Summary List PlacementSilicon Valley continues to dominate global tech investing.
Data from Dealroom published data on Wednesday ranking the top venture capital firms investing at Series A, the point at which startups take their significant VC funding.
The ranking indicates that US funds still over-index when it comes to successfully identifying and funding firms with the potential to attain multibillion-dollar valuations.
Dealroom assigned points to firms based on the number of startups valued at $1 billion in their portfolios, including those that have a confirmed valuation through an IPO or sale. More speculatively, it assigned points based on estimated “futurecorns”, startups whose valuation exceeds $250 million, again including those which have exited. Finally, Dealroom accorded points based on how actively the fund had invested in 2020.
Only one European investor made the top 10 most prominent investors globally — Index Ventures, which has bases in San Francisco and London and backed giants like Facebook, Etsy, and Dropbox. In Europe, it’s backed neo-bank Revolut and payments firm Adyen.
Yoram Wijngaarde, founder and CEO of Dealroom, said the fact that a number of the top US funds had set up shop in Europe over the last 18 months meant the continent was “firmly on the global investor map.”
Here are the top 10 VC funds globally according to Dealroom:SEE ALSO: VC investors are making big moves into Nigeria. Here’s why the African giant could be the next fintech frontier.
Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital tops the global list for Series A according to Dealroom. The fund made 206 investments in 2020 including Series A rounds in Evervault, Twin Health and Tecton. Known for its early investments in Apple, Sequoia boasts some major unicorns in its portfolio like Klarna, Stripe and SpaceX.
Accel
Accel rolled into second place with 114 deals in 2020. The Palo Alto-based fund also has significant operations in Europe through its London office and counts unicorn startups like Hopin, Monzo, UiPath, and recently public Bumble amongst its portfolio companies.
Kleiner Perkins
Kleiner Perkins boasts 83 unicorns or $1 billion-plus exits to its name and counts Brex and Instacart among its current crop.
Andreessen Horowitz
Menlo Park’s Andreessen Horowitz, or a16z, has built up an impressive portfolio since 2009 with notable names like Twitter. In 2020 a16z led Series A rounds in Deel, Brightside and Uniswap and has a major investment in $100 billion startup Coinbase.
Index Ventures
San Francisco- and London-based Index Ventures has strong roots in both Europe and the US, notably backing soon-to-IPO food delivery firm Deliveroo. The firm backed the Series A rounds for companies such as Remote and Grid.ai in 2020 and counts Robinhood and Personio among its unicorns.
GV
Formerly known as Google Ventures, GV has made inroads into global startup funding since its founding in 2009. Dealroom estimates that the fund has the second-largest number of future unicorns (141) in its portfolio among existing giants like Robinhood and Stripe.
Lightspeed Venture Partners
Snapchat backers Lightspeed Venture Partners come in at number seven. The fund has recently made greater strides into Europe by opening a London office. Lightspeed led Series A rounds in Forage and Theta Lake in 2020 and has 73 future unicorns in its portfolio according to Dealroom.
Bessemer Venture Partners
Bessemer Venture Partners is another major US fund which has made inroads into Europe in recent years. The Linkedin-backers have 60 unicorns or $1 billion-plus exits in their portfolio, according to Dealroom. The fund led Series A rounds in Danish startup Contractbooks and Tel Aviv-based Salto in 2020.
Founders Fund
Founded in 2006 by PayPal and Palantir cofounder Peter Thiel and Napster founder Sean Parker, Founders Fund has backed some major players. Major companies in its portfolio include SpaceX, Brazilian fintech Nubank, and recently-public Affirm amid 56 predicted unicorns in the fund, according to Dealroom.
IDG Capital
Founded in Boston, MA, but now headquartered in Beijing, IDG Capital is the only Asian fund in Dealroom’s top 10. The company boasts major names like Chinese EV giant NIO and Pony.ai in its portfolio. The fund has 44 future unicorns in its portfolio, according to Dealroom.
Read More