Early stage venture capital firm Hyde Park Venture Partners announced on Wednesday that it has raised $65 million to launch a second venture fund. The cash infusion will more than triple the Chicago firm’s assets under management, bringing the total to $90 million.
“We feel quite fortunate to be in this position, because it is somewhat unprecedented for a venture capital firm to triple its assets under management in just a few short years,” said partner Ira Weiss in a statement. “We are inspired by the trust that our investors have displayed in us. Together, we are excited to continue building on our shared vision of supporting the best and brightest founders in the Midwest.”
Founded in 2011, Hyde Park Venture Partners focuses primarily on early-stage, B2B SaaS and consumer marketplace companies in the Midwest. Its current 20-company portfolio includes Chicago notables like Base CRM, G2 Crowd, Geofeedia and FourKites. Since its founding, Hyde Park Venture Partners has expanded its investor team from three to five and opened an additional office in Indianapolis.
The added financial heft will enable the firm to participate in Series B rounds.
“I love what the Hyde Park team is doing to fill the fundraising gap in the Midwest, and I’m excited about the deep go-to market experience they bring to their portfolio companies,” said G2 Crowd Founder Godard Abel in a statement.
Seven of the firm’s portfolio companies raised a total of $160 million in follow-on capital in the past year.
Along with the additional funding, the firm is also bringing in a new slate of advisors, including Dave Knox of Rockfish Interactive and Todd Richardson, formerly of ExactTarget. They will join existing advisors like Sam Yagan and Gregg Kaplan, founders of Match.com and RedBox, respectively.
Vindicated in its decision to focus on the Midwest, Partner Tim Kopp said the firm is doubling down on that strategy.
“We believe there’s no better place than the Midwest to base our activity,” he said. “I consider it the ‘triple-bottom line’ because we are not only focused on driving great returns to the shareholders, but also building up the tech ecosystem while creating winning communities.”
Image via Hyde Park Venture Partners.
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