Intuit announced last week the launch of Intuit Ventures, a new venture capital (VC) program for businesses aimed to speed up innovation for growing tech startups and fintech companies.
Who can apply?
The global technology platform company, which owns TurboTax, QuickBooks, Mint and Credit Karma, says the program will primarily invest in Series B and C-stage startups that are working toward solving small businesses’ and consumers’ biggest problems, with areas of interest including:
- Fintech
- Virtual expertise
- Consumer finance
- Omni-channel commerce
- AI-enabled services
- Crypto/decentralized finance (DeFi)
“We encourage small businesses to reach out to us, as we are looking to build relationships with those that we invest in,” Karen Nolan, corporate communications, senior public relations manager for Intuit, told this publication. “Two of our goals: 1. To invest in companies aligned to our mission of powering prosperity in the communities we serve, which drives innovation across our ecosystem, and 2. To support the growth of our portfolio companies and advance their innovations by connecting our unique network of small business and consumers as well as product and technology leaders.”
Canadian company the first to get investment from Intuit Ventures
Last week, Intuit Ventures completed its first investment in Clearco, a high-growth series C-stage startup which it says offers unbiased, non-dilutive capital to digitally-native businesses and uses data and insights to help them scale. Intuit says Clearco aligns with Intuit Ventures’ focus on fintech and omni-channel commerce as well as Intuit’s focus on small business success.
“When we considered investors in our latest fundraising, Intuit stood out based on their deep expertise with small businesses and our strategic alignment with their mission,” said Michele Romanow, co-founder and chief executive officer of Clearco. “We are proud to be the newest portfolio company of Intuit Ventures and are thrilled to have the support of such a strong technology company.”
Program duration and investment size
The company says it currently has no end date for the program and that it is not disclosing the financial investment size or the number of applications received at this time.
“Our target check size per portfolio company is low-to-mid single-digit millions. We are primarily a co-investor and all investments will be coming from Intuit’s balance sheet,” said Nolan.