What is an SPV?

An SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) is a legal entity created to pool investor capital for a single investment. When investors commit money to a deal on Play Money, they're actually investing through an SPV.

Why SPVs Exist

Instead of each investor independently investing in a startup, all investors pool their money into one entity -- the SPV. The SPV then makes a single investment in the portfolio company. This simplifies the process for both the startup (which only has one entity on its cap table) and the investors (who get professional deal management).

How SPVs Relate to Deals

Every deal has at least one SPV. When a new deal is created, a default SPV is automatically created alongside it. In most cases, a deal has exactly one SPV. However, a deal can have multiple SPVs if the investment is structured that way (for example, different SPVs for different investment terms).

Key SPV Details

Each SPV includes:

• Name -- the legal name of the SPV entity
• Deal -- the deal this SPV belongs to
• Target raise -- the total amount of money the SPV aims to raise
• Minimum investment -- the smallest amount an investor can commit to this SPV
• EIN -- the SPV's tax identification number (required before closing)
• Close date -- the date the SPV is expected to close (required before closing)
• Virtual Account -- a dedicated bank account where investor funds are collected (see Virtual Accounts)

What Admins Need to Know

• SPVs are the money containers -- investments, payments, and funding closes all link to the SPV, not the deal.
• The SPV lifecycle determines what's possible -- you can only accept investments when an SPV is open, and only disburse funds after it's closed. See SPV Lifecycle for details.
• One active SPV per deal is the typical pattern, but the system supports multiple SPVs per deal.

In This Section

• SPV Lifecycle -- the stages an SPV goes through
• Opening an SPV -- what happens when an SPV is opened
• Closing an SPV -- requirements and process for closing
• Cancelling an SPV -- what happens when an SPV is cancelled
• Virtual Accounts -- the dedicated bank accounts behind each SPV