Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat Ventures has taken its first outside investment from J.P. Morgan.
The venture capital firm is focused on consumer packaged goods, fintech, Web3 and health investments. Part of its new fund will support minority and underrepresented founders, TechCrunch reported as Hart unveiled the investment at the publication’s Disrupt event.
J.P. Morgan is the anchor investor in Hartbeat Ventures. The bank did not disclose the size of the investment, but said it provided “the max allocation” through Project Spark, a J.P. Morgan initiative that focuses on firms led by women and people of color.
Hart’s firm has already invested in beverage company BrightFox, avatar platform Ready Player Me, Rodo, a car sales and leasing platform, and food delivery platform Snackpass, among others, according to TechCrunch.
The new funding comes several months after Hart launched his new media company Hartbeat and took a $100 million investment from private equity firm Abry Partners. The venture, launched in April, combines the actor’s two production companies, Laugh Out Loud and HartBeat Productions. The investment was intended to hire more employees, grow existing brands and develop new content. Former Disney Executive Brian C. Price joined the Hartbeat team in August to lead its branded content and entertainment studio.