SAN FRANCISCO, July 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Well-known entrepreneur and angel investor Kulveer Taggar has launched a new investment firm, Phosphor Capital, focused on investing in early-stage companies that have participated in Y Combinator. To date, Phosphor Capital has raised and invested $34M. Portfolio companies include Reducto, Delve, Circleback and Gumloop.
Phosphor Capital limited partners include a well-known, top tier asset manager with over $10B in Assets Under Management (AUM), several family offices, and well-known Bay Area accredited investors.
“Early-stage venture only works when investors move at founder speed,” said Garry Tan, President & CEO of Y Combinator. “Kulveer proved he can sprint; Phosphor Capital will let more YC teams tap that momentum, and I expect LPs will be thrilled with the outcomes.”
Taggar has participated in YC twice as a founder – in 2007 with Auctomatic (co-founded with Harj Taggar, Patrick Collison and John Collison and acquired by Live Current Media) and in 2011 with Zeus Living (acquired by Blueground). He has an eye for talent, and has maintained close relationships with many YC partners from his 18 years as an entrepreneur and investor in the YC community.
Taggar founded Phosphor Capital in early 2024 after selling Zeus Living to Blueground. He decided to focus the fund’s investments on YC companies to best leverage his network and because he believes CEO Garry Tan is taking YC in exciting new directions. As an angel, Taggar wrote 200+ checks in the last 12 months and received a YC Rating of “Best” from dozens of partners and founders.
Taggar is known for his deep relationships within the YC community, and for all the research he does while investing. He endeavors to personally meet at least half of the founders in each YC batch, and to invest in the top 15-20 percent of companies in each batch. “Over time, it’s been shown that 6.5 percent of YC companies become unicorns,” says Taggar. “That’s one in 15. It’s a fertile ecosystem for an investor like me who knows the Y Combinator world well.”
Early Phosphor Capital seed companies are now moving on to Series A rounds at far higher valuations. One is Reducto, which just announced a $24.5M Series A. Reducto co-founder and CEO Adit Abraham said, “We’re lucky to have Kulveer on board. He helped us win a key early customer a month after investing, helped re-calibrate our hiring efforts at an important inflection point, and as a former founder, is someone I feel comfortable having truly important conversations with. We feel like we can ask him anything.”
“If you could have one angel, get Kulveer,” said Karun Kaushik, CEO of Delve. “He’s closed pivotal early hires that were on the fence, took hours to talk through difficult situations, and game-planned our fundraising strategy. Communicating with him feels like getting advice from an experienced founder friend, not an investor. Kulveer’s always in your corner and fighting for you – even on Sunday night calls. He genuinely cares. I couldn’t speak more highly of him.”
Phosphor Capital currently has 225 portfolio companies that have raised, in total, $720M. Twenty five of the portfolio companies hit a run rate of $1M in ARR in less than 12 months.
“I’ve been to every YC demo day since 2007 and have seen the generational companies at their earliest stages,” said Taggar. “I’ve also lived every founder extreme: pivot hell, blitzscaling, cofounder turnover, board pressure. I now channel those scars into an unfair edge for the next wave of YC founders. Phosphor’s mission is simple: help YC founders sustain their brilliance for the decade it takes to build something truly great.”
About Phosphor Capital
Founded and led by YC alum and serial entrepreneur Kulveer Taggar, Phosphor Capital is focused on investing in early-stage companies that have participated in Y Combinator. Taggar is a 2x YC founder who invested in companies like Mux, Boom and Plenful as an angel prior to launching his own fund. Phosphor Capital has raised and invested $34M to date, fully invested in YC startups including Reducto, Delve, Circleback and Gumloop. Taggar is known as a founder-friendly investor who provides a lot of guidance for startups, both tactical and strategic. He’s passionate about ensuring founders make the right early hires and don’t burn out. Learn more at phosphorcap.com.
Media contact:
Michelle Faulkner
Big Swing
michelle@big-swing.com
617-510-6998
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8e241e4d-df6c-4cf6-8d3c-eca876cee2c9
