Golden Ventures Launches Third Fund Valued at $72 Million
One of Canada’s leading venture firms has closed a massive new fund.
Golden Ventures has announced that they have closed their third fund with aggregate commitments of $72 million. Dubbed “Golden Ventures III,” this new fund is the firm’s largest to date and will look to follow their commitment of investing in only the best founders who want to change the world in meaningful and lasting ways. They have also decided to drop the “Partners” from the end of their name.
The new fund comes from returning Canadian investors Northleaf Capital, HarbourVest and Kensington Capital Partners, and a new investor from the country, Teralys Capital. U.S. firms Cendana Capital, Foundry Group Next and Venture Investment Associates have joined as well.
“We feel incredibly grateful today when we look at the community around us, and we continue to push ourselves to be the very best seed stage partner” reads a blog post announcing the new fund. “Our mission is to serve founders — to us, that means we have to be a (if not ‘the most’) valued partner on your cap table or in your network/ecosystem.”
The firm’s first fund, Golden Ventures I, launched in June 2011, and since then they have collectively invested in over 40 companies throughout North America. Though Golden Ventures is based in Toronto, they have not shied away from finding worthy U.S. companies to sink their teeth into. Their core areas of focus are the Toronto/Waterloo corridor, the Bay Area, L.A., Boston and New York City.
Throughout their investments, Golden Ventures has maintained an approximate 60/40 split of Canadian and U.S. investments, respectively.
Golden Ventures will remain focused on seed stage investments, looking to make 20 to 25 of those early-stage capital injections while reserving the rest of the fund for follow-on investment rounds. This is a similar approach for Golden Ventures, as they have exercised this strategy with the likes of Wattpad, in which the firm has invested in multiple times.
The new fund was deliberately capped at $72 million to allow Golden Ventures the ability to invest in more infrastructure that can better support their portfolio, without the added pressure of deviating from their typical MO of seed stage investments.
There are some new personnel announcements with this new fund as well. Jamie Rosenblatt is now a principal with the firm, and Marianne Bulger is joining the team to the lead people and platform.
The companies in Golden Ventures’ portfolio are incredibly varied. Most recently, the firm invested in ChefHero and BenchSci, and they have also invested in huge names like Top Hat and Ritual.
