InterlagosThe venture capital firm created by SpaceX’s former top leaders is looking to raise $550 million for its first venture fund, according to… Regulatory filings A secret batch is sent to potential LPs and viewed by TechCrunch.
The company’s existence was first reported by TechCrunch in April, but almost nothing has been revealed publicly about its potential investment thesis — until now. Interlagos, based in El Segundo, broadly targets startups across “deep tech” sectors, a person familiar with the company’s plans said. The group says the company will provide capital from seed to Series B, with the target $550 million spread across 26-32 investments.
It’s a huge target for first-time funding, which the team realizes. “We are able to lead and be ongoing capital partners to leading companies,” the presentation says.
While the filing has not yet listed how much money the partners have received so far, a source familiar with the matter says the company has made a first close on part of that $550 million goal. Potential limited partners are undoubtedly attracted by the goodwill of the founding team, which includes Achal Upadhyaya, who was a senior engineer at SpaceX for a decade before leading space and defense investments at Cantos Ventures; Tom Oceanero, a former senior SpaceX executive who left the company in March after a ten-year tenure; and Spencer Hemphill, Interlagos’ CFO and former Sequoia finance leader.
General partners will also have their own skin in the game — a common structure for venture capital firms. Each has pledged a general partner “commitment” investment of 2%, the group says, which refers to their personal money they will commit to the fund as investors. The rest of the fund’s terms seem industry standard as well: 2% management fee, 20-25% carry meaning how much of its returns the fund will retain, and seeking deals that will give it stakes of between 18-25% in the startups it backs. .
Ochinero, who reported directly to SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell, was “personally responsible for more than $1 billion in annual revenue” at the company, according to his biography published in 2023. Upadhyaya in particular has a strong track record in deep-tech startups As a company. Angel and VC, according to the deck: He led seed investments in unmanned defense systems startup Neros Technologies and quantum mechanics startup SoloPulse, and seed rounds in Shinkei Systems and Pilgrim, in his role at Cantos. His personal investments include Base Power, vehicle startup Layup, and Oxide Computer.
Upadhyaya did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment by press time.
Deep tech, an umbrella term that can include sectors such as aerospace, manufacturing, robotics, biotechnology, artificial intelligence and others, has seen an increase in venture capital interest in recent years. Deep tech companies require more seed capital and tend to have longer exit timelines, which has led to an increase in specialty funds, often made up of technology partners. However, if Interlagos manages to raise the full target amount, it will make it an exception to the recent downturn in venture capital that has made raising capital more difficult. It would also likely set the company up to compete successfully with mega funds like Founders Fund and Andreessen Horowitz, which have aggressively moved into the early stages of deep tech venture capital deals.
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