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Jay Z launches Arrive to invest in startups

Jay Z launches Arrive to invest in startups
Posted at 10:25 AM, Mar 06, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-06 10:25:08-05

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Shawn Carter, best known as Jay Z, is diving deeper into venture capital.

The rapper-entrepreneur is an investor in Uber, among other startups, but now he's formalizing his investor efforts: Roc Nation, Carter's entertainment firm, is launching new business arm called Arrive.

Arrive will pour capital into young startups, as well as advise them on brand and business development. (Perhaps it will use JetSmarter, another Carter-backed startup, as a case study in how not to pitch the press.)

The new business unit is a collaborative effort with seed stage venture firm Primary Venture Partners (whose portfolio of investments includes startups Jet, Maple and Ollie) and GlassBridge Asset Management, the company said in a statement Monday.

It's unclear how many companies Arrive will invest in -- and how how much money it will shell out.

But the plan is to go big, according to the announcement: The company "anticipates the launch of a traditional venture fund in order to, among other activities, support existing portfolio companies through their subsequent growth stages."

Roc Nation did not immediately respond to CNNTech's request for comment.

Carter has firsthand experience growing a tech startup: He launched music streaming service Tidal in 2015 after buying Swedish tech company Aspiro. In January, Sprint bought 33% of the company for $200 million.