SOSV Targets $250 Million For Fourth Flagship Fund

It’s Friday afternoon, and you know what that means: a venture firm has filed paperwork with the SEC to raise new capital.

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SOSV, a prolific seed and early-stage investment firm that also runs a network of vertical-specific accelerator programs, intends to raise its fourth flagship venture fund. According to an amended SEC filing posted this afternoon, the self-described “Accelerator VC” is targeting $250 million for “SOSV IV LP.” The paperwork indicates that the firm has yet to close capital from limited partners. And for those wondering about the “amended” nature of today’s filing, note that SOSV first filed Fund IV paperwork on Thursday; however, that filing lacked information about target fund size.

SOSV’s third flagship fund was $150 million. At this time, no information about the firm’s first or second funds was immediately available either through Crunchbase or the SEC.

SOSV’s self-framing as the “Accelerator VC” is apt, considering its affiliation with a global network of accelerator programs like Chinaccelerator, HAX, RebelBio, IndieBio, FOOD-X, Selr8r, and Carma Axlr8r. Taken together, between direct investments through SOSV and its network of accelerators, SOSV is consistently among the most active seed and early-stage investors in the world each quarter.

SOSV has had a number of exits in its portfolio, most recently by way of JUMP Bikes, which, according to Crunchbase data, was acquired by Uber in April 2018 for $200 million. SOSV co-led JUMP Bikes’s first round—a $1.3 million angel deal from May 2013—with prolific individual investor David Rose.

The filing for SOSV’s fourth fund is one of the largest since SV Angel, one of the most active seed firms, announced on June 1st that it will no longer raise outside capital to invest in startups. Veteran investor Ron Conway and his son Topher, who collectively lead SV Angel, opted to eschew outside LP capital, observing that “seed investors are raising larger funds, becoming more ownership-focused and investing primarily on adoption and traction.”

With plans to raise a quarter billion dollars in dry powder, SOSV is arguably one of the firms leading that trend.

Illustration: Li-Anne Dias