DFJ Growth has rounded up over $1 billion for the firm’s fifth growth-equity vehicle, focusing on the ongoing push to supply capital to maturing startups working through a dismal exit environment.
The new capital, according to a regulatory filing in July, is in line with the firm’s fourth fund, a 2021 vintage that hauled in about $1 billion for a similar strategy.
DFJ Growth’s latest comingled fund, DFJ Growth V, raised $1.05 billion from 96 investors as of July 11, according to an SEC filing.
Representatives for Menlo Park, Calif.-based DFJ didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment.
DFJ Growth invests across a wide range of industries. Among the firm’s better known portfolio companies are Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain-computer interface specialist, and Patreon, which provides a monetization platform for creatives.
DFJ Growth’s latest vehicle toes the line between late-stage venture capital plays and private equity’s first steps, lining up slugs of acceleration capital to fast-growing companies approaching private equity rollups or acquisitions. Funding may also be earmarked for strategic acquisitions by one of its portfolio companies.
Venture growth investors have been navigating seemingly favorable fundraising conditions even as the industry has struggled to provide returns to its LPs.
With IPOs and other exits hovering near historic lows, startups have been staying private and independent for longer periods. One result is that many of them are required to seek later-stage capital to lengthen their runway.
At the same time, however, investors have been reluctant to reward companies with richer valuations. Late-stage startups last year gained value between venture rounds at their slowest clip since 2016, according to PitchBook data.
DFJ Growth appears to have bucked the downward trend in its fourth and fifth funds. The latter appears to be one of the most substantial new growth entrants so far this year.
The firm in recent years has made strategic hires, including tapping Justin Kao, formerly of Khosla Ventures, as a partner. DFJ also expanded into up-and-coming strategies that have captured many limited-partner eyeballs of late—AI, namely.
DFJ Growth has since largely kept its key personnel intact. The firm is led by four partners: Barry Schuler, whose resume includes a stint as chairman and CEO of then-AOL Time Warner; Randy Glein, a longtime VC who invested in Tesla and Twitter; John Fisher, a founder partner of DFJ; and Mark Bailey, a veteran executive of the dot-com era.
DFJ Growth was a longtime affiliate of DFJ —previously known as Draper, Jurvetson and Fisher. That VC firm rebranded as Threshold Ventures in 2019 following the departure of Steve Jurvetson.
Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain-computer interface specialist, is one of DFJ’s better-known portfolio companies.
Featured image by Szilard Toth/Getty Images
