Voyager Capital is raising cash for another fund to invest in more early-stage business-to-business startups based across the Pacific Northwest.
A new SEC filing revealed the fund, the firm’s sixth in its 25-year history.
Diane Fraiman, Voyager managing director, confirmed the new fund in response to a GeekWire inquiry. Voyager is targeting $100 million for the sixth fund, with a “hard cap” of $125 million, she said.
Voyager previously raised $100 million for its fifth fund in 2019, following a $50 million fund in 2013.
Founded in 1997, Voyager has backed more than 75 companies in the Pacific Northwest, accumulating more than $520 million in assets under management.
Voyager has offices in Seattle and Portland. It focuses on investing in startups based in Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, and Alberta that build software-as-a-service, cloud infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and machine learning-related products and services.
Active companies in Voyager’s portfolio include: Carbon Robotics, Treasury4, WellSaid Labs, Hiya, Syndio, and others. Its exits include Zipwhip, which was acquired by Twilio in 2021, and Yapta, which was acquired by Coupa Software in 2020, among others.
Venture capital fundraising has slowed amid elevated interest rates and the recent tech downturn. PitchBook reported that $33.3 billion was raised across 233 venture funds for the first half of the year. Firms raised more than $167 billion in 2022.
Earlier this summer, Voyager Capital Managing Director Bill McAleer spoke at a panel discussion in downtown Seattle. He shared insights about the forces he sees that are poised to bring the venture capital markets out of its dry spell.
McAleer cited recently laid-off tech workers from larger companies seeking new opportunities at startups; early-stage companies that are being reprised at lower valuations, which can benefit venture capitalists; and the recent growth in adoption of generative AI. He said the market for AI tools will soon rival or surpass the impact of cloud tech.
Other Pacific Northwest firms that announced new funds this year include PSL Ventures, Ascend, Madrona Venture Labs, and AI2.
