• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Norwest’s new $1.2 billion fund ‘allows us to weather the storm’

Andrew Nusca
By
Andrew Nusca
Andrew Nusca
Editorial Director, Brainstorm and author of Fortune Tech
Down Arrow Button Icon
Andrew Nusca
By
Andrew Nusca
Andrew Nusca
Editorial Director, Brainstorm and author of Fortune Tech
Down Arrow Button Icon
May 13, 2014, 5:02 PM ET

FORTUNE — Norwest Venture Partners announced on Tuesday the formation of a new, $1.2 billion fund focused on early- and late-stage venture and growth equity investments.

It’s the twelfth such fund for the 53-year-old firm, which is headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif. and invests in an array of technology sectors, including business/IT, consumer, financial services, and healthcare. The announcement brings the firm’s total capital to about $5 billion, and comes after a year in which 11 companies in the firm’s portfolio were acquired or made an initial public offering.

“We have a longevity that we bring to the table,” NVP partner Matt Howard tells Fortune. “We’re sticking to our process, which has quite frankly worked really well for us over the years. Our firm is stage-agnostic — we write large checks, we write small checks. And those small ones are just the beginning of the relationship. We just had an exit for a company after 14 years. It allows us to remain committed.”

The firm has been on a roll as of late with more than a dozen exits in 2013 and 2014. Among them: the cybersecurity firm FireEye (FEYE), the digital coupon company RetailMeNot (SALE), and the network services company Virtela, which sold to NTT Communications for $525 million. It also profited from a number of high-profile acquisitions, including Apple’s 2013 buy of wireless semiconductor company Passif, Palo Alto Networks’ 2013 purchase of Morta Security, and Spotify’s 2014 acquisition of music intelligence company The Echo Nest.

“The big fund allows us to weather the storm and preserve those relationships,” Howard says. “We think that what this country’s gone through — the Great Recession, 9/11, mortgage-backed securities — was a tremendously difficult period. We think we’re in a stronger position now, but one of the beauties of being a private investor is building without being whipsawed by the public market. When stocks are turbulent, it’s good to be a private investor.”

Norwest wants “to be active in all our food groups” and use the new funds to invest in a diverse selection of technology companies, Howard says.

“You try to build a great surfboard, you paddle out there in the ocean, and you can’t always time the wave,” he says. “You try to back fantastic entrepreneurs and comfort them with quality capital and build something that lasts. We invested in enterprise when enterprise wasn’t hot. We did The Lending Club, the largest peer-to-peer lending platform, and I don’t think anybody knew what that was about. You try to squint your eyes and back people that believe in the vision.”

More news about new investment funds from Fortune:

  • Spectrum Equity Investors raising new fund
  • Exclusive: Kleiner Perkins raising $1.2 billion for new funds
  • Exclusive: MHS Capital almost done raising new fund
  • Veteran angel raises new $40 million venture fund
  • Andreessen Horowitz closes new $1.5 billion fund
About the Author
Andrew Nusca
By Andrew NuscaEditorial Director, Brainstorm and author of Fortune Tech
Instagram iconLinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Andrew Nusca is the editorial director of Brainstorm, Fortune's innovation-obsessed community and event series. He also authors Fortune Tech, Fortune’s flagship tech newsletter.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
Fortune Secondary Logo
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

NewslettersMPW Daily
Three leaders on the biggest opportunities for AI in women’s health
By Emma HinchliffeMarch 5, 2026
8 minutes ago
shlomo
CommentaryMarkets
Tech billionaire Shlomo Kramer: the cyber selloff proved that Wall Street can’t price tech anymore
By Shlomo KramerMarch 5, 2026
23 minutes ago
President Donald Trump speaking after the Supreme Court ruled most of his tariffs illegal in February.
EconomyTariffs
Fed survey reveals Trump’s tariff gut punch to the backbone of the U.S. economy: small business
By Tristan BoveMarch 5, 2026
53 minutes ago
Personal FinanceWarren Buffett
Most Americans are woefully short on saving for retirement—Warren Buffett’s investing advice could help
By Sydney LakeMarch 5, 2026
1 hour ago
Stressed high income woman
SuccessPersonal Finance
Now, even six-figure earners say buying a house is unattainable—half of Americans can’t even afford to eat out or go on vacation right now
By Emma BurleighMarch 5, 2026
2 hours ago
trump
HealthFDA
‘Usually everybody loves money’: Trump’s FDA chief to start giving bonuses for faster drug reviews
By Catherina GioinoMarch 5, 2026
2 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Health
Palantir and other tech companies are stocking offices with tobacco products to increase worker productivity
By Catherina GioinoMarch 4, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Uber CEO says his ‘really demanding’ work culture includes expecting employees to answer his emails over the weekend: ‘Don’t come here if you want to coast’
By Emma BurleighMarch 4, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Real Estate
Meet a burned out 28-year-old who pays $168 a month in China's faux Venice to retire early from her Shanghai finance gig
By Albee Zhang and The Associated PressMarch 2, 2026
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Tech investor Bill Gurley says workers who went through the ‘college conveyor belt’ and chased safe jobs are at high risk of AI automation
By Emma BurleighMarch 3, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Middle East
Despite a $200 billion price tag, Trump admits the Iran war could just swap one bad leader for another
By Tristan BoveMarch 4, 2026
24 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Cybersecurity
Cities join Amazon in cutting ties with license-plate reader Flock following Ring's Super Bowl ad—that Flock 'didn't have anything to do with'
By Catherina GioinoMarch 3, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.