Detroit-based Mudita Venture Partners launches $125 million Fund II

Yahoo

5 days ago

Mudita Venture Fund II, a venture capital fund focusing on early-stage, business-to-business AI companies, completed its first close of $85 million toward its target of $125 million.
Mudita Venture Partners
Detroit, Michigan, June 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mudita Venture Fund II, a venture capital fund focusing on early-stage, business-to-business AI companies, completed its first close of $85 million toward its target of $125 million, with the remainder expected to close in the next 90 days. The fund is sponsored by Mudita Venture Partners ('Mudita'), founded by brothers Josh and Ethan Linkner.
Through its sponsored funds, Mudita invents, invests in, and helps accelerate tech companies with the goal of driving economic results and leaving a positive social impact. 'The Sanskrit word 'Mudita' means to find great joy in other people's success,' said co-founder Ethan Linkner. 'Recognizing the good that successful companies can do in the world, our mandate is to drive both oversized investment returns while simultaneously elevating humanity."
Mudita Venture Fund II has an investment thesis similar to Mudita's first venture capital fund, which has built a portfolio of 23 companies pursuing groundbreaking technologies. 'We invest in and invent companies that leverage AI to deliver exponential boosts in productivity, scale, and impact,' said co-founder Josh Linkner. 'Taking a contrarian view, we prefer rigor over wild swings and focus on DeepHuman, not just DeepTech. We're not just financiers; we're business builders.'
Along with the first closing, Mudita is announcing the addition of three new senior executives to the Mudita team:
Sandy Schwartz has joined Mudita as Managing Partner. Most recently, the CEO of the multi-billion dollar Cox family office, Sandy has been a highly effective leader for over 40 years. He served as the CEO of Cox Automotive, a $7 billion division of Cox Enterprises. He also serves on the Board of Rivian, has extensive M&A experience, and has proven himself as a leader who drives both growth and impact.
Cyrus Mistry has joined as CEO of Mudita Studios, an affiliated innovation factory and start-up studio. A 20+ year senior executive at Google, Disney, and several hypergrowth startups, Cyrus brings multiple advanced degrees along with deep experience in technology and rapidly scaling enterprise growth. Mudita Studios is a standalone venture studio that invents, prototypes, and ultimately launches new tech companies. Mudita Studios is a laboratory of invention for venture funds like Mudita Venture Fund II as well as corporate clients. Started in 2021, the studio has launched 5 companies to date and targets launching up to 10 new ventures per year.
Ruchira Dasgupta has joined Mudita as its Chief Operating Officer. With over two decades of experience at the intersection of brand, strategy, and operations, Ruchira brings cross-functional leadership across global hospitality, business intelligence, and technology sectors. As COO, she oversees firm and fund operations, portfolio and platform activation, and investor engagement initiatives that scale Mudita's impact and growth.
Mudita is also proud to announce the addition of four Operating Partners:
Jeremie Bacon - CEO, entrepreneur, educator, and advisor in the software, recreation, and experiential hospitality and entertainment industries.
Janet Foutty - Former Chair of Deloitte USA and CEO of Deloitte Consulting, advisor and board member across technology, women's health, and leadership organizations, and co-author of Arrive and Thrive: 7 Impactful Practices for Women Navigating Leadership.
Craig Jablonski - Cofounder & Executive Chairman of Career Now Brands, tech entrepreneur, and investor.
Alan Ying, MD - Multi-time growth company CEO, investor, board member, public company executive, former cardiothoracic surgeon.
'With deeper resources and an expanded bench of world-class business builders, we embark on Fund II with both confidence and conviction,' commented Managing Partner Josh Tolman. 'We remain committed to playing an active role in driving meaningful performance for our portfolio entrepreneurs, investors, and the communities we serve.'
About
Mudita Venture Partners
Mudita Venture Partners is an early-stage venture fund sponsor and advisor, primarily pursuing investments in business-to-business software companies that are post-revenue and pre-growth spurt. The Mudita team brings decades of entrepreneurial and operational experience to help accelerate growth and mitigate risk. Mudita only pursues investments for its funds in companies it believes will have both a positive impact on the world and drive meaningful economic returns.
Mudita Studios
Mudita Studios is a Mudita-affiliated venture studio, focused on inventing the next generation of disruptive technologies that can be launched as stand-alone businesses. It serves as an innovation laboratory for venture funds and corporate clients, streamlining the innovation process while applying rigorous systems and standards to enable the highest probability of new venture success.
For more information about Mudita, its mission, its studio, and its portfolio, please visit muditavp.com.
Disclaimer
This press release is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be, nor should it be construed or relied on in any manner as, legal, tax, financial or investment advice, and should not be used as the basis for any investment decision. Nothing contained herein constitutes an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for, any security of any investment product, service or vehicle sponsored by Mudita, including the vehicles referenced herein (each, a 'Fund'). Any such offer or solicitation may only be made pursuant to such Fund's definitive confidential private placement memorandum and related subscription documents, which will be furnished to qualified investors on a confidential basis, and otherwise in accordance with applicable securities laws.
References to any current portfolio investment and future portfolio company launches are intended solely to illustrate the application of a Fund's investment process and should not be used as a basis for making any decision about purchasing, holding, or selling any securities. Nothing herein shall be interpreted or used in any manner as investment advice. The information provided about these portfolio investments and portfolio companies is intended to be illustrative only and should not be relied upon as an indication of a Fund's current or future investment performance. The performance of any Fund's portfolio investments discussed herein is not necessarily indicative of, and may differ materially from, the performance of any other Fund's portfolio investments. No assumption should be made that any future investments will be profitable or achieve results comparable to past portfolio investments.
Certain statements contained in this press release constitute 'forward-looking statements.' These statements are predictive in nature and can be identified by words such as 'believe,' 'expect,' 'goal,' 'target,' 'will,' and other variations thereon and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Such statements are based on Mudita's current views, beliefs, expectations, and assumptions regarding future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, market conditions, and other factors. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict, many of which are beyond our control. Our actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in these forward-looking statements. Therefore, reliance should not be placed on any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, which are based only on information available to Mudita and speak only as of the date hereof. Mudita expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update, revise or supplement any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law.
Media Contact
Full Name: Josh LinknerTitle: Managing Partner and Co-FounderCompany Name: MuditaEmail: [e-mail] Number: 248.760.1398Website: muditavp.com
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Mudita Venture Partners