Just weeks after closing on a multi-million fund to buy a stake in Elon Musk’s Space X, Morgan Creek Capital Management has done it again, raising close to $4 million to invest in the uber-cool shoe brand Allbirds.
Twenty five investors contributed to the fund called Morgan Creek Private Opportunities, Series G- Allbirds, according to a recent securities filing, two of which were not accredited.
Founded by New Zealand-native Tim Brown and San Francisco-based engineer and renewables expert Joey Zwillinger in 2016, the startup makes its shoes out of sustainable materials such as merino wool; a cooling textile made from eucalyptus pulp; and the world’s first sugarcane EVA foam.
Its original Wool Runners ($95) put the company on the map, but it now sells nine styles — from sneakers and slip-ons to high-tops and water-resistant footwear — and a collection of silky socks ($12-$16).
Last year, it closed on a $100 million round at a reported $1.6 billion valuation.
Meanwhile, the Chapel Hill-based Morgan Creek Capital Management is a SEC-registered investment adviser providing investment management services to institutional and qualifying clients such as endowments, pension plans, foundations and family offices.
Earlier this month, it raised roughly $13.5 million to buy into Elon Musk’s Space X project, which has the goal of reducing space transportation costs to enable the colonization of Mars.
Last October, it also established another “Opportunities Fund” to explore “blockchain opportunities.” Total raised: $60.9 million.
