Union Square Ventures Raising $200 M. For New Fund

admin — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 21:16:54 -0400

Union Square Ventures has a new fund in the works, along with a new partner and perhaps, a change in focus to later stage companies.

The new $200 million fund, of which USV has already secured $135 million, was first noticed by Dan Primack over at Fortune, who came across the form D filing.

According to Primack, USV has also hired "a new partner to work on later-stage transactions: John Buttrick, an attorney and angel investor who served as a partner with LiveWire Ventures between 2000 and 2004."

USV's Fred Wilson recently wrote a blog post disparaging VC firms that double down on early-stage investments with even bigger commitments later on.

So Primack finds it a bit strange that instead of sticking with their early-stage strategy USV would raise funds and bring on a new partner with a later-stage focus.

One explanation might be that Wilson sees a bubble in tech valuations right now. Perhaps this new fund is intended to avoid the over-heated market for early stage tech. Instead of searching for the next Twitter or Zynga, USV may be searching for attractive opportunities with established companies far from the limelight.

bpopper [at] observer.com | @benpopper

Observer » Union Square Ventures Raising $200 M. For New Fund

Union Square Ventures Raising $200 M. For New Fund