FJ Labs, the early-stage venture firm founded by Fabrice Grinda and Jose Marin, has closed on $260 million across two new funds.
The firm, which focuses on e-commerce and marketplace startups, has been one of the most active early-stage investors in recent years. It has backed companies like Udemy, Alibaba, OfferUp, and Compass.
The new funds bring FJ Labs’ total capital under management to $400 million. The firm will use the new capital to continue to invest in early-stage companies, as well as to support its portfolio companies as they scale.
“We are excited to continue to back the best entrepreneurs building the leading companies in our space,” Grinda said in a statement. “Our goal is to help them grow from early-stage to global leaders.”
FJ Labs has been an active investor in the e-commerce and marketplace space for years. In 2010, the firm backed Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant, in its Series A round. Since then, Alibaba has become one of the world’s largest companies, with a market cap of over $500 billion.
In 2014, FJ Labs backed Udemy, the online education platform, in its Series B round. Udemy has since become the leading online learning platform, with over 30 million students and 60,000 courses.
more recently, the firm has backed companies like OfferUp, the mobile marketplace for local buyers and sellers, and Compass, the real estate tech platform. FJ Labs has also been active in the blockchain space. In 2017, the firm led a $3 million investment in Blockstack, a decentralized computing platform. And in 2018, the firm launched a $50 million fund to invest in blockchain and cryptocurrency companies.
FJ Labs Closes on $260M Across Two New Funds
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FJ Labs, the New York-based early-stage venture firm, announced today that it has closed on $260 million across two new funds. The funds will continue the firm’s focus on investing in consumer and enterprise technology companies.
FJ Labs was founded in 2013 by Fabrice Grinda and Jose Marin. The firm has been one of the most active investors in the New York tech scene, with over 50 investments to date. Notable investments include:
- $1M in Jenny Craig (2013)
- $2.5M in Collective (2014)
- $5M in Betaworks (2015)
- $10M in Application Layer (2016)
In a recent interview with TechCrunch, Grinda said that the firm has been able to raise larger funds due to the success of its portfolio companies. He also said that the firm would continue to invest in companies at the Seed and Series A stage.
FJ Labs’ new funds bring the total amount of capital under management to $460 million. The firm will continue to invest in companies around the world, with a focus on the U.S. and Europe.