Sapphire Ventures Closes on More than $1.4 Billion in New Capital Commitments

PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Sapphire Ventures announced it has secured more than $1.4 billion in new capital commitments, the majority of which will be used to invest in expansion- and late-stage technology startups globally. As part of this capital raise, Sapphire adds a new opportunity fund and expands its limited partner (LP) base. The addition of this capital increases Sapphire’s total assets under management (AUM) to approximately $4B.

Sapphire Ventures' new capital raise follows a year of strong momentum for the firm. Since November 2018, Sapphire has invested in 11 new companies, has had 5 portfolio company exits and added 15 members to the investment and portfolio services teams.⁽¹⁾

Since becoming an independent firm in 2011, Sapphire Ventures has had more than 55 exits, including 21 IPOs⁽²⁾ helping create over $100 billion in enterprise value.⁽³⁾

"In today's market, high-growth startups need the support of experienced and deep-pocketed investors in order to stay competitive. Moreover, investors who provide access to customers, partners, talent and best practices," said Nino Marakovic, CEO and managing director. "With this new capital, Sapphire is better poised than ever to be that partner for our companies, and our focus remains unchanged: to back extraordinary entrepreneurs and help them build category-defining businesses."

In addition to providing capital, Sapphire supports its companies investments through its expanding suite of Portfolio Growth services. Made up of a 10-person team of seasoned business development, talent and marketing executives, the Portfolio Growth team makes more than 300 customers and partners introductions annually, hosts close to 100 events and executive briefings, and makes more than more than 250 executive talent introductions to help its portfolio companies scale. 

"From our inception, Sapphire Ventures has been constantly reimagining what it means to deliver the highest value platform to our portfolio companies," said Rami Branitzky, managing director of Sapphire's Portfolio Growth. "As our investment platforms grow, we have expanded our Portfolio Growth services into new areas -- such as adding dedicated European business development staff and launch of the CIO Innovation Index study -- to make sure our companies have unrivaled opportunities to engage with Global 2000 technology buyers."

"The Sapphire team are partners in the truest sense and bring tremendous value to their portfolio companies," said Sudheesh Nair, CEO of ThoughtSpot. "They've made countless introductions to Global 2000 customers, helped us get into top tier events, and been an x-factor in recruiting exceptional talent. They are always willing to do whatever we need to help us on our mission."

To learn more about Sapphire Ventures, please see: https://sapphireventures.com/

About Sapphire Ventures
Sapphire Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on helping innovative technology companies become global category leaders. Leveraging nearly two decades of experience and an extensive global executive network, Sapphire invests capital, resources and expertise to enable its portfolio companies to scale rapidly through a powerful business development, marketing and talent platform. With approximately $4 billion in assets under management across its Sapphire Ventures, Sapphire Partners and Sapphire Sport investment platforms, Sapphire is positioned to elevate companies across technology sectors to the global stage.  To learn more about Sapphire Ventures, please see: https://sapphireventures.com/

Disclaimers:
⁽¹⁾  Exit figures represent all Sapphire Venture direct investments that had an exit by IPO or merger and acquisition during the time period of November 2018 to November 2019.
⁽²⁾  Exit figures represent all Sapphire Venture direct investments that had an exit by IPO or merger and acquisition during the time period of January 2011 to November 2019.
⁽³⁾ "Enterprise Value" represent the company's total value, often called the takeover value. This calculation is based on the company's value: either the value at the time of the company's acquisition, or the calculated Enterprise Value of publicly traded companies as of January 1, 2019.  Sapphire Ventures was not solely responsible for the economic value created and no inference shall be made otherwise.

Nothing presented herein is intended to constitute investment advice, and under no circumstances should any information provided herein be used or considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any investment fund managed by Sapphire Ventures. Sapphire Ventures does not solicit or make its services available to the public. Information provided reflects Sapphire Ventures' views as of a particular time. Such views are subject to change at any point and Sapphire Ventures shall not be obligated to provide notice of any change. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events, results or the actual experience may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated statements above. Nothing contained in this article may be relied upon as a guarantee or assurance as to the future success of any particular company. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Contact: Maggie Shepherd, [email protected]

SOURCE Sapphire Ventures

Related Links

https://sapphireventures.com