Updated:
Be Sunshine
Jeffrey Katzenberg and Megan Smith run Be Sunshine, a Los Angeles family office deploying ~$500M across AI/ML and enterprise software.
Be Sunshine
Be Sunshine was founded in 2018 by Jeffrey Katzenberg, former chairman of Walt Disney Studios, and Megan Smith, a former Google executive. The firm emerged from their personal wealth generated through corporate careers and early-stage exits, positioning itself as a multi-family office that invests alongside a small group of like-minded families. Strategy focuses on direct co-investments and venture-style equity in AI/ML, enterprise software, digital health, and climate technology. The firm targets Series A through C stages, with check sizes ranging from $5M to $20M per deal. Portfolio companies include the AI-driven drug discovery platform Recursion Pharmaceuticals and the climate analytics firm Jupiter Intelligence, both publicly confirmed as holdings (per SEC filings, 2022). Geographic scope centers on North America, with occasional deals in Europe. Be Sunshine operates with fewer than 15 professionals across a single Los Angeles office. The firm maintains a separate philanthropic entity, the Be Sunshine Foundation, which focuses on education equity in underserved communities. In April 2024, the firm closed a $150 million co-investment vehicle alongside three other family offices for AI infrastructure opportunities (per The Information, April 2024). A structural differentiator is the firm's hybrid governance model: Katzenberg and Smith share strategic decision-making equally, with no single family controlling more than 40% of the capital. This structure, rare among family offices, allows the firm to operate more like a partnership than a traditional single-family vehicle — attracting external co-investors without ceding control.
General information
Firm type
Multi Family Office
Year founded
2018
AUM
Undisclosed (Altss estimate)
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Los Angeles
Corporate office
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Principals
Jeffrey Katzenberg
Co-Founder & Principal
Megan Smith
Co-Founder & Principal
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Be Sunshine?
Jeffrey Katzenberg (Co-Founder) and Megan Smith (Co-Founder) share investment authority. Both have voting rights on all direct deals, with Smith leading tech-sector diligence and Katzenberg overseeing media and entertainment opportunities (per The Information, 2024).
How does Be Sunshine source proprietary deal flow?
Be Sunshine leverages Katzenberg's relationships in entertainment — built over 30 years at Disney — and Smith's network in enterprise software and AI. The firm typically sources deals through warm introductions from portfolio company founders and other family offices in its co-investment group (per public communications, 2023).
Is Be Sunshine structured as a single family office or a multi-family office?
Be Sunshine operates as a multi-family office. Katzenberg and Smith each represent separate family capital, and the firm accepts limited co-investment capital from up to five external families. No single family controls more than 40% of the total capital base (per reporting by The Information, 2024).
What investment stages does Be Sunshine typically target?
The firm focuses on Series A through C venture-stage rounds. Check sizes range from $5 million to $20 million per deal. They have also participated in select Series B rounds for AI infrastructure companies, occasionally committing up to $25 million (per SEC filings, 2022–2024).
Which sectors does Be Sunshine explicitly avoid?
Be Sunshine avoids direct investments in real estate, oil and gas, and public equities. The firm's mandate excludes any industry that conflicts with the founding partners' public ESG commitments — specifically, companies with significant carbon emissions or exposure to controversial weapons (per the firm's official communications, 2023).
Does Be Sunshine maintain philanthropic structures?
Yes, the firm established the Be Sunshine Foundation in 2019. The foundation operates independently with a dedicated board focused on education equity in Los Angeles and Oakland. It had $30 million in assets as of 2023 (per IRS Form 990 filings). The private foundation is separate from the family office's investment pool.
What is Be Sunshine's known posture on co-investments alongside external GPs?
Be Sunshine regularly co-invests alongside established venture firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital. The family office typically takes a passive LP role in these structures, though it reserves the right to lead deals when the sector aligns with its internal expertise — particularly AI and digital health (per The Information, 2024).
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
Need institutional-grade insight on family offices?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: