Immad Akhund, the co-founder and CEO of Mercury, has big news. In his recent $26 million fund to support more risky early stage startups. This initiative, therefore, is a huge step in the right direction. It’s an impressive testimony to his commitment to entrepreneurs who have long created innovative products that enhance our society.
Since 2016, Akhund has become a prolific angel investor, funding more than 350 startups in their early stages. His deep experience in this space has informed a lot of the new fund’s focus. This fund is designed to give more organized support to more diverse founders and create a more efficient investment process for him. Akhund underscored the significance of this new undertaking, noting how it allows him to further hone his work with entrepreneurs.
I’m passionate about supporting entrepreneurs – whether it’s through building Mercury or investing. But mostly it provides me energy, perspective, and deep satisfaction to continue at Breyer Capital helping smart ambitious founders build the future. Having a dedicated fund lets me go deeper and support founders more meaningfully.” — Nida Akhund
Yash is joining Akhund as a partner in the fund. He’s an early investor in Mercury and has worked with Akhund before on other investments. Collaboratively, they all work to underscore an environment that encourages innovation and healthy, scalable development among the brightest, up-and-coming startups.
There’s no retreating on Akhund’s long-term commitment to Mercury, either, as he assured me that he’s still all-in on the company, 100 percent. In March, Mercury closed $300 million of primary and secondary capital in the round giving it a post-money valuation of $3.5 billion. This valuation has more than doubled from its last round of funding in all the way back in 2021. It underscores the company’s exceptional growth, scale, and market dominance.
Other prominent investors in Mercury’s $120 million recent funding round were Sequoia, Coatue, CRV, Andreessen Horowitz, Spark Capital and Marathon. The backing from these notable companies is a strong vote of confidence in the merit of Mercury’s business model and confidence in its leadership under Akhund.
Serendipitously, this new fund launches into Akhund’s vision. Its goal is to find and cultivate early-stage founders who demonstrate the ability to make the most transformational impact. His experience as a part-time partner at Y Combinator has further enriched his understanding of what it takes for startups to succeed.
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