True Ventures Closes Two New Funds Totaling $840 Million

PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- True Ventures announced today the closing of its seventh early stage fund ("True Core Fund VII, LP") in the amount of $465 million, along with its fourth Select Fund ("True Select Fund IV") in the amount of $375 million.  

True Core Fund VII will continue the firm's long history of providing seed and early stage capital and resources to the boldest, most daring founders in today's early stage ecosystem. Core markets include technology-enabled consumer brands, SaaS and infrastructure software, deep verticals in health and life sciences, and other select markets.

Similar to previous Select Funds, True Select Fund IV will provide follow-on capital to existing True portfolio companies that exhibit high growth potential and large-scale opportunity. Thriving consumer platforms including Peloton, Madison Reed, Splice and Yousician, as well as microsatellite startup ICEYE, infrastructure automation company HashiCorp and material innovator Zymergen have all received follow-on capital from previous Select Funds.

"Our Select Funds renew our commitment to Core Fund companies that have demonstrated impressive growth and industry leadership," said Phil Black, co-founder of True Ventures. "It's not one-and-done with us. Our Select Funds, for example, allowed us to invest in five separate financing rounds leading up to Peloton's IPO last year."

Colleen Cutcliffe, co-founder of biotechnology company Pendulum Therapeutics, received capital from True Core IV and follow-on capital from True Select Funds. Cutcliffe is one of a cohort of scientist-founders the firm has backed over the past half decade. "True helped us lay a strong foundation at Pendulum by supporting our work not only financially but also through the lens of a business coach," said Cutcliffe, whose expertise uncovered ways the microbiome can help to improve human health.  

True Ventures is also doubling down on its longstanding infrastructure of support for founders and their teams. "One of True's founding insights was that fortune favors the connected entrepreneur, and since our beginning we've invested heavily in connecting True founders and their teams with one another for learning, support and counsel," said Jon Callaghan, co-founder of True Ventures. "Our platform connects founders and aggregates resources so that even the smallest new team has access to hundreds of peers who have been in their position before. We've created a powerful place for founders to grow, thrive and collaborate. We're now magnifying our platform by putting even more resources – additional team members and dollars – into it."

Callaghan shared the news of the two new funds today with True portfolio founders who attended the firm's Founder Camp, an annual educational event for early stage entrepreneurs which was held virtually this year. True Design Partner and Head of Platform Jeff Veen kicked off the three-day event by sharing his own experience and learnings as the co-founder of Typekit, funded by True in 2009 and acquired by Adobe in 2011. To lead culture and talent across the portfolio, VP of Culture Madeline Kolbe Saltzman joined the team in 2019. Additional members of the True Platform team include Senior Associate Priscilla Tyler, who works with founders on diversity and inclusion initiatives, fundraising and other platform strategies, as well as Program Manager Lydia Morrison. Most recently, Bryan Mason, who co-founded Typekit with Veen, joined True as a special advisor in June and is working with founders on business development and go-to-market strategies.

About True Ventures

Founded in 2005, True Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that invests in early stage technology startups. With more than $2.8 billion under management, True provides seed and Series A financing to entrepreneurs in today's fastest growing markets. True's investment team, including its twelve partners, plus special advisors and operations staff represent the largest and most experienced team dedicated solely to the early stage ecosystem. The True team believes creativity flourishes when founders are supported fully and empowered to pursue brave ideas. To that end, the True Platform offers programs that inspire professional and personal growth. To date, True has helped more than 300 companies launch and scale their businesses, creating over 25,000 jobs worldwide. To learn more, visit www.trueventures.com.

Press Contact:
Brooke Van Natta
949.636.8787
brooke@trueventures.com

SOURCE True Ventures