Endeavor Catalyst Secures $320 Million Fund to Back Founders Outside Silicon Valley

Endeavor Catalyst has successfully closed its fifth investment fund with $320 million in capital commitments, pushing the venture arm’s total assets under management past $850 million. The raise offers a significant boost to entrepreneurs operating outside the traditional Silicon Valley ecosystem, where increasing competition among investors focused on AI startups risks leaving promising founders elsewhere unnoticed.

Catalyst serves as the venture investment vehicle for Endeavor, a New York-based global nonprofit that has spent three decades supporting business leaders in regions it refers to as “elsewhere.” The fund is managed by Allen Taylor, a managing partner and 20-year Endeavor veteran, alongside Jackie Carmel, a managing director who joined the organization 12 years ago. They lead a team of 16, though the official general partner remains Endeavor itself.

Linda Rottenberg, who co-founded Endeavor and helped launch Catalyst in 2012, explained the structural advantage of this arrangement. “Half of the fund’s profits go back to Endeavor, so every investment helps the next generation of founders who are building elsewhere,” she said.

Entry into the network remains rigorous. Last year, Endeavor screened over 10,000 candidates and admitted just 88. Today, the network comprises more than 3,100 entrepreneurs across 50 countries. Eligibility for Catalyst investment requires a founder’s company to first raise at least $5 million in a round led by another institutional investor. Catalyst then joins on identical terms, typically writing checks between $1 million and $3 million, capped at 10% of the total round.

Looking ahead, the firm intends to deploy capital in 40 to 50 companies annually, with the current fund targeting up to 150 total investments. While Taylor declined to disclose specific cash-on-cash returns for previous funds, he highlighted that Catalyst has backed 437 companies across 44 markets since its inception. Of those, 83 have achieved valuations of $1 billion or more, and the portfolio has produced 39 exits, including 11 initial public offerings.

Notable recent holdings include ElevenLabs, a Polish-founded AI voice company valued at $22 billion following a secondary sale; Bending Spoons, an Italian conglomerate with a $26 billion market capitalization after going public in July; and Reflection AI, a New York-based firm valued at $25 billion. Other significant positions include Checkout.com, Flutterwave, and Replit.

The fund’s limited partnership group includes 400 investors, approximately 30% of whom are successful Endeavor founders from companies such as Nubank, Revolut, and Checkout.com. The investor roster also features prominent figures like Reid Hoffman, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, and Prosus.

Geographically, about 90% of Catalyst’s investments are made outside the United States. Europe has emerged as the fastest-growing region, with 12 new investments in the first half of 2026 compared to 14 throughout all of last year, though Latin America remains the largest source of deals. Additionally, repeat founders are becoming a larger focus; while 14% of the fourth fund supported second ventures by Endeavor alumni, the firm expects that figure to rise to 20% with the new fund.