After Five years and more than $400 million in investment, FirstMark Capital (early backer of Shopify, Pinterest, and others) has today announced its third fund of $225 million that will go toward early stage investments.
The fund will be called FirstMark Capital III, and is the exact same amount as the last round at $225 million. FirstMark doesn’t disclose its investors.
FirstMark is partially responsible for some of the biggest names in tech, including Pinterest, Lumosity, Aereo, and Shopify, along with some incredible exits such as Boomi and Scalent’s acquisition by Dell, StubHub (which was acquired by eBay), and NetGear, which made millions in an IPO.
Here’s the official word from the FirstMark blog post:
In the five short years of building FirstMark, it’s been humbling to see the rapid growth and impact of many of our portfolio companies. It is a testament to the disruptive times we live in and the formidable determination of our entrepreneurs. And yet, these companies also share common beginnings. A few people banding together and taking a leap into the unknown. A heightened sense of excitement pushing “final” alpha code to the world, only to discover the world wants to do something else with it. A nerve-racking decision to pass on a major partnership to stay focused on the mission. A lucky bounce that unexpectedly changes the trajectory of a company. A replenished sense of vitality as clarity of direction slowly emerges. These are the moments we cherish being a part of and we are incredibly thankful to our entrepreneurs for allowing us to be a part of their journey.
FirstMark usually secures a new round every three years or so.
Although FirstMark is staying open ended about where it will invest this new fund, you can expect to see a focus on Internet of Things, wearables and big data as those spaces begin to truly heat up.
Regardless of the investment area, for now FirstMark will continue to focus early stage investments.
