Microsoft Brings Collaboration To New Office Tool SwayFreestyle Capital, a venture shop based in California, has locked down a $60 million third fund. The new infusion brings the firm’s total capital raised to $126 million. In addition to its new traunch, Freestyle has brought Jenny Lefcourt into its ranks as its third partner.
Showing posts with label Fund. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fund. Show all posts
Thursday, 2 April 2015
Monday, 2 March 2015
If Y Combinator Did A Growth Fund, It Would Be Very, Very Late-Stage
YC-Backed Kickback Offers An Easy Way To Play Minecraft Competitively
For years, Y Combinator has shied away from doing any kind of follow-on funding. That’s out of concern that this would signal risk and ward VCs away from supporting startups that don’t get this seal of approval.
However, under the firm’s new leadership with Sam Altman at the helm, it’s possible that Y Combinator will consider doing growth-stage investments, according to sources familiar with the firm’s plans. Both YC and Altman declined to comment on this story.
First off, the plans are very much “in flux,” a source tells us. The firm has discussed the possibility of growth-stage funding with external parties, but this is not at all finalized.
Second, it would definitely not involve any kind of Series A or B investments because of the signaling risk problem (e.g. companies that don’t get follow-on funding would have a much harder time raising funds from other investors).
A potential Y Combinator growth-stage fund would be much farther down the line, akin to Series E funding or growth capital that a company might need before going public. Think about it as being competitive with the kinds of firms that might invest in Airbnb at north of the $10 billion valuation.
If they were going to do it, they would think about how they could reinvent the category above and beyond offering commodity capital before an IPO. For instance, companies at this stage have this dual need to raise huge amounts of money to fuel growth and to provide liquidity to early employees. Y Combinator also, of course, has a huge talent network in its alumni pool.
Such a move would be consistent with overall trends in the venture world, which have produced a barbell-like effect favoring very early and very late-stage activity. The cost to build a minimum viable product and then distribute it to a potential audience of more than a billion consumers online or on mobile devices has dropped drastically over the past decade. That’s favored the emergence of founder-friendly firms like Y Combinator, the evolution of superangel funds, and then syndicates and individuals on platforms like AngelList.
At the same time, low interest rates have fueled a hunt for returns in the late-stage end of the market where firms like Coatue, Fidelity and T. Rowe Price have aggressively sought to put money into companies like Uber, Airbnb and Snapchat. That has driven the valuations of these companies into the billions of dollars. A Wall Street Journal report found 75 companies worth at least $1 billion, including Y Combinator alums like Stripe, Dropbox, Airbnb and Instacart.
With more YC alums on their way toward joining this club, it’s no wonder why the firm is considering getting a piece of the action.
For years, Y Combinator has shied away from doing any kind of follow-on funding. That’s out of concern that this would signal risk and ward VCs away from supporting startups that don’t get this seal of approval.However, under the firm’s new leadership with Sam Altman at the helm, it’s possible that Y Combinator will consider doing growth-stage investments, according to sources familiar with the firm’s plans. Both YC and Altman declined to comment on this story.
First off, the plans are very much “in flux,” a source tells us. The firm has discussed the possibility of growth-stage funding with external parties, but this is not at all finalized.
Second, it would definitely not involve any kind of Series A or B investments because of the signaling risk problem (e.g. companies that don’t get follow-on funding would have a much harder time raising funds from other investors).
A potential Y Combinator growth-stage fund would be much farther down the line, akin to Series E funding or growth capital that a company might need before going public. Think about it as being competitive with the kinds of firms that might invest in Airbnb at north of the $10 billion valuation.
If they were going to do it, they would think about how they could reinvent the category above and beyond offering commodity capital before an IPO. For instance, companies at this stage have this dual need to raise huge amounts of money to fuel growth and to provide liquidity to early employees. Y Combinator also, of course, has a huge talent network in its alumni pool.
Such a move would be consistent with overall trends in the venture world, which have produced a barbell-like effect favoring very early and very late-stage activity. The cost to build a minimum viable product and then distribute it to a potential audience of more than a billion consumers online or on mobile devices has dropped drastically over the past decade. That’s favored the emergence of founder-friendly firms like Y Combinator, the evolution of superangel funds, and then syndicates and individuals on platforms like AngelList.
At the same time, low interest rates have fueled a hunt for returns in the late-stage end of the market where firms like Coatue, Fidelity and T. Rowe Price have aggressively sought to put money into companies like Uber, Airbnb and Snapchat. That has driven the valuations of these companies into the billions of dollars. A Wall Street Journal report found 75 companies worth at least $1 billion, including Y Combinator alums like Stripe, Dropbox, Airbnb and Instacart.
With more YC alums on their way toward joining this club, it’s no wonder why the firm is considering getting a piece of the action.
Saturday, 14 February 2015
August Capital Raises $450 Million For Its Seventh Fund, August VII
August Capital said today it has closed on $450 million for its latest venture capital fund, called August VII.
The new raise represents a downsizing of sorts for the 20-year-old Sand Hill Road firm. In 2012 August Capital raised $550 million for its sixth fund, August VI, and prior to that in 2009 raised $650 million for its fifth fund, August V.
In a blog post today, August Capital parter David Hornik explained that the smaller size was an intentional choice for the firm, bucking the larger industry trends of seemingly constant expansion to instead focus on quality over quantity. He wrote:
The new raise represents a downsizing of sorts for the 20-year-old Sand Hill Road firm. In 2012 August Capital raised $550 million for its sixth fund, August VI, and prior to that in 2009 raised $650 million for its fifth fund, August V.
In a blog post today, August Capital parter David Hornik explained that the smaller size was an intentional choice for the firm, bucking the larger industry trends of seemingly constant expansion to instead focus on quality over quantity. He wrote:
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