News Briefs

Mega-funds dominate venture capital fundraising

-

U.S.-based venture capital firms raised $18.3 billion for 146 venture capital funds in the first six months of 2014, with mega-funds leading the charge.

The five largest funds raised in the first half of the year collected $1 billion or more, led by Andreessen Horowitz, which closed on $1.7 billion for Andreessen Horowitz Fund Fund IV; Technology Crossover Ventures, which raised $1.36 billion for TCV VIII; and Norwest Venture Partners, which pulled in $1.2 billion forNorwest Venture Partners XII, according to Thomson Reuters (publisher of peHUB).

Notably, the 10 largest funds raised a combined $8.9 billion in the first six months of the year, or nearly half of all the capital raised during that period. Looking at it another way, less than 7 percent of the total number of funds accounted for nearly 50 percent of the capital raised.

Mega-funds are growing in popularity. Over the past 10 years, 29 funds have raised $1 billion or more. Of that total, 11 funds collectively raised $19.5 billion from the start of 2004 to the end of 2008, while 18 funds have raised about $23 billion from 2009 to today.

Here are the 10 largest funds raised in the first half.

Ten largest VC funds raised by U.S. firms in 1H 2014
Rank Fund Name Firm Name Fund Size (USD Mil) Amount Raised in Range (USD Mil) Fund Location
1 Andreessen Horowitz Fund IV, L.P. Andreessen Horowitz LLC $1,700.00 $1,700.00 Menlo Park, Calif.
2 TCV VIII, L.P. Technology Crossover Ventures $1,588.38 $1,360.00 Palo Alto, Calif.
3 Norwest Venture Partners XII, L.P. Norwest Venture Partners $1,200.00 $1,200.00 Palo Alto, Calif.
4 Founders Fund V, L.P. Founders Fund, The $1,015.20 $1,015.20 San Francisco
5 Accel Growth Fund III, L.P. Accel Partners & Co Inc $1,000.00 $1,000.00 Palo Alto, Calif.
6 Lightspeed Venture Partners X, L.P. Lightspeed Venture Partners X LP $950.00 $950.00 Menlo Park, Calif.
7 J.P. Morgan Digital Growth Fund II, L.P. JPMorgan Chase & Co $797.33 $53.00 New York
8 Bain Capital Venture Fund 2014, L.P. Bain Capital Venture Partners LLC $715.00 $650.00 Boston
9 FTV IV, L.P. FTV Capital $714.00 $348.14 San Francisco
10 GGV Capital V, L.P. GGV Capital $621.92 $621.92 Menlo Park, Calif.
Total $10,301.83 $8,898.26
Source: Thomson Reuters

 

This story first appeared in Reuters Venture Capital Journal. Subscribers can click here to read the original story, which includes a complete list of all funds raised in 1H 2014. To subscribe to VCJ, click here for the Marketplace.

Photo: Marc Andreessen, co-founder and partner of Andreessen Horowitz, speaks at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, on April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Fred Prouse