D.C. venture firm Revolution LLC’s growth division, Revolution Growth, is raising up to $500 million for its latest fund, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Led by AOL co-founder Steve Case and Monumental Sports & Entertainment controlling shareholder Ted Leonsis, this would be Revolution Growth’s fourth fund. It raised $525 million in 2016 for its third fund, according to SEC filings, and $450 million for its second fund in 2011. And while the current SEC filings list $500 million as the ceiling, it is quite common for Revolution funds to be oversubscribed, so the final amount could end up being more.
The fund typically invests between $25 million and $50 million, and its portfolio includes local companies such as salad chain sweetgreen Inc., Mediterranean fast-casual chain Cava Group Inc., reverse logistics company Optoro Inc. and nationally companies such as DraftKings Inc. and Sportradar US.
The new fundraising effort is the latest in a series of follow-on funds or new funds Revolution has spearheaded, including a third Revolution Ventures fund for smaller investments that came in at about $215 million in September 2019.
The company also raised a second $150 million fund for its Rise of the Rest effort, which invests in startups based outside the traditional tech hubs across the country. Investors in those funds include such big names as Amazon.com Inc. founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, The Carlyle Group Inc. co-founder and billionaire David Rubenstein, Under Armour Inc. founder Kevin Plank and Google’s Eric Schmidt, among others.
The company also recently announced an “Equity Edition” of its Rise of the Rest Tour, which Case originally canceled in March as Covid-19 spread. It conducted it via a virtual pitchfest, with startups competing for $2 million investments. Since 2014, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest team has traveled more than 11,500 miles on a bus to more than 40 cities, investing $100,000 at each stop. The Rise of the Rest fund is currently invested in more than 150 companies in more than 70 cities across the United States.
