Jun 18, 2021

June 18, 2021 Marcy Venture Partners , a VC firm founded by music moguls Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter and Jay Brown alongside Walden Venture Capital ‘s Larry Marcus, has invested in plant-based protein startup Simulate , Bloomberg reports . New York-based Simulate — which produces chicken analogs NUGGS and DISCS — closed its Series B round earlier this month, securing $50 million in funding from Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six and frozen foods giant McCain , among others [disclosure: AFN‘s parent company, AgFunder , is an investor in Simulate.] A Simulate spokesperson confirmed Marcy Venture Partners’ participation in the round — which valued the startup at $250 million — but did not detail the size of the firm’s investment. Why it matters: Hip hop star Jay-Z has backed a number of agrifoodtech ventures – either in his capacity as an individual investor, or through Marcy Ventures Partners and Arrive – the VC arm of his Roc Nation label. He, Brown, and Ohanian are investors in plant-based patty maker Impossible Foods alongside a host of other celebrities including Serena Williams, Katy Perry, and Trevor Noah. Find out why AgFunder invested in Simulate here Marcy Venture Partners’ other food-related portfolio companies include vegan cookie brand Partake Foods . Arrive has invested in US grab-and-go salad chain Sweetgreen and Indonesian ‘new retail’ coffee concept Kopi Kenangan , among others. Share on email