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Acumen

Q: When was Acumen last fund created?

Acumen last fund was created/launched in 2026-07-17.

General contacts

Investor type

VC / Debt fund

Founded

2001

AUM

$48 M

Location

New York, New York, United States

Investment Ticket

$10-50 m

Investment Stage

Seed Series A Series B Late Stage (Series C+)

Region of investment

Africa Europe North America Asia

ESG Focus

Impact investor

Investor profile last updated: 26 July, 2026

Profile

Acumen is a global impact investor and social enterprise facilitator founded by Jacqueline Novogratz. Based in New York City and established in 2001, the organization is dedicated to tackling poverty worldwide. Led by a team of global entrepreneurs and investors, Acumen supports high-impact, sustainable ventures that align with its mission of breaking the poverty cycle. The team leverages patient capital to drive systemic change, focusing on sustainable solutions in education, agriculture, energy, and healthcare.

Acumen invests in sectors like sustainable agriculture, quality education, renewable energy, healthcare services, and gender equality. They primarily focus on regions including Africa, South Asia, Latin America, and the United States. With $48 million in assets under management (AUM), their key funds include the Acumen Global Fund and ARAF Fund, among others. Acumen collaborates with philanthropic and institutional partners to achieve its goals.

Notable investments include D.Light - off-grid solar solutions, Sproxil - pharmaceutical authentication, Frontier Markets - last-mile distribution, BURN Manufacturing - clean cookstove producer, and Ziqitza Healthcare - emergency medical services in India. By fostering inclusive markets, Acumen contributes to building sustainable economic models to alleviate poverty.

Industry

Energy Software Real Estate Marketing and Advertising Healthcare Services Foodtech Food and Beverage Fintech Edtech Education Agriculture HRTech ClimateTech

Acumen Funds

Name	Type	Industry	Stage	Region	Size	AUM	Launch date
ARAF Fund	Venture Capital (VC)	ClimateTech	Seed Series A Series B	North America Africa Asia	$10-50 m	$90 M	July 2026

Contacts

Name

Title

Social Networks

Jacqueline Novogratz Founder & CEO

Founder & CEO

j•••@•••

Emily Gannam Strategic Partnerships Senior Associate

Strategic Partnerships Senior Associate

e•••@•••

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Investment-team contacts for Acumen — including verified work emails and LinkedIn profiles — are available to Private Equity List subscribers.
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Contacts sourced from the firm's website and LinkedIn, re-verified on a rolling cycle. Spot a stale contact, or none at all? Report it — we re-run that firm within 48h and get back to you.

FAQs about Acumen

Is Acumen a venture capital or private equity firm?

Acumen is a venture capital firm that also operates as a debt fund. It backs companies at Seed, Series A, Series B and Late Stage (Series C+), writing tickets of $10-50 m.

Where is Acumen located?

Acumen is located in New York, New York, United States.

When was Acumen founded?

Acumen was founded in 2001.

What sectors and industries does Acumen invest in?

Acumen invests in companies and startups in Energy, Software, Real Estate, Marketing and Advertising, Healthcare Services, Foodtech, Food and Beverage, Fintech, Edtech, Education, Agriculture, HRTech, ClimateTech.

What is Acumen geographical focus of investments?

Acumen invests in companies and startups in Africa, Europe, North America, Asia.

At what stages of companies and startups does Acumen typically invest in?

Acumen invests in companies and startups at Seed, Series A, Series B, Late Stage (Series C+).

What is the usual amount of Acumen investment?

Acumen usually invests $10-50 m on average.

What is the amount of assets of under management (AUM) for Acumen?

Acumen has around $48m assets under management.

When was Acumen last fund created?

Acumen last fund was created/launched in 2026-07-17

Is Acumen impact investor?

Yes, Acumen is impact investor.

What are the contacts of Acumen?

Acumen can be reached through its website acumen.org, its LinkedIn page and its X account. Cold-mailing a general inbox rarely reaches a partner, so Private Equity List also lists the investment-team contacts for Acumen — names, roles, verified work emails and LinkedIn profiles — available on a Pro plan from $129/month (see pricing). Contacts are sourced from the firm's website and LinkedIn and re-verified on a rolling cycle. Spot a stale contact, or none at all? Report it — we re-run that firm within 48h and get back to you.

Can I access Acumen data via API or MCP?

Yes. Every field on this page — profile, funds, investment criteria, portfolio and investment-team contacts — is available programmatically through the Private Equity List REST API and MCP server, so AI assistants such as Claude and ChatGPT can query Acumen directly instead of scraping this page. One subscription covers both the web app and machine access — see API & MCP.

When was the Acumen profile last updated?

Private Equity List re-verifies investor profiles on a rolling cycle, pulling from the firm's own website and LinkedIn rather than a one-off import. This profile was last updated on 26 July, 2026. Something out of date here? Report it — we re-run that firm within 48h and get back to you.