Mudita Venture Fund II in Bingham Farms Closes on $85M to Advance B2B AI Firms – DBusiness Magazine

Mudita Venture Fund II in Bingham Farms, a venture capital fund focused on early-stage, business-to-business AI companies, reports it has 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,” says 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,” says 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 two 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, Schwartz has been a business 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 and has extensive M&A experience.
— 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 startups, Mistry 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 five companies to date, and targets launching up to 10 new ventures per year.
Mudita announced 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 and women’s health and leadership organizations, and co-author of “Arrive and Thrive: 7 Impactful Practices for Women Navigating Leadership.”
— Craig Jablonski: Co-founder and executive chairman of Career Now Brands, tech entrepreneur, and investor.
— Dr. Alan Ying: Multi-time growth company CEO, investor, board member, public company executive, and 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,” says Josh Tolman, managing partner of Mudita Venture Partners.
“We remain committed to playing an active role in driving meaningful performance for our portfolio entrepreneurs, investors, and the communities we serve.”
Mudita Venture Partners is an early-stage venture fund sponsor and advisor, primarily pursuing investments in B2B software companies that are post-revenue and pre-growth spurt.
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, visit muditavp.com/.
Editor: R.J. King
Associate Editor: Tim Keenan