Venture spotlight is a series for fintech founders who want to learn more about the investing activity of corporate venture capital arms of traditional banks and other funds with an investing thesis focused on fintech. Analysis of a firm’s dealmaking is based on publicly available data.
There’s no better way to keep tabs on what’s next than taking a stake in startups that may end up being the next big and successful company.
For Capital One Ventures, the firm is placing its bets on big data, security and identity and, of course, fintech startups.
Founder value
Much like other corporate venture capital arms, Capital One Ventures keeps an eye on potential investments that could bolster Capital One’s overall business objectives.
While that may somewhat limit the funds ability to invest in startups outside of Capital One’s business objectives, there is value in clear constraints: Capital One Ventures, according to its website, executes on deals within 2-4 weeks.
The fund is also stage agnostic, according to its website. The claim is also verified by public deal data from Crunchbase. Out of the 35 publicly known funding deals it has participated in, nearly 46% of the deals it strikes are early stage (defined as participation in Series A and B rounds).
For early stage founders, that’s particularly good news. One of the harder parts of being a nascent startup is getting in the right rooms, and Capital One’s venture arm is likely able to open a number of doors. The fund claims that 80% of its portfolio companies close enterprise sales through its network, and the average value of those contracts is $1 million a year.
By the numbers
Since 2014, Capital One Ventures has invested in 31 known companies across 35 known deals. The average deal size of the rounds it has participated in is nearly $42 million.
Capital One Ventures has participated in three funding rounds at or north of $100 million in deal size—Snowflake’s $450 million Series F; Eightfold’s $125 million Series D; and Cylance’s $100 million Series D.
Based on publicly available data from Crunchbase, the firm’s investment activity in 2021 seems to have slowed down in comparison to 2020. So far this year, Capital One Ventures has only invested in accessibility startup Evinced and fintech platform Trovata. Over the same period of time last year, Capital One Growth Ventures invested in five startups.
The venture arm of Capital One has seen six of its portfolio companies exit, the most notable of which being Snowflake.
The takeaway
Capital One Ventures isn’t afraid to move fast when the right opportunity crosses its path. The venture arm also appears to have a healthy tolerance for risk, an especially notable investing trait for early stage founders.
Data: Crunchbase was the primary source of data for funding round analysis based on their Capital One Ventures and Capital One Growth Ventures profiles. Additional data was sourced via the website or obtained by comment from the firm. Article will be updated as new deals are stuck.
Last updated: June 14, 2021