Industry Ventures raises $335m for hybrid VC fund of funds

Venture capital secondaries firm Industry Ventures has wrapped up fundraising on its fifth hybrid fund of funds.

Industry Ventures Partnership Holding V hit final close on $335 million, exceeding its target of $250 million, according to a statement from the firm. Like its predecessors, the fund will make primary commitments, buy secondaries stakes in smaller, early-stage VC funds, and make co-investments alongside smaller GPs.

The fund’s investor base includes government and corporate pension funds, endowments, foundations, high-net-worth family offices and the firm’s managing directors, the statement notes.

These include New Hampshire Retirement System, Rhode Island State Treasury and South Carolina Retirement System, according to PEI data. Predecessor Holding IV hit final close om $205 million in July 2016, exceeding its target of $200 million.

Speaking to Secondaries Investor in September, chief executive and founder Hans Swildens said that pockets of value can still be found in the sub-$25 million range of the VC market, “too small for a big secondaries fund and too small for anybody that’s large and institutionally funded, like a sovereign wealth fund”.

The firm held its final close on its last dedicated secondaries fund, Industry Ventures Secondary VIII, in 2016, closing above-target on $500 million. That fund invests in direct secondaries, VC fund stakes and special situations, which it classes as deals that require unique deal structuring.

The new fund of funds brings the firm’s total assets under management to $3.4 billion.

Venture capital stakes were the second most highly traded last year, accounting for 22 percent of the total, accounting to research by advisor Greenhill.