Battery Ventures has closed two new funds at their respective target levels: Battery Ventures XI, a USD650 million vehicle, and Battery Ventures XI Side Fund, a USD300 million fund intended to support larger investments.
Battery raised predecessor fund family Battery X and Battery X Side Fund, totalling USD900 million, in February 2013.
As with its predecessor funds, Battery will continue to target investments at stages ranging from seed to private equity, deploying capital in increments of a few hundred thousand dollars up to deals worth USD100 million for large growth and private-equity opportunities. In 2015, Battery opened a new office in San Francisco—adding to its presences in Boston, Menlo Park, CA and Herzliya, Israel–and will continue to make investments globally, with the majority of deals in North America, Israel and Europe.
Key investment sectors for the firm include application software/SaaS; IT infrastructure, including areas such as cloud computing, “big-data” technology and cybersecurity; consumer Internet and mobile; and industrial technology.
In the past three calendar years, Battery has seen six portfolio companies go public and 15—not including seed investments—announce acquisitions. The initial-public offerings were for marketing-tech company Marketo; Israeli direct-to-consumer insurance carrier IDI Insurance; fiber-optic cable company Zayo Group; home-goods e-commerce company Wayfair Inc; travel software and data company Sabre Group; and financial-technology company Q2 Holdings.
Six of the 15 acquisitions were for investments in Battery’s private-equity practice, which specialises in taking majority stakes in businesses with revenue between USD5 million and USD200 million. Five of the acquisitions were more-traditional, early-stage venture investments, while four were “growth” deals that occurred at a slightly later stage.
“We’re thrilled to close BV XI—which marks another evolution in our firm’s long history—and honored by the confidence our investors have placed in us,” said Battery General Partner Scott Tobin. Added Neeraj Agrawal, another general partner: “It’s also a privilege to continue to work with so many top-flight entrepreneurs and management teams, in both our early- and late-stage investment practices.”
“I’ve watched Battery parlay its deep knowledge of earlier-stage software companies into a new business helping larger, more-mature tech companies – sometimes family-owned, sometimes carved out of larger entities – grow in their respective markets,” says Mike Epplen, the former chief executive of Data Innovations, a past Battery portfolio company. “Battery was an excellent partner for me as we grew Data Innovations and ultimately sold the business.”
Ragy Thomas, founder and CEO of enterprise social-technology company Sprinklr – an early-stage, venture-capital investment for Battery – called the firm “a trusted advisor to groundbreaking, public and private software companies worldwide, and a true partner for those seeking to redefine their categories.”
