Key Takeaways
- • Lightspeed Venture Partners closed three U.S. funds totaling roughly $6.6 billion: Fund XIV ($1.98B), Select Fund V ($2.26B), and Opportunity Fund II ($2.36B).
- • Lightspeed India Partners closed LSIP Fund IV at a $500M hard cap, an early-stage vehicle focused on India and Southeast Asia.
- • Combined with the India fund, the announced closings bring Lightspeed's total committed capital under management to over $18 billion, per the firm's release.
- • The firm launched Lightspeed Faction, an independent blockchain-focused crypto-native team led by Sam Harrison and Banafsheh Fathieh.
- • Lightspeed says today's funding is approximately 60% larger than its last flagship fundraise, with roughly a quarter of its portfolio companies acquired or public.
Summary
Lightspeed Venture Partners announced the closing of three new funds totaling more than $6.6 billion: Lightspeed Venture Partners XIV-A/B, L.P. ("Fund XIV") with $1.98 billion, Lightspeed Venture Partners Select V, L.P. ("Select Fund V") with $2.26 billion, and Lightspeed Opportunity Fund II, L.P. with $2.36 billion of committed capital. Separately, Lightspeed India Partners closed a $500 million early-stage fund ("LSIP Fund IV"), which the firm said closed at its hard cap. Per the release, the combined raise is approximately 60% larger than Lightspeed's last flagship fundraise, and total committed capital under management now exceeds $18 billion.
Fund XIV targets founders at the earliest stages, from incubation through Series B, across the firm's Enterprise, Consumer, Health and Fintech practices. Select Fund V accelerates existing portfolio companies and new investments through the Lightspeed Growth Team, and the firm said it has invested $2.2 billion in early growth companies over the past six years. Opportunity Fund II is designed to back breakout companies across all of Lightspeed's global territories, including China, India, Israel, Europe and Southeast Asia. The firm said it completed more global deals in 2021 than at any point in its twenty-year history.
The firm cited a track record of more than 500 founders across its portfolio, with roughly a quarter of those companies acquired or taken public, including 33 IPOs. It also referenced the IPOs and acquisitions of Affirm, Blend, Grab, The Honest Company and others over the past two years, which it said generated more than $2.7 billion in liquidity for limited partners. Lightspeed operates twelve global offices and said it has 70 investors across twelve cities. Lightspeed China Partners, which closed $920 million of new funds in November 2021, reported investments in roughly 20 startups and cited the 2021 NYSE IPO of Full Truck Alliance (NYSE: YMM).
Lightspeed also announced the debut of Lightspeed Faction, an independent, crypto-native team building on nine years of blockchain investing. The senior team is led by Sam Harrison and Banafsheh Fathieh. Bejul Somaia, who joined Lightspeed in 2008, was named to the firm's leadership team with responsibilities spanning strategy and global operations. Partners Arif Janmohamed, Nicole Quinn and Will Kohler were quoted in the release, and Chief Business Officer Michael Romano said the firm built a reinvestment team three years ago to prepare for a market correction.
Fund XIV targets founders at the earliest stages, from incubation through Series B, across the firm's Enterprise, Consumer, Health and Fintech practices. Select Fund V accelerates existing portfolio companies and new investments through the Lightspeed Growth Team, and the firm said it has invested $2.2 billion in early growth companies over the past six years. Opportunity Fund II is designed to back breakout companies across all of Lightspeed's global territories, including China, India, Israel, Europe and Southeast Asia. The firm said it completed more global deals in 2021 than at any point in its twenty-year history.
The firm cited a track record of more than 500 founders across its portfolio, with roughly a quarter of those companies acquired or taken public, including 33 IPOs. It also referenced the IPOs and acquisitions of Affirm, Blend, Grab, The Honest Company and others over the past two years, which it said generated more than $2.7 billion in liquidity for limited partners. Lightspeed operates twelve global offices and said it has 70 investors across twelve cities. Lightspeed China Partners, which closed $920 million of new funds in November 2021, reported investments in roughly 20 startups and cited the 2021 NYSE IPO of Full Truck Alliance (NYSE: YMM).
Lightspeed also announced the debut of Lightspeed Faction, an independent, crypto-native team building on nine years of blockchain investing. The senior team is led by Sam Harrison and Banafsheh Fathieh. Bejul Somaia, who joined Lightspeed in 2008, was named to the firm's leadership team with responsibilities spanning strategy and global operations. Partners Arif Janmohamed, Nicole Quinn and Will Kohler were quoted in the release, and Chief Business Officer Michael Romano said the firm built a reinvestment team three years ago to prepare for a market correction.
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