Four VC Firms Battle For Foursquare, Valuation Goes Stratospheric

What do Accel Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures and Redpoint Ventures have in common? Besides being tier one venture capitalists, at least one thing: They are all fighting furiously to be the lead investor in Foursquare’s next venture round.

All that competition is driving the valuation massively upwards, too. A couple of weeks ago we’d heard that the deal would likely be closed at around a $50 million valuation. Today we’ve confirmed that the final price will likely be $60 million – $70 million. They’re raising around $10 million, which means when it’s all over Foursquare will be worth up to $80 million on paper.

The front runner in the deal is Gideon Yu from Khosla, we’ve heard from multiple sources. Yu is tight with both Jack Dorsey (he’s an investor in Dorsey’s Square) and Chris Dixon (likewise, he’s an investor in Dixon’s Hunch). And Foursquare founder Dennis Crowley is relying heavily on the advice of his close friends for the deal. And those close friends include Jack Dorsey, who’s an investor in Foursquare, and Dixon.

What a choice, though. Most entrepreneurs would sacrifice a kitten to get anywhere near any of these investors, and Crowley has his choice of any of them. A final decision is expected in the next few days, say our sources.