Jeff Clavier’s SoftTechVC raises big new fund.
One of Silicon Valley’s busiest seed investors now has a lot more capital to plant.
SoftTechVC, a firm formed in 2004 by Jeff Clavier, today announced that it has closed its third fund with $55 million in capital commitments. That’s above its $5 million target, and much more than the $15 million raised for SoftTech’s second fund in 2007. It also means that SoftTech now will invest between $250,000 and $1 million as its first bite in each company (plus follow-on reserves), compared to its prior $100,000 to $250,000 target.
Clavier says that SoftTech’s first two funds were anchored by another local VC fund, but that the new vehicle represents a complete “reset” of the firm’s limited partner base. New backers include StepStone Group, affiliates of AMG National Trust Bank, Cendana Capital and Industry Ventures.
SoftTech so far has invested just under 20% of Fund III, into companies like Fab.com, FitBit and OneTrueFan.
Clavier took on Charles Hudson as a venture partner at the end of 2010, and also added some support staff. He says that he has begun discussions with prospective third partners — preferably someone with an entrepreneurial background — but that no final decisions have been made.
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