 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Venture Capital |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | Menlo Park, California, U.S. |
| AUM | US$3.7 billion (2024) |
| Website | www |
GSR Ventures (GSR) is an American venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California, with additional offices in China and Singapore. It mainly focuses on investments in China.
GSR Ventures was founded in 2004 by several tech entrepreneurs in the U.S. [1] [2] GSR is short for Golden Sands River or Jinsha River. [3]
Initially GSR had a strategic partnership with Mayfield and shared its office space in Menlo Park. [1] [3] GSR relied on Mayfield's venture capital expertise as well its connections to silicon valley. [3] However GSR's directors spent most of their time in the Beijing office. [3]
In 2005, GSR raised $75 million for its debut fund. Mayfield was an investor in it. [1] [3] In 2007, GSR raised $200 million for its second fund with Mayfield once again investing in it. [3] At this point GSR had made 11 direct investments in China which included Baihe.com and Qunar. [3]
In July 2014, GSR and Oak Investment Partners established Go Scale Capital, a $500 million Clean technology fund. [4] In March 2015, Philips stated it would sell its lighting components and automotive-lighting operations in a $3.3 billion deal to Go Scale Capital. [5] However, in January 2016, the deal was blocked by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States on national security grounds leading the deal to be eventually scrapped. [6]
In July 2015, it was reported that GSR was raising a $5 billion fund to buy overseas assets. This came at a time where the Chinese government was pushing a policy to snap up overseas technologies that China imports such as semiconductors and advanced automotive technology. GSR was considered to be a more attractive partner as it had more international experience and expertise compared to other Chinese companies. At this point, GSR had a strong reputation with investments notable startups such as in DiDi and Ele.me. [2]
In July 2023, the United States House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party notified several American venture capital firms that they were being investigated over their funding of Chinese tech companies. GSR was one of the firms and was cited for investments in artificial intelligence and semiconductor companies. In response GSR stated that partners who worked on the deals in question were no longer at the firm. [7] In February 2024, the committee released a report of its findings that stated five American venture capital firms invested more than $1 billion in China's semiconductor industry since 2001, a sector considered a national security threat according to the U.S. government.They were GSR, GGV Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, Sequoia Capital and Walden International. [8]
Kleiner Perkins, formerly Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), is an American venture capital firm which specializes in investing in incubation, early stage and growth companies. Since its founding in 1972, the firm has backed entrepreneurs in over 900 ventures, including America Online, Amazon.com, Tandem Computers, Compaq, Electronic Arts, JD.com, Square, Genentech, Google, Netscape, Sun Microsystems, Nest, Palo Alto Networks, Synack, Snap, AppDynamics, and Twitter. By 2019 it had raised around $9 billion in 19 venture capital funds and four growth funds.
SoftBank Group Corp. is a Japanese multinational investment holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo that focuses on investment management. The group primarily invests in companies operating in technology that offer goods and services to customers in a multitude of markets and industries ranging from the internet to automation. With over $100 billion in capital at its onset, SoftBank's Vision Fund is the world's largest technology-focused venture capital fund. Fund investors included sovereign wealth funds from countries in the Middle East.
Sequoia Capital Operations, LLC is an American venture capital firm headquartered in Menlo Park, California which specializes in seed stage, early stage, and growth stage investments in private companies across technology sectors. As of 2022, the firm had approximately US$85 billion in assets under management.
Silver Lake Technology Management, L.L.C., is an American global private equity firm focused on technology and technology-enabled investments. Silver Lake is headquartered in Silicon Valley and New York, and has offices in London, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
Matrix is a US-based venture capital investment firm. The firm invests in seed and early-stage companies in the United States and India, particularly in the software, communications, semiconductors, data storage, Internet or wireless sectors.
Redpoint Ventures is an American venture capital firm focused on investments in seed, early and growth-stage companies.
GGV Capital was an American venture capital firm. The firm was established in 2000 and was headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Formerly known as Granite Global Ventures, the firm had become one of the most active American investors in the Chinese artificial intelligence industry.
AH Capital Management, LLC is an American privately held venture capital firm, founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. The company is headquartered in Menlo Park, California. As of April 2023, Andreessen Horowitz ranks first on the list of venture capital firms by assets under management, with $42 billion as of May 2024.
Vista Equity Partners Management, LLC is an American private equity firm that invests in software, data, and technology-enabled businesses. With over $100 billion in assets under management (AUM), it is one of the largest private equity firms in the world. Vista Equity Partners has invested in hundreds of technology companies, including Citrix, SentinelOne, and Marketo, and has achieved many accolades in the space, most recently being named as 2023's Global Technology Private Equity Firm of the Year by Private Equity International.
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) is an American-based venture capital firm. NEA focuses investment stages ranging from seed stage through growth stage across an array of industry sectors. With over $25 billion in committed capital, NEA is one of the world's largest venture capital firms.
Spark Capital is a venture capital firm in the United States which specializes in funding early-stage startups of consumer, commerce, FinTech, software, frontier, and media sectors. It has branches in San Francisco, Boston, and New York City.
Qualcomm Ventures is the investment arm of Qualcomm Incorporated. Founded in 2000, Qualcomm Ventures is a corporate venture capital fund with 140+ active portfolio companies. Investing in startups targeting the wireless ecosystem, the group focuses on investments in the sectors of automotive, data center and enterprise, digital health, Internet of Things (IoT), and mobile.
Fifth Wall is a venture capital firm founded in 2016 by Brendan F. Wallace and Brad Greiwe. It manages the largest fund specialized in real estate technology The firm's name refers to a fifth wall of technology it provides in addition to the four physical walls of a building. It is part of an emerging category of "PropTech" investors. Major financial backers include large real estate industry companies that agree to be matched with the products and services of the firm's portfolio of start-up companies. The firm has separate funds for investments in emerging retail brands and climate technology to help real-estate companies reduce carbon emissions from their buildings.
Sixth Street is a global investment firm with around $75 billion in assets under management. The firm operates nine investment platforms across its growth investing, adjacencies, direct lending, fundamental public strategies, infrastructure, special situations, agriculture and par liquid credit businesses. Sixth Street invests in the equity and debt of public and private companies, acquires real estate, finances infrastructure projects, and provides start-up capital to new businesses. Sixth Street has been noted in the financial media for the unusual structure of its largest fund, which is open-ended and able to hold longer-term investments.
Summit Partners is an American investment firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm focuses on investing in technology, healthcare, life sciences and other growth industries.
ICONIQ Capital, LLC is an American investment management firm headquartered in San Francisco, California. It functions as a hybrid family office providing specialized financial advisory, private equity, venture capital, real estate, and philanthropic services to its clientele. ICONIQ Capital primarily serves ultra-high-net-worth clients working in technology, high finance, and entertainment. The firm operates in-house venture capital, growth equity, and charitable giving funds for its clients.
Thrive Capital Management, LLC, commonly Thrive Capital, is an American venture capital firm based in New York City. It focuses on software and internet investments. The firm was founded by Joshua Kushner who is also co-founder of Oscar Health and minority owner of the Memphis Grizzlies.
The China Reform Holdings Corporation, is a Chinese state-owned investment holding company. The company's purpose is to make investments in industries related to the national security and economy of China.
FountainVest Partners is a Asian investment firm based in Hong Kong that invests in the private markets. The firm focuses on China's media and entertainment, sports and consumer-related sectors although it has expanded into other areas in recent years.
