Battery Ventures, a 35-year-old global investment firm, has reeled in $1.25 billion to continue backing high-tech companies.
Boston-based Battery announced two new funds on Tuesday: an $800 million fund, Battery Ventures XII; and a $450 million companion, Battery Ventures XII Side Fund, from which the firm will make larger growth and private-equity investments. Battery’s deals cover a range of stages, from seed investments in startups, to $100 million-plus transactions through which Battery buys a majority stake in companies.
Battery went bigger with its latest vintage of funds. It raised $950 million two years ago for its previous funds—a $650 million main fund and $300 million side fund. Battery said it has now raised a total of $6.9 billion since it got started in 1983 in Boston. The firm also has offices in San Francisco; Menlo Park, CA; London; and Herzliya, Israel.
Along with closing the new funds, Battery announced Tuesday that it has promoted Morad Elhafed to general partner. Elhafed has been with the firm for a decade, and makes later-stage and private-equity investments in European and U.S. software companies. The Morocco native is based in Battery’s Boston office, and he brings Battery’s group of general partners to 10 (pictured above).
Battery said it will continue investing in a variety of technology companies selling to businesses and consumers, including products in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, mobile, media, financial technology, and industrial technology.
To date, Battery said it has invested in 385 companies worldwide—not including seed-stage deals. Its portfolio companies have gone on to 59 initial public offerings and 154 mergers or acquisitions, according to a press release. Battery currently has 111 companies in its portfolio. It has backed companies such as Wag, the on-demand dog-walking service, which recently raised $300 million from SoftBank; marketing technology firm Marketo, which went public and was later acquired by Vista Equity Partners; healthcare software firm Brightree, which was acquired by ResMed (NYSE: [[ticker:RMD]]); and Wayfair (NYSE: [[ticker:W]]), an online seller of furniture and other home goods.
Battery’s new funds come at a time when venture investors are raising massive funds and placing bigger bets on later-stage tech companies, firms that are often staying private longer than usual. New Enterprise Associates closed a $3.3 billion fund last June, slightly more than the $3.15 billion it raised for two funds in 2015, the Wall Street Journal reported. Sequoia Capital is rumored to be raising between $5 billion and $8 billion for a new global fund, which would be its largest ever, according to a Reuters report that quoted anonymous sources. And then there’s SoftBank, which reportedly raised $98 billion for its Vision Fund.
