Fund Builds on Success of Previous Funds with “Patient Capital” Strategy

Sierra Ventures, an early-stage technology focused venture capital firm, announced that they have closed their twelfth investment fund, raising $215 million. This fund was oversubscribed and the prior fund’s institutional investors increased their commitment to the new fund.

“We are very appreciative of the continued support we have received in Sierra XII from our existing investors, as well as excited to add some leading Limited Partners in this fund. We are proud to have some of the best endowments, pension funds and corporations from across the world on our roster,” said Sierra Ventures Managing Director Mark Fernandes.

Similar to Funds X and XI, Sierra Ventures Fund XII will be managed by Mark Fernandes, Tim Guleri, and Ben Yu, who have worked together for 17 years, and will have a focus on investing in early-stage Next Generation Enterprise and Emerging Technology companies that are transforming and disrupting industries. The fund will continue its investment focus on Seed and Series A stage investments, as well as a few Series B investments in companies that show high potential revenue growth. The team embraces a “patient capital” approach, understanding that it takes time to build and grow truly disruptive, lasting companies.

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Interest in Fund XII was driven by the continued success of Fund X (2012) portfolio companies, with nine notable exits to date including Treasure Data (ARM) and RedLock (Palo Alto Network), both acquired in late 2018 for a cumulative purchase price of almost $800 million.

“Since 2012, Funds X and XI have invested in over 50 companies that rode the wave of consumerization of IT, the emergence of B2B marketplaces, and AI/ML for vertical applications, as well as new emerging areas including 5G wireless, crypto/blockchain, AR/VR, and robotics. In Fund XII, we will continue to seek innovations in these areas. In particular, we believe AI and blockchain will become the horizontal platform technologies that cover both enterprise and consumer needs, touching almost everything we do,” noted Sierra Ventures Managing Director Ben Yu.

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This year also marks the 15th anniversary of the Sierra Ventures CXO Advisory Board, a consortium of Global 1000 IT executives – CIOs, CTOs, CDOs, CMOs, CISOs – in Financial Services, Healthcare, Retail, and Technology. CXO Advisory Board members act as an extension of the Sierra Ventures team, providing valuable feedback to companies in the portfolio while getting a first look at emerging technologies expected to impact the enterprise.

“Working with Tim Guleri at Sierra Ventures, we could tell right away that they understood and supported our vision,” said Hiro Yoshikawa, CEO of Treasure Data (acquired by ARM for $600M in 2018). “They provided relevant and company defining insights and were willing to do the hard work with us. The firm was already aligned with the key pillars of Treasure Data – humility, extreme candor, and openness.”

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