Anu Hariharan, who led YC Continuity before the popular accelerator scrapped the program, has partnered with two former colleagues and former BRICS CEO Lucas Fox to launch a new fund targeting to raise about $350 million and run a program that some peg as “YC for Growth,” four sources said. Insider told TechCrunch.
The new fund, called Afra, plans to run an eight-week program with a group of about a dozen post-Series A startups every three months. The invitation program will only select startups that have a strong product market and generate at least a few million dollars in revenue, people familiar with the matter told TechCrunch.
This initiative, which is similar to Y Combinator’s approach, aims to connect startup founders with experienced late-stage entrepreneurs. Together with Avra partners — along with Hariharan and Fox, two other former YC executives are founding members of Avra, according to sources — these seasoned business leaders will guide the new CEOs through various challenges, including how to mature In a leadership role, helping them stay away from common mistakes.
Avra recently concluded her first eight-week program. Some of the sources, who requested anonymity because the details are private, said they plan to offer investment in some of the startups in each group.
Hariharan and Fox declined to comment.
The first group of startups included Runway, Supabase, Roboflow and Hextech, the sources said. Barry McCardell, co-founder and CEO of Hex, confirmed that his startup participated in the first Avra program. DoorDash’s Tony Shaw and Rippling’s Parker Conrad were among the mentors in the first group.
“The thing that impressed me about AFRA was the quality of guests who came to speak with us. It was remarkably enlightening and inspiring to hear from founders, CEOs, and other operators about how they built their companies. I’m usually very skeptical of venture capital programming — but Anu’s vision and quality of guests made it Really useful and worthwhile,” McCardell told TechCrunch in an email.
Cristobal Valenzuela from Runway also confirmed the startup’s participation in Avra’s first batch.
“The program was excellent,” he told TechCrunch. “They’ve primarily invited some of the most extraordinary CEOs who have faced similar challenges that we’re going through now. The program is well structured, and it fills a lot of the blind spots that we had over the next 24 months. Supabase and Roboflow did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
YC’s surprise move earlier this year to divest from its growth-stage fund surprised many executives, including Hariharan and Ali Roghani, who jointly managed the late-stage fund. This unexpected shift has also left a gap in growth and late-stage venture space, especially for a fund capable of providing YC-style resources and connections.
Over the years, Hariharan has built a strong reputation for being incredibly supportive of founders, a trait evident in her ongoing board membership on several startups in YC Continuity’s portfolio. Just two months after YC closed its continuity fund, it has finalized its launch plans for Avra, according to individuals who interacted with it in May.
“Early growth” companies are at a critical stage: you may have PMF, but you still have a lot to discover. [Avra’s] The program has taken on the biggest and toughest challenges we deal with, and gives us a chance to spend time with experts and peers who have been through the same thing. It was very helpful. “My only feedback is that I wish the program had lasted longer,” Hex’s McCardell said.