2016 was a record year for venture fundraising, and VCs in 2017 may well be picking up where they left off.
New Enterprise Associates is looking to raise up to $3 billion for its latest flagship fund, according to an SEC filing. If it raises the full amount, New Enterprise Associates 16 would be the single largest venture-focused vehicle since Technology Crossover Ventures raised that same sum for its seventh fund in 2007.
That isn’t to say NEA is a stranger to such amounts, though. The firm’s previous fund gathered $2.8 billion in 2015, accompanied by a $350 million “opportunity” fund, for a total raise of over $3.1 billion. Altogether, the firm has raised five funds of at least $2 billion and about $17 billion overall. Quite the rise for an investor whose first pool roughly 40 years ago gathered just $16 million.
Founded in 1977, NEA focuses on technology and healthcare investments across all stages. A notable exit for the firm recently was Jet.com’s $3.3 billion sale to Walmart (NYSE: WMT) last August, having led the company’s $55 million Series A round at a $150 million post val.
In the US, nearly $42 billion was raised across 253 vehicles last year, according to the latest PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor—a decade record by a wide margin. Several firms contributed to that lofty total with $1B-plus funds, including TCV, Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, Norwest Venture Partners, Greylock Partners and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
For more data and analysis on the current VC landscape, be sure to download the Venture Monitor here.
Article by Joshua Mayers, PitchBook
