Seattle-based Madrona Capital is celebrating 30 years in enterprise by elevating $770 million in recent capital. It is the agency’s largest fund elevate to this point, surpassing $690 million in Madrona’s two funds closing in 2022.
Whereas an 11% capital pool upsize could not appear important, any improve at a time when many enterprise companies are compelled to cut back their funding is an indication of restricted partnership agency’s prospects and up to date monitor document. are enthusiastic about.
Matt McIlwain, Madrona’s managing director, advised TechCrunch that final yr helped — in a market the place exits had been few and much between — the agency offered a number of portfolio firms and distributed capital to its traders. What did The agency’s latest exits embody Lexion, which it offered to Docusign for $165 million, and Octo AI, which was acquired by Nvidia for $250 million.
“The LP neighborhood normally is anxious about distribution,” McIlwain stated. “I feel we stand out as a agency that has executed very properly on that entrance, not simply this previous yr, however for a few years.”
Madrona began out as a gaggle of “tremendous angels” who wrote a verify to Amazon, a web-based bookseller, in 1995. The agency has since advanced right into a multi-level investor that has backed firms similar to Redfin, Smartsheet, Snowflake and, extra not too long ago, AI Startups Typeface and Runway
Whereas Madrona undoubtedly benefited from Amazon and Microsoft being the biggest VC agency in the identical geographic location, it determined to maneuver past Seattle by opening an workplace in Silicon Valley in 2022.
McIlwain stated the recent capital might be used to spend money on AI purposes in domains starting from journey to life sciences, in addition to infrastructure firms that may “take away the friction” between underlying fashions and customers. “. The agency will again about 30 pre-seed, seed and Sequence A startups from its roughly $490 million early-stage fund, with the remaining capital going towards 12 firms elevating their Sequence B or Sequence C.
As Madrona enters its fourth decade, she is extraordinarily optimistic about what lies forward in 2025. McIlwain describes the present scenario as a ‘danger mindset’ that can assist companies develop and create worth.
