- Madrona Venture Group has launched a new oversubscribed $300 million investment fund called Fund VII
- The venture firm will continue to deploy capital and lead/participate in seed and Series A funding rounds
Madrona Venture Group has set up a shiny new oversubscribed $300 million investment fund called Fund VII. And Madrona is planning to partner with the most promising technology entrepreneurs and their teams from day one through the long term.
The venture firm primarily focuses on great founders based in the Pacific Northwest, which is known as being the home for two of the world’s four largest tech companies, Microsoft and Amazon.
Madrona has experienced a solid couple of years as four of its portfolio companies have gone public: Smartsheet, Redfin, Apptio, and Impinj. The average time from initial investment to IPO for these companies was 12 years and Madrona was there at day one.
“The entrepreneurs in our region continue to build exceptional companies on the leading edge of major customer, technology and business model changes. We believe cloud computing, intelligent applications powered by AI/ML, multi-sense user interfaces and solutions combining the digital and physical world will drive the next decade of innovation,” said Madrona Venture Group managing director Matt McIlwain. “On behalf of the entire Madrona team, we are proud to have the trust of our many limited partners and outstanding founders.”
Fund VII is Madrona’s seventh fund over the past 23 years and it brings the total funds under management to nearly $1.6 billion. This oversubscribed fund is supported by a diverse set of repeat and long-term investors including some of the nation’s premier endowments, foundations, family offices, Outsourced Chief Investment Offices (OCIOs), and entrepreneurs.
“Madrona understood Smartsheet’s vision and the value of our innovation from our earliest days, even when some others did not,” added long-time Smartsheet Inc CEO Mark Mader. “In the eleven years since, our partnership has yielded significant growth, supported by Madrona’s valued counsel on market trends, buyer needs, funding, executive talent, and ability to collaborate with other growth investors. As I reflect on the early decisions that made a positive difference for Smartsheet’s business, our decision to partner with Madrona is one that delivered in the short, medium, and long term.”
With this fund, Madrona will deploy capital to lead and participate in seed and Series A investment rounds. Plus the whole Madrona team will continue rolling up their sleeves to help portfolio companies with recruiting for talent and help make strategic business decisions.
Madrona is known for creating Seattle’s first startup studio called Madrona Venture Labs five years ago. And Madrona launched and supported Seattle TechStars. Plus they partnered with the University of Washington Allen School of Computer Science and worked closely with the angel investor community.
Later this year, Madrona will open Floor 33 — which is a Seattle-based innovation community co-located with Madrona for housing an expanded Madrona Venture Labs and a curated 22,000 square foot co-working space for founders and their teams.
Some of the current and new portfolio companies will benefit from an expanded group of Managing Directors, venture partners, and investment professionals. Some of the new hires include S. Somasegar (managing director), Ted Kummert (venture partner), Hope Cochran (venture partner), and Luis Ceze (venture partner), Betsy Sutter (Strategic Director), Maria Karaivanova (investment professional), Sudip Chakrabarti (investment professional), Chris Picardo (investment professional), Shannon Anderson (Talent Director), and Alice Ryder (Business Development and Investor Relations Director).
