GSR Ventures, the early-stage technology venture capital firm, has closed a new USD350 million fund to invest in China. The fund was substantially oversubscribed with more than 80% of the capital from existing investors. This is the firm’s fourth fund. GSR now has more than USD1.0 billion under management.
The demand for the fourth fund reflects GSR’s success investing in early-stage companies in China, home to some of the world’s largest and fastest-growing technology markets. GSR’s investment strategy is validated by a portfolio of world-class technology companies which include Qunar, the leading online travel search engine in China. The portfolio also had two IPOs in 2011 and several others in registration.
The latest fund will be managed by the same team and will pursue the same investment strategy as the previous funds. The size is similar to the firm’s third fund.
"GSR could have raised much more money, but we are glad they will instead continue their focus on selectively investing in high-impact early-stage companies," says Gary Bridge, a founder of Horsley Bridge Partners, a firm that has invested in all of the GSR funds. "GSR’s investment results have been comparable to the best early-stage venture firms in the world."
GSR Ventures is an active investor that is usually the first institutional investor in a company, and it leverages the Chinese/US technology ecosystem with offices in Beijing and Palo Alto/Silicon Valley.
"GSR Ventures is possibly the best early-stage VC firm to work with in China," says Bo Wu, the founder and CEO of Lashou.com, the leading Groupon-type company based in China.
"GSR Ventures is an impressive early-stage technology venture firm with experienced partners who focus on creating value for their portfolio companies," adds Huang YongLin, the President and CEO of Lattice Power. "The firm has a keen sense of identifying disruptive technologies that tackle large emerging industries such as solid state lighting. GSR Ventures is able to help our company become a global player by building a world-class technology and operating team. We enjoy working with GSR."
