Hip-hop artist, entrepreneur and tech investor Nas, 44, was an early investor in PillPack, an online pharmacy that Amazon just bought for $1 billion.
Nas’ venture capital fund, QueensBridge Venture Partners, participated in a 2014 Series B investment round that raised $8.8 million for the startup, which streamlines the prescription drug delivery process for people who need multiple daily medications.
Prior to the sale to Amazon, PillPack raised more than $117 million in outside funding from backers including QueensBridge Venture Partners and Facebook-investors Accel Partners, and Sherpa Capital. Earlier investors included a group led by venture capital firms Atlas Ventures and Founder Collective, CNBC reported.
This isn’t the first time Amazon has bought a company whose early investors included QueensBridge Venture Partners. In February 2018, the e-commerce giant bought home security tech startup Ring for $1.1 billion, Forbes reported.
Nas’ QueensBridge Venture Partners invested $4.5 million in Ring in a July 2014 Series A round. The Amazon sale earned Nas a reported $40 million, according to Forbes.
So how rich is Nas?
He has released 11 full-length albums and sold millions of records during his music career.
“(Nas) has high status within the black community for his work as a kind of poet laureate. It’s been 24 years since Illmatic, an album that will stand as one of the greatest rap releases of all time. He’s been one of the pre-eminent voices of an entire generation of Black Americans. ” — The Undefeated.
Celebrity Net Worth put Nas’ net worth at $50 million, but there was no date attached to that.
The Los Angeles-based QueensBridge Ventures has made 128 investments and 28 exits since 2014, according to Crunchbase. His investments have range from cryptocurrency and ticket reseller SeatGeek, to digital media brand Genius and ride-sharing service Lyft. Nas also invested in direct-to-consumer mattress company Casper.
Over the years, Nas has maintained a strong interest in new technology. QueensBridge investments typically range in the $100,000-to-$500,000 range. The fund receives more than 100 pitches per month from new firms seeking capital.
These are some of the other tech investments Nas has made through QueensBridge:
2014:
Nas invests in Ring & PillPack
(through his VC company)2018:
Amazon buys Ring & PillPack
(paying $1 billion for each) pic.twitter.com/WX9XsfUw3s— Jon Erlichman (@JonErlichman) June 28, 2018
Congrats @Nas Boss move
— the ghetto otello,the moor (@leesacater) June 28, 2018
"The ghosts of gangsters dance, chinchillas shake on the hanger
The force of this banger
Yeah, my language advance, my cadence amazing
The voice triggers something
What is this conundrum?
The clouds scurry, your spirit rumble, a boyish smile…"Nas – ADAM & EVE
— Thebe Itumeleng (@tboh81) June 29, 2018
Illegal entrepreneur, I got my grades there. Blaming society, mad it wasn't made fair. I would be ivy league if America played fair.
— The Goto guy (@phactual) June 29, 2018
… Talking about a walking Midas, literally
— Mayowa (@mayowalicious) June 28, 2018
https://twitter.com/SegunYHaruna/status/1012672571702116352
Wow! It's great to see that rappers from the earlier days of hip hop is involved in VC funding and business investments.
— SA Innovation Summit (@innovsummit) June 29, 2018
Nas has been on the roll…
Lyft, Dropbox, Coinbase, Tradesy…Coinbase money was actually mad…LOLhttps://t.co/fGqM05aHnc— Allen (@oged07) June 29, 2018
So he can afford the slight increase in child support pic.twitter.com/4yXWqKEkUo
— Edna’s bad bith bob (@fyourcupcakes) June 29, 2018