Group 11 strikes $20M deal with StepStone Group and Industry Ventures for second fund holdings

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Dec 07, 2023, 08:30 ET

Among Group 11's second fund portfolio companies are unicorns Tipalti, Navan, Sunbit, HomeLight, and Next Insurance

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading venture capital firm Group 11 has partnered with StepStone Group, a global private markets investment firm, and with Industry Ventures, a leading investment firm focused on private technology investments, through a $20M secondary transaction to acquire 12% of Group 11's second fund. The parties closed the deal directly, without the involvement of any placement agent or investment bank.

The deal enabled investors in Group 11's second fund (2015 vintage) to realize their positions partially or entirely. Through this deal, participating Group 11 investors received a ~3X net cash on cash return, representing a 20% net IRR on their investment.

Group 11 was founded in 2012 by single General Partner Dovi Frances, with the mission to invest in and empower exceptional entrepreneurs seeking to revolutionize the outdated financial services industry. The firm is an early investor in some of Silicon Valley's most prominent and disruptive financial technology companies and currently houses a stable of five unicorns—companies with valuations greater than $1BN. The cumulative value of Group 11's portfolio stands at approximately $1.2BN, across six funds.

Group 11's second fund includes investments in Tipalti, which raised $270M at an $8.3BN valuation in Q4 2021; Navan, which raised $300M at a $9.3BN valuation in Q2 2022; Sunbit, which raised $130M at a $1.1BN valuation in Q2 2021, to name a few.

"We are excited to partner with both Industry Ventures and StepStone on this transaction. This is the second deal we have executed with StepStone since 2022 and this is the first deal with Industry Ventures. We are confident that this is just the beginning of a wonderful and fruitful partnership with both of these prestigious investors, and are delighted to continue delivering for our Limited Partners proving, yet again, that Group 11 can generate liquidity and outsized returns to our Limited Partners, even amidst the market corrections we've seen in the past couple of years," said Dovi Frances, Founding Partner at Group 11.

“We are thrilled to partner again with Group 11 and Dovi Frances as we continue constructing high quality portfolios to the benefit of our clients,” said Seyonne Kang, Partner at StepStone Group. “Group 11’s track record and portfolio have impressed us, and we look forward to continuing working alongside Group 11 and its management team in years to come.”

“Industry Ventures has been impressed with Dovi and the full Group 11 team, and we look forward to developing a prosperous relationship,” said Amir Malayery, Managing Director at Industry Ventures. Malayery added, “Our investment with Group 11 helps unlock access to several of the leading financial technology and software companies in the late-stage venture market, and we are eager to find ways to further support the portfolio.”

This deal with StepStone and Industry Ventures comes on the heels of significant growth in Group 11's assets under management. The firm finalized a $200M raise for its Fund V at the end of 2021 and will soon announce its Fund VI.

About Group 11

Group 11 invests in visionary entrepreneurs who are utilizing the unstoppable momentum of AI and FinTech to redraw the landscape of their respective industries. With a goal of creating change across generations and building long term value through technology, Group 11 has emerged as a coveted partner to veteran entrepreneurs at the forefront of their fields.

Since its inception in 2012, the top-decile performing firm has deployed over $580 million across six funds in some of the world's most prominent and disruptive technology companies, including: Tipalti, Navan, Next Insurance, HomeLight, Sunbit, Masterschool, Healthee, Dream, and BridgeWise.