MassMutual Ventures Launches Second $100M Fund

MassMutual is doubling down on its startup investments.

MassMutual Ventures (MMV), the venture capital arm of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, on Tuesday announced the creation of its second $100 million venture fund.

MMV, launched in 2014, has so far backed 20 companies with about $80 million from its $100 million first fund, according to a press release. Its portfolio companies include “data unification” software company Tamr; online insurance marketplace Insurify; and cybersecurity companies Recorded Future, Pwnie Express, and CyberGRX.

The new fund will invest in about 20 to 25 companies across different stages and sectors, including insurance, benefits, financial services, enterprise software, and cybersecurity, according to the press release. It will focus on companies based in North America, Europe, and Israel.

There has been a flurry of new venture funds raised in Boston lately, particularly those focused on “growth-stage” technology companies. They include Leerink Transformation Partners’ $313 million debut fund, M33 Growth’s $180 million debut fund, and Spectrum Equity’s $1.25 billion fund, the firm’s eighth.

Author: Jeff Bauter Engel

Jeff, a former Xconomy editor, joined Xconomy from The Milwaukee Business Journal, where he covered manufacturing and technology and wrote about companies including Johnson Controls, Harley-Davidson and MillerCoors. He previously worked as the business and healthcare reporter for the Marshfield News-Herald in central Wisconsin. He graduated from Marquette University with a bachelor degree in journalism and Spanish. At Marquette he was an award-winning reporter and editor with The Marquette Tribune, the student newspaper. During college he also was a reporter intern for the Muskegon Chronicle and Grand Rapids Press in west Michigan.