently reestablished National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, a federal initiative to strengthen U.S. entrepreneurship.
Investments Mercury was involved in or led last year include a $30 million Series B for local hiring platform WizHire in May and a $26 million Series B for Houston-founded cleaning services startup Spruce Services in July. Mercury co-led a $15 million Series A for Topl in July after raising $3 million in seed funding for the company in 2020.
The fund has also been involved in Austin nonprofit DivInc’s Houston expansion and its first cohorts, with Mercury supporting DivInc’s sports tech accelerator and its Women in Tech program in 2022. Lewis serves on the Investment Council for DivInc.
