A Boston venture capital firm that launched three years ago has raised its second fund.
Brewer Lane Ventures has finished raising nearly $203 million for “Brewer Lane Ventures Fund II, L.P.” The fundraising was laid out in a series of filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the latest of which was made August 10.
The firm made its first filing for the second fund on June 29, 2022, indicating it planned to raise $200 million. Exactly one year later, another Brewer Lane filing showed the firm had raised almost $181 million toward its goal amount. A filing last week noted that Brewer Lane Ventures’ second fund had grown to almost $203 million.
Founder and managing partner John Kim confirmed the second fund to BostInno and said the firm will focus on investing in fintech and insurtech companies, as it did with its first fund. Kim said the firm has already funded two companies with its second fund.
Brewer Lane Ventures launched in 2020. The firm is led by Kim and Martha Notaras, who previously led the Menlo Park, Ca.-based insurtech venture capital fund XL Innovate. Kim said the firm’s first fund weighed in at $172 million. The team invests in early-stage insurtech and fintech companies, primarily in Series A and B rounds.
Kim said Brewer Lane Ventures invested in 20 companies with its first fund. Those include Boston-based Hi Marley, an insurtech enterprise SAAS company and BostInno 2022 Fire Awards honoree. The firm’s other investments were largely concentrated in companies based in New York and California.
Generally, fundraising by Massachusetts VC firms has been down in 2023. Data for the first half of the year provided by Pitchbook and the National Venture Capital Association show Bay State firms raised around $4.4 billion. That’s slightly behind last year’s numbers, which reached $11 billion. On the national level, Pitchbook/NVCA said the first half of 2023 data shows the full-year fundraising figure is on track to hit a six-year low.
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