Battery Ventures’ Investments Dip In Slower ’22 Market

After a busy year of investing in 2021, Boston-based Battery Ventures seems to be recharging this year.

The nearly 40-year-old firm has invested in more than 450 companies since being founded, including the likes of Coinbase, Splunk and Wayfair. In July, the firm announced it had closed new funds—Battery Ventures XIV and a companion fund—totaling $3.8 billion. Since 1983, Battery has raised more than $13 billion.

Despite the new fund, Battery, like many VC firms this year, has seemingly been much slower to deploy its money than in the heydays of last year, according to Crunchbase data. While it is difficult to tell if the amount Battery is investing has changed—specific stakes in a round are not usually divulged—the total amount of rounds it has participated in has dropped.

In the last two quarters of last year, Battery took part in 29 announced rounds that totaled nearly $3.2 billion.

However, as the VC market started to slow this year, the firm has taken part in rounds totaling only slightly more than $1.6 billion However, its deal flow has remained pretty consistent—with 27 announced deals—despite no deals yet announced in the current quarter, according to Crunchbase.

Smaller rounds

The lower total dollar value could well be attributed to rounds being smaller this year as the venture capital market has seen a pullback after a record-breaking 2021.

Battery is a good illustration of that trend. In 2021, the firm took part in nine rounds worth $200 million or more, according to Crunchbase. This year, Battery has participated in only one such round—a $220 million Series D in April raised by Reify Health.

Other big rounds participated in by Battery this year include:

• San Francisco-based DevOps startup Harness’ $175 million Series D in April.
• Israel-based cybersecurity firm Cheq’s $150 million Series C in February.
• Chile-based fintech firm Xepelin’s $111 million Series B in May.

It also is important to note that despite the highs of last year, Battery is well ahead of its pace from 2020. In that year, the firm participated in 36 rounds totaling less than $1.9 billion.

With the announcement in July of two new fund closings, there is little doubt Battery will continue to deploy a sizable amount of capital moving forward. In its release announcing the new funds, Battery said it will use the new capital to invest in companies of all sizes and stages, ranging from seed and early-stage venture to buyout.

In an interview with Forbes in July, Battery said it expects more of its growth stage investments to look like buyout deals—something not traditional in the VC market and more of a private equity play.

Perhaps Battery will have a stronger current in the second half of the year.

Battery did not respond to a request for comment.

Methodology

The total dollar amount of rounds the firm participated in reflects the total investment in those rounds, not the particular firm’s stake in those rounds—which is normally not released. All numbers relating to deals and deal size are from Crunchbase data.

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Illustration: Dom Guzman