Tech Industry

Ashton Kutcher's most forward-thinking investments

By // October 10, 2016, 4:22 PM PST

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  • Who's a start-up's best friend? This guy

    It's been five years since the New York Times declared Ashton Kutcher was "no dummy when it comes to technology."

    The 38-year-old actor is the "A" in A-Grade Investments, a venture-capital fund that, according to a 2016 Forbes report, is worth $250 million. With partner Guy Oseary, Kutcher also call the shots on a new fund, Sound Ventures.

    Here's a look at 14 of Kutcher's investments in the tech sector: the big successes and the big bets on the future.

    Image: Getty Images

  • Getaround

    In 2012, the peer-to-peer car-sharing service scored $13.9 million in funding from Kutcher's A-Grade and other A-list backers. Three years later, the start-up reported revenue "in the tens of millions of dollars."

    Image: Getaround

  • Casper

    This online mattress start-up is a hot thing in a sector that's likewise hot. Kutcher's A-Grade got in bed with Casper in 2014.

    Image: Casper

  • Foursquare

    Kutcher seems to have a soft spot for his first investment: In an unauthorized bit of product placement, he displayed the logo sticker for this ever-evolving tech company, now known for its two check-in apps, Foursquare and Swarm, on his character's laptop in a 2011 episode of Two and a Half Men.

    Image: Foursquare

  • Uber

    Before the car-service app connected its first paying customer to a driver, A-Grade chipped in $500,000. According to Forbes, the investment is now worth more than "100 times" that amount.

    Image: Uber

  • Tapstack

    This "Snapchat for grown-ups" app allows you to send a photo to a friend by tapping the pal's profile picture. Kutcher's A-Grade became one of its funders in 2014.

    Image: Tapstack

  • YPlan

    As the story goes, Kutcher hooked up with the U.K.-based event-planning app when he was setting up a London date with his now-wife, Mila Kunis. Kutcher became an investor via A-Grade; YPlan was named the "U.K.'s fastest-growing tech start-up" in 2015.

    Image: YPlan

  • ​Skype

    The online phone and video chat app was Kutcher's first significant tech deal. He invested $1 million in the company in 2009; he "quadrupled" his money when Microsoft bought it in 2011.

    Image: Shutterstock

  • Spotify

    The music-streaming service scored a reported $3 million from A-Grade in 2010. This year, the company was valued at $8 billion, and seen as "clearly gearing up" for a public-stock offering.

    Shutterstock / Shawn Goldberg

  • Couple

    This social network for couples was known as Pair when Kutcher got involved. In 2013, its parent company "doubl[ed] down" on its model, snapped up the competition and rebranded itself as Couple.

    Image: Couple

  • Airbnb

    In 2011, Kutcher's fund made a "significant investment" (estimated at $2.5 million) in the then-emerging peer-to-peer rental site. At last look, Forbes reported, the "stake [is] now worth about $90 million."

    Image: Shutterstock

  • BitGo

    The Bitcoin security service scored $12 million in funding from Kutcher and other venture capitalists in 2014. And while the digital-currency market remains volatile, Kutcher remains a believer (and booster on Twitter).

    Image: Bitgo

  • Shazam

    This song-identifying killer app has long been cited as one of the stars of the Kutcher portfolio, and it's easy to see why: It's everywhere (with 1 billion downloads and counting), and it's reportedly worth a ton (an estimated $1 billion as of 2015).

    Image: Shutterstock

  • ​SoundCloud

    The audio platform scored the backing of Kutcher's A-Grade in 2011. Five years later, it was said to be valued at $700 million, and in the hunt for $1 billion.

    Image: Shutterstock

  • Product Hunt

    This "buzzy," "must-read" site about tech products has enjoyed "rapid hockey-stick growth" since its 2013 launch. Kutcher's A-Grade joined the ride in 2014.

    Image: Product Hunt

Related Topics:

Tech Industry Start-Ups CXO Innovation Microsoft Google Apple

Who's a start-up's best friend? This guy

It's been five years since the New York Times declared Ashton Kutcher was "no dummy when it comes to technology."

The 38-year-old actor is the "A" in A-Grade Investments, a venture-capital fund that, according to a 2016 Forbes report, is worth $250 million. With partner Guy Oseary, Kutcher also call the shots on a new fund, Sound Ventures.

Here's a look at 14 of Kutcher's investments in the tech sector: the big successes and the big bets on the future.

Image: Getty Images

About Joal Ryan

Joal Ryan thinks Pokemon Go is a plot.

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