Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with the Axios AM and PM newsletters. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on the day's biggest business stories
Subscribe to the Axios Closer newsletter for insights into the day’s business news and trends and why they matter.
Sign up for Axios Pro Rata
Dive into the world of dealmakers across VC, PE and M&A with Axios Pro Rata. Delivered daily to your inbox by Dan Primack and Kia Kokalitcheva.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with the Axios Sports newsletter. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Des Moines newsletter.
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Tampa Bay newsletter.
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Want a daily digest of the top Nashville news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Nashville newsletter.
Want a daily digest of the top Columbus news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Columbus newsletter.
Want a daily digest of the top Dallas news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Dallas newsletter.
Want a daily digest of the top Austin news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Austin newsletter.
Want a daily digest of the top Atlanta news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Atlanta newsletter.
Want a daily digest of the top Philadelphia news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Philadelphia newsletter.
Want a daily digest of the top Chicago news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Chicago newsletter.
Sign up for Axios NW Arkansas
Stay up-to-date on the most important and interesting stories affecting NW Arkansas, authored by local reporters
Want a daily digest of the top DC news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios DC newsletter.
Zynga founder Mark Pincus. Photo: Sportsfile/Corbis via Getty Images
Zynga founder Mark Pincus is raising up to $700 million for a new investment fund that will focus on publicly traded tech companies in need of strategic restructuring, Axios has learned.
Details: It's called Reinvent Capital, and Pincus is being joined by veteran hedge fund manager Michael Thompson (ex-BHR Capital).
- Also involved as a senior adviser is Reid Hoffman, although this is not expected to affect his full-time job as a general partner with VC firm Greylock. Expect him to only spend around one day per month on Reinvent business, with Pincus and Thompson making all of the investment decisions.
- Pincus, Thompson and Hoffman each are committing $33 million toward the $700 million target. Hoffman's investment (and any subsequent returns) is coming via his family foundation.
- The strategy is to invest in 7–15 internet, software and media companies that Reinvent believes it can help steer in a smarter direction. This is mostly expected to mean working with company founders, as Pincus is part of the founder-friendly club that doesn't believe in becoming adversarial.
- It appears to be company size agnostic, willing to work with small, medium and large-cap companies.
The big question, of course, is if investors will decide that Pincus is qualified to lead such a strategy.
- His argument will be that he built Zynga into a social gaming powerhouse with over $1 billion in annual revenue and that he later returned to help right a ship that had been severely maimed by Facebook. And he'll have numbers to back that up, as Zynga is now profitable and has had four straight years of increased revenue (expected to be around $900m for 2018). Plus, the stock is up over 50% from when he returned as CEO.
The counterargument, of course, will be that Pincus was in charge when Zynga became over-reliant on Facebook in the first place and that the stock bump still only brings the company to $4.26 per share — versus an IPO price of $10 per share.
Pincus declined to comment, due to SEC restrictions.
Go deeper: Zynga buys Small Giant Games in its biggest acquisition yet