MENLO PARK, Calif. and SHANGHAI, China, May 14, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GGV Capital, a leading venture capital firm focused on the U.S. and China, today announced that it has raised $620 million for its fifth venture capital fund. GGV Capital V is consistent in size and strategy with the firm's previous funds, bringing its total capital under management to more than $2.2 billion.
Founded in 2000, GGV Capital is one of the only venture capital firms in the world with a single, global team investing across the U.S. and China. The firm has backed some of the most successful companies in these two markets including Alibaba Group, athenahealth, AAC Technologies, BlueKai, Buddy Media, Chukong Technologies, Domo, Endeca, Flipboard, GrabTaxi, HotelTonight, Houzz, Meilishuo, Nimble Storage, Pandora Media, Percolate, Qunar, SoundCloud, Square, SuccessFactors, Tujia, UCWeb, Wish, Youku-Tudou, YY, Zendesk, and 21Vianet.
"GGV defined the concept of a U.S./China venture capital firm," said Tim Recker, managing director of University of California Regents, an existing GGV investor participating again in Fund V. "The GGV team is at the forefront of technology and innovation happening across these two very important markets, and we are pleased to be investing again with the GGV team in Fund V."
"We're thrilled to be investing with one of the top performing global VC firms," said Lindel Eakman, managing director of University of Texas Investment Management Company (UTIMCO), a new investor in GGV Capital V. "For more than a decade, GGV has consistently built relationships with the top entrepreneurs in the U.S. and China."
Sixteen GGV portfolio companies have completed IPOs across six different exchanges since 2010 (NYSE, NASDAQ, EuroNext Paris, Hong Kong, ChiNext and Shanghai), including recent IPOs for Nimble Storage (Nasdaq:NMBL), Pandora Media (NYSE:P), Qunar (Nasdaq:QUNR), Tudou (NYSE:YOKU) and YY (Nasdaq:YY). GGV portfolio companies Alibaba Group, Chukong Technologies and Zendesk have recently filed for initial public offerings. GGV was an early investor in Alibaba Group, making its first investment in 2002, three years prior to the company's transaction with Yahoo. Three of the firm's six managing partners were named to the Forbes Midas List in 2014, and the firm is ranked among the top 10 VC firms overall.
"Entrepreneurs require different levels of expertise at every stage of growth," said CC Zhuang, CEO of Qunar. "GGV truly works as a team. We have had partners from both China and the U.S. helping us build Qunar into China's largest online travel player, structure our transaction with Baidu, and execute our successful IPO. The firm brings a truly unique set of capabilities and strategic thinking on a global basis."
"GGV Capital was a tremendous growth stage investment partner for Pandora," said Tim Westergren, founder of Pandora Media. "The GGV team played a key role in helping us think through scaling one of the world's largest consumer media platforms, evaluating global expansion, executing the IPO and growth as a public company."
GGV Capital V will continue the firm's strategy of making investments of $5–25 million into leading companies in the Internet/Digital Media, Cloud/SaaS and Mobile sectors in the U.S. and China. The firm's managing partners are Jixun Foo, Jenny Lee, Hany Nada, Jeff Richards, Glenn Solomon, and Hans Tung, all of whom were managing partners in GGV Capital IV.
About GGV Capital
GGV Capital is a $2.2 billion multi-stage venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley (Menlo Park, CA) and Shanghai, China. Founded in 2000, the firm leverages a unique operating model – one team investing across the U.S. and China, the two largest economies in the world. GGV portfolio companies include Alibaba Group, athenahealth, AAC Technologies, BlueKai, Buddy Media, Chukong Technologies, Domo, Endeca, Flipboard, GrabTaxi, HotelTonight, Houzz, Meilishuo, Nimble Storage, Pandora Media, Percolate, Qunar, SoundCloud, Square, SuccessFactors, Tujia, UCWeb, Wish, Youku-Tudou, YY, Zendesk, and 21Vianet. For more information, visit www.ggvc.com and follow GGV Capital on Twitter: @GGVCapital and WeChat: GGVCapital.