
VC News | More really big funds announced
Brilliant Minds, which luanched in April, only invests in founders who are 50 or older.
From Boston, MA:
Fidelity Investments has announced the final close of Fidelity Venture Capital Fund I LP, hitting its target fundraising goal of $250 million of committed capital about four months after opening to investors. Fund I held its final closing on September 30, driven by strong support from investors including high net-worth individuals, family offices, and registered investment advisers.
Fidelity has invested in private companies for over 15 years, typically focusing on rapidly growing category disruptors with durable competitive advantages and experienced management teams. Fidelity has made over 600 investments across more than 350 private companies and deployed over $28 billion of capital on behalf of Fidelity’s suite of mutual funds.
“The success of this fundraise speaks to Fidelity’s legacy investing in private companies,” said Karin Fronczke, Portfolio Manager and Global Head of Private Equity at Fidelity Investments. “We are grateful for the support from the fund’s limited partners.”
Fund I will seek to generate strong returns by making predominantly direct, minority investments in a portfolio of mid to late stage private companies. The fund will invest globally and across sectors, but with a particular emphasis on the United States and in the technology, media, and telecommunications sectors. Given the robust investing environment, the fund has already invested about $31 million of capital in 10 companies across sectors, including aerospace, defense, artificial intelligence (AI), data, and eCommerce.
From the Bay Area of CA:
DCVC, a Palo Alto and San Francisco, CA-based deep tech venture capital firm, has announced more than $700 million in funding across two new funds which brings its total funding closed during the last two-and-a-half years to more than $1.6 billion.
- Amidst the massive expansion of the climate tech sector, DCVC established its first dedicated climate fund, which seeks to back entrepreneurs with breakthrough deep tech advances that are commercially and technically prepared to solve the world’s toughest climate challenges. The fund focuses on commercializing emerging climate tech solutions to catalyze meaningful improvements to established value chains, decarbonize high-emitting industries, hasten the energy transition, and contribute to mitigation and adaptation efforts.
- Six years after launching DCVC Bio to exploit the promise of artificial intelligence-enabled platforms to discover new medicines and catalyze a range of other biological breakthroughs, Fund III closed at an oversubscribed $400 million, exceeding its initial goal of $350 million.
Separately, Pulse 2.0 reports that Costanoa Ventures, a boutique early stage venture capital firm, announced the successful closing of two new funds: Costanoa Fund V, a $275 million early stage fund, and Opportunity Fund III, a $119 million fund for investing in later rounds of its early stage companies. And with these additions, the firm’s total assets under management now exceed $2 billion.
Costanoa invests as early as Day One in Seed and Series A start-ups in high-growth sectors across artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled Software-as-a-Service, cybersecurity and national security, and fintech. And in recent years, the firm has doubled down on critical sectors that lay the foundation to grow and scale AI’s use in business. In Fund V, Costanoa continued to expand its focus on cybersecurity and defense tech.
From Chicago, IL:
Prospect Partners, a leading pre-lower-middle market private equity firm, has announced the final close of Prospect Partners Fund V at its hard cap of $225 million. The oversubscribed Fund, which hit its hard cap after nine months in the market, continues Prospect’s strategy of backing entrepreneurs in high potential pre-lower-middle market businesses. As with prior Prospect vehicles, Fund V invests in North American businesses at inflection points in the specialty services, niche manufacturing, and value-add distribution sectors.
From New York City, NY:
- Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) announced that it has held the final close of the 1GT climate private equity fund (1GT) at $750 million of equity capital commitments. 1GT targets growth-oriented investments in companies in North America and Europe aiming to collectively avoid or remove one gigaton of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e) emissions from the Earth’s atmosphere from the date of investment through 2050. The investor group was led by a number of institutions in Europe, Japan, and North America.
- Vector Capital Solutions, a leader in AI-powered financial solutions, has announced its upcoming Mini Venture Capital Program, an innovative funding model designed to tackle the systemic inefficiencies in capital markets and provide sustainable growth opportunities for small businesses. The program introduces equity funding with initial investments starting at $10,000, specifically targeting small businesses historically left out of venture capital opportunities. The firm also plans to raise $1 billion in multiple private equity funds, with the first round beginning in October 2024 and a target completion date by June 30, 2025.
Another from New York City:
An early stage venture capitalist is asking a question that few people may want to consider, particularly now: Is there untapped potential among founders over 50?
“Silicon Valley investors keep ignoring everyone older than even 40,” Katerina Stroponiati, who founded her firm, Brilliant Minds, in April, told Fortune. “They glorify youth, and it’s a misallocation of capital.” New York-based Brilliant Minds exclusively invests in founders 50 and older.
The veteran Venture Capital (VC) leader — and 40-year-old millennial — has long maintained an interest in breaking the stigma of aging and conducting longevity research. She thinks the ageism currently coursing through contemporary chatter, as well as the VC landscape, is a net negative for everyone.
Learn more about her philosophy in this Yahoo! Finance article.
Like what you've read?
Forward to a friend!