Eniac Ventures has closed two funds totaling $220 million, the seed-stage firm shared exclusively with TechCrunch. The firm’s growth and success in raising capital is a testament to its ability to return multiple funds over the years.
New York-Based Eniac Raises $60 Million for Select 1
The first fund, Select 1, has raised $60 million for follow-on later-stage investments in portfolio companies. This vehicle was actually closed in 2021 but was not publicly announced until now. With this funding, Eniac plans to make its first investment "shortly" out of its sixth fund.
Eniac VI Raises $160 Million
The firm’s sixth fund, Eniac VI, has raised $160 million. When making new investments, Eniac’s average check size is $1.5 million. Follow-on checks are typically larger, with the largest check invested out of its Select fund being $6 million.
Sector-Agnostic Firm with a Focus on AI
Eniac is a sector-agnostic firm, meaning it invests in companies across various industries. The team is described as "pre-product-market-fit generalists," indicating that they focus on early-stage companies. Despite being sector agnostic, Eniac has been bitten by the artificial intelligence bug.
Machine learning and AI have been a predominant theme for the firm over the past decade. According to Nihal Mehta, co-founder and general partner of Eniac Ventures:
"There is some hype in AI, but we believe it to be the most transformative wave of computing we have seen since the internet."
Portfolio Companies
Eniac’s portfolio companies include 1up Health, Alloy, Anchor, Attentive, Brightwheel, Embrace, Ghost, Hinge, Hive, Level.ai, Maestro, Owlet, and Vungle. The firm was also an early investor in Airbnb and has seen exits in companies such as TapCommerce (to Twitter), Anchor (to Spotify), Dubsmash (to Reddit), Hinge (to IAC), Workflow (to Apple), Vungle (to Blackstone), and Vence (to Merck Animal Health).
LPs
Mehta declined to name specific LPs, noting only that they are a mix of "top foundations, endowments, pensions, and fund of funds." He also stated that the majority of them are "mission-driven."
Fundraising Environment
Despite the challenging fundraising environment, Mehta said the fundraise "ironically was the quickest" Eniac has done in 15 years. He attributed this success to being able to return multiple funds in the past few years.
Eniac’s Growth and Success
The size of Eniac’s funds has grown significantly over the years. The firm raised its inaugural $1.5 million fund in 2010, raised $100 million for its fourth fund in 2017, and raised another $125 million for Eniac Fund V in 2021. Over the years, it has backed more than 250 startups.
Conclusion
Eniac Ventures’ success in raising two funds totaling $220 million is a testament to its ability to return multiple funds over the years. With a focus on AI and sector-agnostic investments, the firm continues to grow and thrive in the venture capital space.
