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Redpoint Ventures raises $400 mln for start-ups in the Social and mobile and clean technology

By amarndra bhushan for CEOWORLD Magazine Updated:February 9, 2010

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Redpoint Ventures, which helps entrepreneurs to build innovative businesses announced that it had closed a new $400 million fund to invest in early-stage start-ups in the social and mobile Internet and clean technology spaces.

Redpoint Founding Partner Geoff Yang said “the November IPO of Fortinet Inc (FTNT, news: 17.01 -0.23 -1.33%, cap: 1.136B, 1yr target: 21.50), a company it had backed, and the recent acquisitions of several of its portfolio companies, had put the firm in a good position to tap investors for a new fund…the firm began talking to investors about a new fund last fall and closed the funding round on schedule with more demand from investors than it could accommodate… We were prepared for a much tougher environment based on all the horror stories we had read and if you look at the macro conditions…”

Partners at Redpoint, which was a backer of News Corp’s (NWSA, news: 14.27 -0.01 -0.07%, cap: 37.390B, 1yr target: 16.08) MySpace, said that social networking and mobile services designed for smartphones like Apple Inc’s (AAPL, news: 223.02 +3.94 +1.80%, cap: 202.2B, 1yr target: 255.05) iPhone are transforming industries from entertainment and e-commerce to video games.

Geoff Yang wrote on his blog “I am thrilled to announce the closing of our new early stage fund, Redpoint IV. We feel very fortunate to close on our targeted amount on schedule in an environment where commitments to VC funds have declined almost 60% from 2008. We are grateful for the continued support of our investors and look forward to working with entrepreneurs to help them turn their ideas into industry defining businesses. You can read more on our announcement below.”

Redpoint Ventures:

Web: http://www.redpoint.com
Twitter: @redpointvc

Redpoint Ventures has helped entrepreneurs build innovative businesses that defy convention, shape the future, and change the world. From early investments in industry pioneers like MySpace, Netflix, TiVo, and Juniper to companies such as RightMedia, Zimbra, LifeSize, Danger, Fortinet and Solyndra – we stand behind our entrepreneurs helping them go all the way to the top. With our deep experience and focus on quality, we offer entrepreneurs a culture and approach that values mutual respect, meaningful relationships, and an intense commitment to succeed. Redpoint was founded in 1999 and currently has over $2 billion under management. Its partners have been involved in 38 IPOs and 63 upside acquisitions. The firm is headquartered in Menlo Park, CA with offices in Los Angeles and Shanghai, China.

Press release:

Redpoint Ventures today announced that it has closed Redpoint IV, a $400 million early stage, venture capital fund. Redpoint IV will be used to back entrepreneurs and companies that will accelerate innovation in the social and mobile Internet, cloud computing and clean technology spaces. In the past six months, Redpoint entrepreneurs have realized significant liquidity, totaling nearly $2B in aggregate market value including: the IPO of Fortinet, and the acquisitions of LifeSize, WiChorus, Networks in Motion, and Kazeon. Additionally, portfolio companies Calix and Solyndra have filed for their IPO.

“This latest Redpoint fund will help entrepreneurs fulfill their dreams in a world of promising opportunity, and signals an exciting period for early stage investing over the next five years,” said Geoff Yang, founding partner of Redpoint Ventures. “We continue to find entrepreneurs who have brilliant ideas and an increasingly strong desire to change the world. We are committed to invest in those entrepreneurs, to stand behind their ideas and to help them achieve their goals.”

Redpoint’s mission from the start has been to stand behind entrepreneurs to build businesses that shape the future. Redpoint’s collective strength and experience as a team has produced strong results investing in companies such as Danger, Fortinet, HomeAway, MySpace, LifeSize, RightMedia, and Zimbra. Redpoint has also invested in emerging leaders including: 2tor, Answers, BlueKai, Clearwell, Envia, Gaia Online, Heroku, Jumptap, and Scribd.

“As the worldwide leader of online vacation rental listing, our goal is to become a well-known alternative to hotels for vacation travelers. HomeAway represents nearly 430,000 vacation rental home listings across more than 120 countries,” said Brian Sharples, CEO of HomeAway.com. “Redpoint, as our earliest investor, has helped support and guide the company since the beginning.”

“We had a vision of democratizing publishing and changing the way people express themselves through the written word, and we sought out investors who are passionate about what we want to achieve,” said Trip Adler, CEO of Scribd, the largest social publishing company in the world. “The Redpoint team stands behind what we are trying to accomplish and has been an invaluable source of advice about how best to navigate the evolution of our business and our industry.” Scribd currently hosts more than 10 million documents read by tens of millions of readers each month.

“We are highly selective about how we invest in this current economic climate and only choose partners that are in a position to help accelerate game-changing companies,” said Fred Giuffrida, Managing Director of Horsley Bridge Partners. “Redpoint has a proven history of identifying and enabling disruptive technologies that have a lasting impact on the world.”

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