Billionaire hip-hop mogul Jay-Z is adding to his long list of investments. He has made a $33 million investment in hair-care company Madison Reed Inc.
The Investment was led by Sandbridge Capital, with participation from Jay-Z’s Marcy Venture Partners. The Series G funding brings the company’s total capital raised to about $220 million.
The Madison Reed brand includes hair-care and hair color products that it sells through a subscription-based service as well as through partnerships with Ulta, Sephora and QVC, among others. Founded in 2013 by Amy Errett, Madison Reed is headquartered in San Francisco. It also operates 60 hair salons across the U.S.
Madison Reed plans to use the new capital to add 20 retail locations and 850 licensed colorists in key hubs such as New York City, South Florida, California, Chicago, Washington D.C., and Texas, according to a statement.
Jay-Z co-founded Marcy Venture Partners with former Roc Nation CEO Jay Brown and Walden VC general partner Larry Marcus. Marcy Ventures is an investor in, among other companies, Savage X Fenty, Uber, Gopuff, an allergen-free cookie maker called Partake Foods and JetSmarter, which provides an Uber-like service for private jet users. Last year, it invested in vegan wine brand Avaline, owned by actress Cameron Diaz and Katherine Power. Marcy Ventures also invested in Gemini, a cryptocurrency platform, The Wall Street Journal reported.
In 2021, it closed its debut fund with $85 million and now is managing $600 million in assets altogether, co-founder Marcus told TechCrunch.
The firm says the majority of its existing portfolio companies are founded or run by people who identify as women or people of color.
The fund, which is named after the Marcy Projects in Brooklyn where Carter grew up, recently began investing in crypto projects.
According to Forbes, Jay-Z’s billion-dollar net worth can be broken down into $425 million in cash and investments, $320 million in liquor brand Armand de Brignac, $140 million in Roc Nation (his entertainment company founded in partnership with Live Nation), $120 million in cognac company D’Ussé, $95 million in music catalogs, $70 million in art collections and $50 million in real estate.
