Technology Crossover Ventures, the VC firm that has backed the likes of Facebook, Spotify, LinkedIn, WorldRemit and Zillow, as well as more recent nascent investments, has closed a fund that will see the company taking many more bets in the near future. TechCrunch has learned and confirmed that it has now closed TCV IX, a $2.5 billion fund that it plans to use for growth-stage investments.
The fund — which was originally targeted for $2.25 billion but extended after strong interest from investors — stands as one of the biggest ever raised by a VC firm. No specific details from John Rosenberg, a general partner for TCV based out on London, on when or what will be the first investments from the fund, except to note that TCV expects to make later-stage investments both in the U.S. as well as the U.K. “We expect to be investing out of TCV IX soon,” a spokesperson for the VC firm told TechCrunch.
The fund size, and the fact that it is dedicated to growth stage investments — that is later rounds in large companies — underscores a trend that we reported on in July, where the number of deals are down, but individual deal sizes for the biggest companies are still going up, despite some mark downs in the wider market.
It’s also a sign of how TCV sees an opportunity in the number of startups that are delaying IPOs and are instead looking for ways to grow while remaining private.
“If you look at the profile of companies going public today, it is dramatically different from those of 15 years ago,” said Rosenberg.
The company’s previous fund, TCV VIII, was for $2.2 billion, with one notable investment from that portfolio recently exiting: Dollar Shave Club was acquired reportedly for $1 billion by Unilever last month.
There have been several Form D’s filed with the SEC for Fund IX (here, here, and here), but this is the first formal confirmation of the amount, we understand.
