FUSE – an early-stage venture capital firm focused on the Pacific Northwest – recently unveiled its oversubscribed $250 million sophomore fund. This firm invests in emerging software and AI-enabled startups. It is backed by many of the most high-profile Seattle-based software executives, state-affiliated funds, foundations, and universities.
Launched in 2020, FUSE raised $170 million for its inaugural fund and now has over $420 million in committed capital. FUSE is focused on investing in startups located in Seattle and the broader Pacific Northwest, including western Canada.
FUSE was led by three Founding Partners, Kellan Carter, Cameron Borumand, and Brendan Wales. And Carter and Borumand were formerly part of Seattle-based Ignition Partners, and Wales spent nine years at San Francisco-based Headline.
The firm’s founding team includes Operating Partners John Connors, the former Microsoft CFO and long-time Ignition Partners Managing Partner, Satbir Khanuja, an early Amazon Executive and founder of DataSphere, and Bobby Wagner, the eight-time pro-bowl linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks.
The team had founded FUSE on the premise that effective early-stage investing is a locally-focused product and that the Seattle and broader PNW ecosystem was underserved despite more than 100 unicorns being funded in the region over the past decade. And since the firm started operations, the region has continued to gain innovation momentum, especially as Washington-based Microsoft has emerged as the global AI leader.
Along with Sprunk, FUSE’s Limited Partner network consists of over one hundred tech operators, most of whom live within twenty minutes of FUSE’s office. This provides direct community access for FUSE portfolio founders and a more personal experience for them as they begin their journeys.
The FUSE team has the energy and determination to provide a world-class experience and go far with founders looking to raise capital. And the firm has invested in 31 startups to date ranging from vertical software to machine learning applications, including Zuper – which helps businesses automate their field services workflows, and WellSaid Labs, the enterprise choice for AI-created voice.
With the new fund and capital, FUSE will continue investing in the next generation of B2B technology entrepreneurs, building category-defining businesses of lasting value. The firm will lead Seed and Series A rounds with check sizes ranging from $1 million to $10 million.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are elated to be launching our oversubscribed second fund and thankful for the continued support from our Limited Partners and founders we get to partner with. We are fortunate to have some of the most notable names in the PNW as LPs which creates a unique ecosystem for our portfolio companies to garner expertise, customers, and potential future M&A opportunities.”
— Cameron Borumand
“With the entire public cloud flowing through Seattle, there is no team as strong and as prepared as FUSE is to back the emerging technologists coming out of the area.”
— Eric Sprunk, FUSE Limited Partner and former Chief Operating Officer of Nike and current Board Director at Seattle-based Nordstrom and Providence Health
“The FUSE team knows everybody here. They operate a network-effects-driven investment business. Every time they make a new investment or add a local LP, their model gets stronger. Most venture firms get weaker as they get bigger. FUSE is the opposite.”
— Chris Weber, FUSE Limited Partner, former Microsoft Corporate Vice President, and current CRO at Gitlab
“This team is relentless and hyper focused on winning, with a founder-first mindset. I am proud to support FUSE in nurturing the next generation of PNW entrepreneurs as they build companies that disrupt industries and processes, just like we’ve done at Icertis using AI to transform contracting.”
— Samir Bodas, CEO and Co-Founder of Icertis
