Seattle-based Madrona Capital is celebrating its 30 years in enterprise by elevating $770 million in contemporary capital. This is the agency’s largest fundraise up to now, exceeding $690 million throughout two funds Madrona closed in 2022.
While an 11% capital pool upsize could not appear vital, any enhance at a time when many enterprise outfits are compelled to scale back their fund hauls is an indication that restricted companions are excited concerning the agency’s prospects and up to date observe file.
Madrona’s managing director, Matt McIlwain, instructed TechCrunch that it helped that final 12 months — in a market the place exits have been few and much between — the agency offered a number of portfolio corporations and distributed capital to its traders. The agency’s current exits embody Lexion, which offered to Docusign for $165 million, and Octo AI, which Nvidia acquired for a reported $250 million.
“The LP community is generally concerned about distributions,” McIlwain stated. “I think we stood out as a firm that had done really well on that front, not just this past year, but over many years.”
Madrona began as a bunch of “super angels” who wrote a examine to an internet bookseller, Amazon, in 1995. The agency has since developed right into a multi-stage investor that has backed corporations like Redfin, Smartsheet, Snowflake and, extra not too long ago, AI startups Typeface and Runway.
Although Madrona undoubtedly benefited from being the most important VC agency in the identical geographic location as Amazon and Microsoft, it determined to enterprise past Seattle by opening an workplace in Silicon Valley in 2022.
McIlwain stated that the contemporary capital shall be used to spend money on AI functions in domains starting from journey to life sciences, in addition to in infrastructure corporations that “can remove friction” between foundational fashions and customers. The agency will again about 30 pre-seed, seed and Series A startups from its roughly $490 million early-stage fund, and the remaining capital will go in direction of 12 corporations elevating their Series B or Series C.
As Madrona enters its fourth decade, this can be very optimistic about what’s forward in 2025. McIlwain described the present circumstances as a ‘risk-on mindset’ that can assist foster entrepreneurship and create worth.
