Venture capital firms reported investments of more than $102 million in local companies during 2024, doubling from nearly $50 million recorded the prior year.
This year’s list includes 11 VC firms with offices in Orange County, handling investments ranging from $50,000 to $75 million. When selecting companies, most firms prefer those in the early or seed funding stages. The VC firms are listed alphabetically.
Cambridge Companies SPG in Newport Beach, with headquarters in Las Vegas, invested $34 million into Orange County companies last year, which was up from $22 million in 2023. This included three different local deals such as a $20 million investment in Anaheim-based Tosi Snacks.
Chief Operating Officer Filipp Chebotarev said that the firm was encouraged by the appointment of Kevin Rutherford as chief executive of the snack startup.
“Rutherford was previously the CEO of Nuun Hydration, which he exited to Nestle and prior to that, he was CEO of Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day, which SC Johnson acquired,” according to Chebotarev.
Cambridge currently has $525 million funds under management companywide, an increase from $425 million a year ago.
Newport Beach-based Okapi Venture Capital reported total OC investments of more than $51 million, a significant increase from the $4.7 million in 2023. Okapi reported $135 million funds under management as of February.
It has an active portfolio of about 39 investments, according to PitchBook data. Many of the firm’s investments last year were early-stage software companies involved with AI, according to PitchBook.
“Things are definitely picking up in venture capital these days based on the number of new and follow on investments and exits,” Okapi Managing Director Marc Averitt told the Business Journal. “It seems the Q4’24 ‘pause’ for the election and holidays are behind us and momentum is gathering. I expect 2025 to be a great year.”
Toba Capital, founded by Vinny Smith, invested a total of $17 million in OC companies last year, increasing from $6.5 million the year before. The early-stage investment firm said it made six different deals in OC.
Toba reported that the firm’s funds under management have reached $2 billion. It invested in a handful of business and productivity software companies in 2024 while some of its largest investments were won by alternative energy equipment maker Swift Solar and aerospace and defense firm ABL, $27 million and $60 million, respectively.
Early-Stage Hype
Larger venture capital firms typically have a national reach, allowing them to seek investments across the country, while smaller, locally based firms are more likely to focus on regional or localized investments, according to RLH Equity Partners’ Managing Director Murray Rudin.
San Juan Capistrano-based RX3 Growth Partners, co-founded in 2018 by Managing Partner Nate Raabe, New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Roth MKM founder Byron Roth, made two investments in 2024, neither involving an OC firm.
However, Raabe told the Business Journal in January that RX3 would like to invest in an Orange County brand and that 2025 should be a more active year for the firm. The executive said that his team typically studies 1,000 companies annually for potential investments.
Visionary Ventures, while also not securing deals in OC, recorded eight deals during 2024 that included $65 million financing into ONL Therapeutics, $78 million into Orasis Pharmaceuticals and $75 million financing into Aurion Biotech.
“All the hype is on early stage,” Rudin added.
