Battery Ventures: About Battery

Since 1983, the Battery team has prided itself on avoiding the herd and on operating a little differently than other investors.

Testimonial We have been fortunate to back some very big thinkers who have also carved their own paths, and we continue to seek out new visionaries every day.

Our firm was founded on a set of principles that remain the pillars of our investment philosophy: a concentration on technology and related sectors; a research-centric methodology for identifying and understanding large, emerging market opportunities; a proactive approach to finding driven entrepreneurs and compelling businesses; and daily involvement with every portfolio company.

This approach has helped us to build lasting, market-leading companies while delivering leading returns for investors. We have been fortunate to work with individuals who have set out to push technology boundaries at companies such as: Akamai Technologies, Allegiance Telecom, FORE Systems, HNC Software, Infoseek, LIFFE, MetroPCS, Neoteris, Nextel, Pixelworks, Qtera, SigmaTel, Vastera, and Witness Systems.

Battery has raised nearly $3B since inception, and we are currently investing BV VIII, a $750M fund.

Our Investment Strategy

Through nearly 25 years of technology investing, we have developed a keen understanding of how markets and customers work. We blend our first-hand knowledge with intensive research to uncover the most promising people, businesses and market opportunities.

This foundation makes us agile investors, experienced with companies that are diverse in many ways:

Across an array of technologies and related sectors: We focus on sectors where our expertise and connections can make an impact, including: Internet & Digital Media; Financial Services & Tech-Enabled Businesses; Clean Tech & Advanced Materials; Software; Semiconductors & Components; Infrastructure Technologies; and Communication Services.
At all stages of a company’s lifecycle: We are well-versed in working with management teams on traditional venture investments, ranging from seed to later stage. Our team is equally adept at sophisticated deal structures such as leveraged buyouts, PIPEs, spin outs, rollups and take-privates. We can also arrange debt and are willing to do secondary transactions.
In the most interesting geographies: Because talented entrepreneurs and great companies can be found worldwide, we are active investors across the U.S. and in Canada, Israel, India, China, and Europe.

We are typically the lead institutional investor in our portfolio companies and are flexible on the amount of our investment. We will start as low as a few hundred thousand dollars in seed money and are able to speak for up to $100 million.

One Team, Worldwide

We operate as one worldwide team, with our entire investment staff working together to evaluate and support potential investment opportunities. Every portfolio company — before, during and after we invest — will work with a dedicated team with the most relevant market experience. This team is continually available to help with company building, and will tap the resources of the entire firm as necessary.

We depend on finely honed best practices to support our portfolio, but we recognize that no two companies are identical. Those differences require an investment partner who is knowledgeable, skilled and on the same page as management. That’s why our approach is flexible, pragmatic and straightforward. We believe that all companies deserve a dedicated investor by their side who will move quickly to get the job done.

A Long-term Investor Base

Battery’s disciplined and repeatable approach to investing has paid off in numerous ways. It has led us to identify and help build outstanding companies, and has allowed us to continue to deliver top returns to investors.

We count many leading institutions among our investor base, a number of which have been with us since our first fund. This extended network of strategic institutional investors – such as AT&T, Bank of America, Corning, Cox Enterprises, General Motors, Liberty Mutual, Oracle, Nortel Networks and Verizon – has proven extremely valuable to the development of our portfolio companies.

Our Words & Deeds

Choosing an investment partner is one of the most important decisions a company will make and we understand that it is difficult to distinguish the hype from the reality. While we thoroughly check references on teams before making an investment, we find that teams rarely check their investors’ references. We encourage any company that is considering working with us to talk to CEOs from our current and previous portfolio to see if we live up to our claims.