Boldstart Ventures begins deploying its new $367 million

Boldstart Ventures, a seed and pre-seed investor with bets in SaaS and crypto infrastructure companies, announced a new pair of funds totaling $367 million on Wednesday.

Why it matters: The fundraising process itself ended last year. By announcing the news now, Boldstart is signaling that it believes this is the moment to jump full force into the seed market.

Details: Boldstart makes very concentrated bets as it prefers to take board seats and lead on deals. Historically, Boldstart has made roughly 20 investments per fund, with founder and managing partner Ed Sim expecting the firm to make 20-25 with this new set of funds — a flagship fund and an opportunity fund.

• The new flagship fund is roughly 20% larger than the previous one, having raised $193.2 million.
• The opportunity fund was more dramatically boosted, from $75 million to $175 million, and will focus on investing in existing portfolio companies.
• The first investment out of the new flagship fund for Boldstart (which has invested in companies like Blockdaemon and Amberdata) was a crypto company, Sim says.

Background: When markets sour, seed-stage companies tend to be the most insulated from the ensuing valuation reshuffle.

• Sim says he’s seen seed-stage valuations that jumped out of 2021 still crossing his table, and he’s also seen signs that founders are beginning to moderate their expectations.
• “Markets are down,” Sim says. “Now is the moment to put it to work.”

🌴 Of note: Boldstart, having spent over two decades in New York, has also officially moved its HQ to Miami.