Equity service platform Carta has: acquired Vauban, an online platform that helps investors support private companies from start to finish. As first reported by The Informationthe deal was designed by Carta as a way to support investors of all sizes, from the sub-million dollar level to the multi-billion dollar dry powder level.
Carta did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the price of the transaction, or whether all Vauban employees will join the team as a result of the deal.
The acquisition is yet another example of the growing competition between Carta and AngelList, two platforms racing to build a software suite that solves some of the key pain points of venture-backed startups.
Last year, AngelList Venture launched AngelList Stack, a new line of products that will compete with Carta in providing services to help founders start, operate and maintain ownership over their business. The new software spans four bases: incorporation, corporate banking, advisor grants and cap table management. (Stripe’s Atlas service offers a number of related tools, meaning the market for helping founders set up and run their businesses is hot.)
Now Carta bites back on the competition; the platform appears to be keeping an eye on AngelList Venture’s investor-focused activity with its Vauban deal.
Vauban created a fully automated platform for syndicate leads and fund managers, according to Carta, leading to more than 400 investment vehicles to date. The company also manages more than $1 billion in invested capital, according to the new parent company.
AngelList Venture, meanwhile, said $3.6 billion has been invested in funds and syndicates, according to until the 2021 annual review. There are at least 800 investment vehicles on the platform, the same report says. It is much older than Vauban.
The main difference between the two platforms is that Vauban loudly focuses on European venture capital and startups, while AngelList is not so explicit. The international angle seems to be exactly what piqued Carta’s interest in the first place.
Vrushali Paunikar, VP of product for investor services at Carta, wrote in a blog post that more than 50% of US SPVs and funds have at least one non-US LP, according to data from Carta.
“Venture is global,” Paunikar wrote. “On one combined platform, syndicate leads and fund managers can now launch funds from the US, UK, British Virgin Islands and soon Luxembourg. More importantly, they can accept LP capital anywhere in the world.”
In 2020, Carta cut 16% of its staff, or 161 positions, during a period when: many venture capital-backed startups cut workforces† crunch base data indicate: that Carta has raised $1.1 billion to date, including a massive $500 million round last August led by Silver Lake. At the time, the company was valued at approximately $7.4 billion, per the same data source. Given its massive valuation and presumably comfortable cash position, the Vauban deal may not be the last we see from the company.
