MDC Ventures

MDC Ventures (formerly KBS Ventures) was the corporate venture capital arm of MDC Partners, a global advertising and marketing services holding company traded on NASDAQ under the ticker MDCA. Founded in 2010 in New York City, the fund invested in early-stage marketing technology companies with the stated aim of transforming the global marketing landscape. Managing Partner Joshua Engroff led a lean team of two, investing $1 million to $5 million per deal with approximately two to six deals annually. The fund operated one vehicle — MDC Capital Partners Ventures — and made 49 total investments across its lifetime. The portfolio produced 10 acquisitions. The most notable exit was SocialFlow, a social media management and content optimization platform acquired by Piano in February 2022. Other portfolio companies and exits included Dextro (computer vision AI), awe.sm (social analytics), PlaceIQ (location intelligence), Yieldbot (intent-based advertising), and Serena and Lily (home design). Investment categories spanned advertising and marketing technology, data and analytics, AI, VR and AR, and e-commerce. MDC Partners itself merged with Stagwell Marketing Group in August 2021 to form Stagwell Inc. (NASDAQ: STGW), a $2.7 billion-plus revenue digital marketing services company. MDC Ventures is now permanently closed, with its most active investment period spanning 2010 to 2019. The fund's legacy is a concentrated portfolio of martech companies that benefited from privileged access to MDC Partners' network of agencies, clients, and media relationships during the rapid commercialization of digital and programmatic advertising.