Open Opportunity Fund, a leading venture capital firm, announced the appointment of Sháka Rasheed as General Partner. In this role, Rasheed will spearhead the firm’s capital development and portfolio value creation efforts, leveraging his extensive experience in both financial services and technology.
Open Opportunity Fund is a technology venture capital fund focused on investing in and partnering with outstanding Black and Latino founders. Opportunity Fund was founded in June 2020 with a $100 million Fund 1 and successfully invested in 75 companies and became known as one of the largest and most prominent funds focused exclusively on Black and Latino founders. Fund 1 was supported by the founding LP of SoftBank Group.
Sháka Rasheed
“I am excited to join Open Opportunity Fund, a firm that stands at the forefront of innovation in the venture capital space,” said Sháka Rasheed. “With a strong foundation and a clear focus on making impactful investments, the potential to scale the firm into a major player in the industry is immense. I am eager to bring my experience in capital formation and value creation to the team and to help drive the continued success and growth of our firm.”
Rasheed joins Open Opportunity Fund with a distinguished career in building and leading capital formation teams at some of the world’s most prominent alternative asset management firms, including Bridgewater Associates, Lazard Asset Management, Citadel Asset Management, and J.P. Morgan Chase. His background also includes significant roles at major technology companies such as Salesforce and Microsoft, where he drove strategic growth initiatives in financial services.
Throughout his career, Sháka Rasheed has successfully raised billions in capital across a diverse range of investor segments, including family offices, pension funds, endowments, foundations, sovereign governments, central banks, insurance companies, and bank platforms. His expertise includes high-level leadership positions such as Head of Sales & Marketing at Bridgewater Associates; Managing Director and Head of Alternatives, Americas at Lazard Asset Management; Director, Global Distribution at Citadel Asset Management; and Managing Director within the Institutional Investment Management Division at J.P. Morgan Chase.
Paul Judge, Managing Partner of Open Opportunity Fund
“Sháka’s appointment is a key move in our strategy to strengthen our leadership team. His deep expertise in financial services and proven track record in driving growth will be instrumental as we continue to scale our organization and expand our investment capabilities,” shared Paul Judge, Managing Partner of Open Opportunity Fund.
Most recently, Rasheed served as Senior Vice President at Salesforce, where he managed the company’s billion-dollar Strategic Banking & Wealth Management business. Prior to his tenure at Salesforce, he held the position of Managing Director and General Manager of the U.S. Capital Markets business at Microsoft. During his time at Microsoft, Rasheed also served as an Expert Network Member and Advisor for M12, Microsoft’s corporate venture capital business, where he provided strategic guidance to portfolio companies on market expansion and growth.
Currently, Sháka Rasheed serves as an Independent Director on the Board of DigitalBridge Group, Inc. (NYSE: DBRG), a global firm specializing in digital infrastructure investments, managing over $80 billion on behalf of its limited partners and shareholders. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College and an MBA from Harvard University.
In 2023, the team led by Paul Judge and Marcelo Claure acquired the Fund from SoftBank and announced Fund 2 to continue to execute the thesis. Open Opportunity Fund is now raising Fund 2 with the aim of continuing to deliver strong financial performance by backing Black and Latino tech founders. The fund is open to other corporations, institutions, qualified individuals, and other LPs who are committed to this cause. Opportunity Fund so far has invested $100 million into 75 Black- and Latino-led tech companies, with a portfolio that includes Atomic, Brex, Career Karma, Cityblock Health, Eight Sleep, Esusu, Lendtable, Lumu, Mayvenn, Paystand, Praxis Labs, QuickNode, Squire, and Subject. The fund has had seven exits.
Marcelo Claure, Vice Chairman and General Partner at Open Opportunity Fund
Marcelo Claure, Vice Chairman and General Partner at Open Opportunity Fund, added, “We are thrilled to welcome Sháka to our team. His capital development expertise, honed at some of the world’s most respected alternative asset managers and technology companies, aligns perfectly with our mission. Sháka will be instrumental as we continue to scale the firm.”
To learn more about the Open Opportunity Fund, visit www.theopportunityfund.com