Founded in 2021, Tacora is based in Austin. Findley was first introduced to Thiel through his VC firm, Thiel Capital, when she worked as a partner at hedge fund Third Point, according to Bloomberg.
Findley told TechCrunch the new fund reflects the successful deployment of the inaugural fund and demand for “flexible, non-leveraged” financing solutions.
Venture debt firms loan cash to startups and other businesses, instead of buying their equity like traditional VCs. This kind of financing can be attractive to founders who need money but don’t want to dilute their ownership. Tacora specializes in lending to businesses with capital-intensive needs, like fintech and hardware companies, Findley told TechCrunch. (Findley declined to give examples of specific companies it has backed so far.)