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SOSventures International
Company typePrivate
IndustryVenture Capital and Private equity
Founded1993
FounderSean O'Sullivan
Headquarters
Cork
,
Ireland
Number of locations
Offices in Ireland, United States and China
Number of employees
11-50
Websitewww.sosventures.com

SOSventures is a venture capital and investment management firm that seeks to invest in start-up companies primarily in the technology sector.[1] With headquarters in Cork, Ireland and offices in the United States and China, SOSventures actively collaborates with and supports its international portfolio companies. Since 2009, SOSventures has run multiple Accelerator programs[2] in the United States, Asia and Europe, providing early stage companies immediate access to market knowledge, funding and mentorship in a concentrated amount of time.

Founding

SOSventures was founded in 1993 by Sean O'Sullivan.[3] Over the past 20 years the firm has invested in over a hundred companies including 22 private companies, 6 of which became public companies or divisions of public companies listed on the Nasdaq or NYSE. Some continue to be privately held.[4]

Investments

The SOSventures international portfolio includes Information Technology, Internet Software & Hardware start-ups. The companies include;[5] Harmonix, developers of the Guitar Hero series, Carma,[6] Netflix,[7] MapFlow, Leap Motion[8] and Storyful.[9]

Exits

Axlr8r

In 2009, with a goal of providing start-up companies with immediate exposure and access to market knowledge, mentors and funding in a concentrated amount of time, SOSventures developed Axlr8r programs across three continents (China Axlr8r, Haxlr8r, Selr8r, SynBio Axlr8r). The Axlr8r's focus on[10] start-up development in the areas of hardware, software, sales and biotechnology. As of July 2013, a total of 63 companies worldwide have graduated from these programs.

Haxlr8r[11][2] runs in the United States and China - It is a venture fund which focuses on entrepreneurs building hardware devices. It offers seed funding ($25,000), office space as well as mentorship along with other opportunities for 2-4 person startups to take an idea to a product. Teams also have access to the 'Ignite Fund' and can qualify for an extra $25,000 in the form of a convertible note. Haxlr8r selects startups to work with twice a year. Its first batch ran from March to June 2012 and has been widely received as the start of a new hardware revolution.[12]

China Axlr8r runs in Dalian - is the first mentorship-driven seed-funding program in China. The Axlr8r program is committed to helping entrepreneurs who are at the forefront of information technology to create successful start-up companies.

Selr8r runs in Cork - it is the worlds first sales focused Axlr8r to help take market disrupting products, and introduce them to the global marketplace in under 50 days. Selr8r provides funding, technical back up (broadband/phone/fax), sales and (social) media training, telesales (<2000 outbound calls), marketing/design services on tap, peer networking, world class mentors, and shared workspace at a Vodafone Gold Partner sales location in Ireland.

SynBio Axlr8r runs in Cork and Dublin - SynBio axlr8r is a venture fund which focuses on entrepreneurs building technologies in or around the field of Synthetic Biology. It offers companies seed funding ($30,000), lab space as well as mentorship to help take an idea to a product.[13]

Social Entrepreneurship

In addition to working with innovating technology start-ups globally, SOSventures has shown its commitment to driving social innovation and transformation in various fields, especially in Education and Computing.

The Khan Academy

In November, 2011, the O'Sullivan Foundation, founded by SOSventures, invested $5 million in the Khan Academy,[14] the not-for-profit online learning platform whose goal is to change education for the better by providing a free world-class education for anyone anywhere. The Khan Academy is the brainchild of Salman Khan,[15] who brought the idea of educating young people, self-starters & people who learn at their own pace — online. The educational startup now counts over 2,600 videos in its library, with sessions or classes on everything from arithmetic to physics, including 211 practice exercises, to let students watch videos and learn at their leisure.

Coderdojo

SOSventures has also made significant investments in CoderDojo, a global network of clubs that teach young people in areas specialising in computer programming and computer technology. There are now dojos in 22 countries,[16][17] teaching 10,000 children to write computer code and programs each week.[18] Youth learn from one another about computer languages and tools including Xcode and CSS.[19] Founded by James Whelton and Bill Liao in 2011 as a not-for-profit organisation. The first dojo was held in the NSC (National Software Centre), Mahon, Cork on Saturday 23rd 2011. By February 2012, there were 12 dojos around Ireland and September 2012 saw the first CoderDojo open in Silicon Valley. At this point there are over 16,000 children worldwide are learning to code every Saturday! [20]

Global Partners

Worldwide

Sean O'Sullivan - Software, hardware, Information technology

Asia

Cyril Ebersweiler - Information technology and hardware

Europe

Bill Liao - Internet, Social media

USA

Brad Higgins - Energy

USA and Asia

Arvind Gupta - Innovation

References

  1. ^ Devitt, Niall. "Bill Liao of SOSventures Discusses Exit Strategies & the Value of Brand Story at #nsclunchnlearn". Bizsugar. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  2. ^ Donnelly, Ann. "Startup Accelerator Programs: What's in it for a startup? What's in it for investors?". O'Mahony Donnelly. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  3. ^ Collins, Dylan. "Founder Interviews: Sean O'Sullivan (SOSventures Avego)". Business Insider. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  4. ^ Burke, Roisin. "Dragons Company backing bid for nationwide city bike-share contract". Irish Independent. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  5. ^ Kennedy, John. "SOSventures invests €500,000 in social gaming start-up Mavenhut". Silicon Republic. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  6. ^ Caynard, Micheline. "San Francisco's BART Strike Ends, Ride-Sharing Raises Its Profile". Forbes. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  7. ^ de Jonge, Ruud. "Cloud computing brings job-hunting into the 21st century". Microsoft. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  8. ^ Tsotsis, Alexia. "OcuSpec Raises 1.3M From Andreessen And Others To Build An "Affordable Kinect"". Tech Crunch. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  9. ^ Kennedy, John. "Silicon Republic - Onwards and upwards". Silicon Republic. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  10. ^ "Startup Grind Shenzhen Hosts Cyril Ebersweiler (AXLR8R Network, SOSventures)". Meetup. Retrieved 23 September 2013. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  11. ^ Lawler, Ryan. "Our favourite startups from China-based Hardware Accelerator Haxlr8r's second Demo Day". Techcrunch. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  12. ^ Bradshaw, Tim. "Help for the makers to make it". Financial Times. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  13. ^ Gewin, Virginia. "Biotechnology: Independent streak". Naturejobs.com. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  14. ^ Rao, Leena. "The O'Sullivan Foundation Grants $5M To Online Learning Platform Khan Academy". Techcrunch. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  15. ^ Adams, Richard. "Sal Khan: the man who tutored his cousin – and started a revolution". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  16. ^ Post Reporter (18 December 2012). "Collisons make Forbes list of "30 under 30"". Sunday Business Post.
  17. ^ Ciara O'Brien (Dec 22, 2012). "In praise of 'The Forbes Four'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
  18. ^ Kim Bielenberg: Recession was no barrier to the young Irish innovators
  19. ^ Kennedy, John. "Bill Liao and James Whelton to unleash Coder Dojos on schools". Silicon Republic. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  20. ^ Kennedy, John. "CoderDojo kids compete in Microsoft's US$100,000 AzureDevs competition". Silicon Republic. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
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