Samsung Catalyst Fund
UnclaimedAt a Glance
- Stage
- Seed, Series A, Series B+
- Sectors
- AI, Deeptech, Enterprise
- Founded
- 2013
- HQ
- San Jose, CA
About Samsung Catalyst Fund
Samsung Catalyst Fund (SCF) is the evergreen multi-stage venture capital fund of Samsung Electronics. Samsung announced it in February 2013 alongside the Samsung Strategy and Innovation Center in Silicon Valley, with an initial $100 million commitment aimed at components and subsystems, a hardware and infrastructure category that TechCrunch reported conventional venture investors had tended to overlook. The fund describes itself as a U.S.-based fund that invests globally, fully owned by Samsung Electronics but with a charter to make independent investment decisions and to assume fiduciary responsibility to its portfolio companies. It works from Samsung's San Jose campus, with team members in Tel Aviv and Seoul. It is a separate unit from Samsung Ventures and Samsung NEXT.
Today the fund frames its mandate as deep tech AI infrastructure. Its portfolio page groups holdings into AI compute (Groq, SambaNova Systems, Tenstorrent, Axelera AI, Velaura AI, OXMIQ Labs), AI interconnect (Eliyan, Enfabrica, Avicena, Upscale AI), AI infrastructure (Anthropic, WEKA, ClearML, Rescale, Landing AI) and core tech (Axiado, proteanTecs, Normal Computing, Skylo, Zadar Labs). Recent activity listed on its news page includes leading a $50 million round in Normal Computing (March 2026), co-leading a $35 million Series A in OXMIQ Labs (July 2026) and participating in Anthropic's Series H (May 2026). It also holds LP positions in venture funds including Atomico, Lakestar, Speedinvest, AI Fund and imec.xpand.
The fund's exit list is long for a corporate unit. It records acquisitions of Habana by Intel, Graphcore by SoftBank, Celestial AI by Marvell, Empower Semiconductor by Analog Devices, Fungible by Microsoft and Autotalks by Qualcomm, along with public listings including Credo and Innoviz. The stated value to founders is access to Samsung's businesses, shared resources, corporate development and mentorship, while the independent charter is meant to let the team decide quickly and support companies whether or not they become Samsung partners.
Investment Thesis
“Samsung Catalyst Fund says it invests in deep tech AI infrastructure and in technologies that deliver tangible benefits to society, not incremental consumer features. Its listed sectors are cloud and data infrastructure, artificial intelligence, networking and 5G, autonomous systems, sensors and quantum computing. The fund states that big ideas need big scale and that it leverages Samsung's industry leadership and product breadth to identify and work with startups. It describes three principles: fuel new business creation by giving entrepreneurs an inside track to Samsung's future growth, pursue co-prosperity so that the fund, its portfolio companies, co-investors and customers all win, and stay transparent and nimble through an independent investment charter inside a wholly owned structure.”
Sector Focus
Investment Stage
Notable Portfolio Companies
Key Team (6)
David Goldschmidt
SVP, Managing Director and Head of Samsung Catalyst Fund
Ray Schuder
Sr. Investment Director
Amit Shofar
Sr. Investment Director
Ian Clow
Investment Director
Adry Elmilady
Investment Principal
Gil Rotenberg
Investment Principal
Fund History
Samsung announced the Catalyst Fund in February 2013 with a $100 million commitment, alongside a separate $1 billion allocation to the Samsung Venture Americas Fund and a new Strategy and Innovation Center on Sand Hill Road. The fund now describes itself as evergreen and wholly owned by Samsung Electronics, investing from the parent's balance sheet rather than from closed-end vehicles with outside LPs. No current total for committed or deployed capital is published. Deal pace remains active: the fund's news page lists more than a dozen financings and portfolio events in 2025 and 2026, including leads, co-leads and follow-on participations, plus LP commitments to outside venture funds.
Frequently Asked Questions
What stage does Samsung Catalyst Fund invest at?
Samsung Catalyst Fund primarily invests at the Seed, Series A, Series B+ stages. This means they focus on companies that are building their initial product and finding product-market fit.
Where is Samsung Catalyst Fund located?
Samsung Catalyst Fund is headquartered in San Jose, CA. Many of their portfolio companies are also based in this region, though they invest across geographies.
What sectors does Samsung Catalyst Fund focus on?
Samsung Catalyst Fund focuses on investments in AI, Deeptech, Enterprise. Their portfolio reflects deep expertise and networks within these sectors.
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