Venture capital firm Sapphire Ventures has closed $1bn in new capital, with the money coming from its sole limited partner, Germany-headquartered enterprise software provider SAP.
Founded as SAP Ventures by SAP in 1996, the firm spun out in 2011 and changed its name to Sapphire in late 2014. SAP remains its sole limited partner, but does not have a direct say in how the firm is managed.
Sapphire targets enterprise and consumer technology developers, and invests in technology funds in Europe, the US and Israel through a separate evergreen vehicle. The $1bn will be divided between a $300m early-stage fund and a $700m growth fund, according to TechCrunch.
The firm typically provides between $5m and $25m as an initial investment, and generally aims to lead the round and take a board seat in the process. The latest capital injection means it has about $2.4bn under management.
Nino Marakovic, Sapphire Ventures’ managing director and CEO, said: “In today’s rapidly changing marketplace, high-growth startups need the support of experienced, focused and deep-pocketed investors in order to stay competitive. Sapphire is better poised than ever to be this kind of partner for our portfolio companies.”
Sapphire’s current portfolio includes One97 Communications, the e-commerce company that owns mobile payment platform Paytm, as well as data centre technology provider Nutanix, e-signature technology developer DocuSign and software integration company MuleSoft.
The firm has in its time funded more than 130 companies and achieved 38 exits, with some of the most notable being social network LinkedIn, online search platform Just Dial, data storage provider Box, fitness tracker producer Fitbit and mobile payment platform Square.