Foundation Capital is a
venture capital
Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...
firm located in
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...
. The firm was founded in 1995, and in 2012 managed more than $2.4 billion in investment capital.
History
Foundation Capital was founded in 1995.
The firm raised its seventh and at the time the largest fund of $750 million in April 2008. It was one of
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
's original investors.
In 2013 the firm closed its seventh fund with $282 million and its eighth fund in 2015 with $325 million.
Foundation Capital has invested in approximately 200+ ventures over the course of the last 19 years, 23 of which have had initial public offerings. It currently maintains investments in around 80 companies. Most investments fall under the areas of consumer tech,
fin-tech, mar-tech, energy, enterprise tech, and applications. Its partners have been members of the founding executive teams of Silicon Valley startups of the past two decades, with each having an average of 15 years of operating experience.
In 2019 Foundation Capital closed its ninth fund with $350 million in commitments.
Foundation Capital was an investor in the bankrupt
crypto
Crypto commonly refers to:
* Cryptocurrency, a type of digital currency secured by cryptography and decentralization
* Cryptography, the practice and study of hiding information
Crypto or Krypto may also refer to:
Cryptography
* Cryptanalysis, ...
company
FTX.
Programs
The firm's Entrepreneur-in-Residence program selects several candidates to incubate, train, and graduate, challenging them to develop a solid business plan for an emerging technology.
The firm's Young Entrepreneurs Program builds relationships with American business schools to offer Foundation Capital access and exposure to promising entrepreneurs and startups through various
MBA
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
networks. Through the program, the Foundation offers graduate students an opportunity to gain experience identifying promising startups, pitching ventures, providing analysis of the opportunities, and building constructive relationships.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Conversation on Entrepreneurship with Kathryn Gould co-founder of Foundation Capital (Feb. 2015), ''
Stanford Entrepreneurship Corner Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP) Entrepreneurship Corner (ECorner) (Formerly Educators Corner) is a free online archive of entrepreneurship resources for teaching and learning. The purpose of the project is to support and encourage facult ...
''
Venture capital firms of the United States
Companies based in Menlo Park, California
Financial services companies established in 1995
1995 establishments in California