True Ventures is targeting $300 million for its ninth flagship vehicle, one-third the amount it raised for its previous fund three years ago.
A regulatory filing for True Ventures IX shows that it hasn’t yet accepted its first commitment. The managing members of the general partner for Fund IX are Jonathan Callaghan, Philip Black and Puneet Agarwal, the same line-up as Fund VIII, according to the filing.
The new vehicle would be the smallest flagship fund the Palo Alto, California, firm has raised since it closed on $290 million for True Ventures IV in 2014, according to fundraising data from affiliate title Buyouts.
It is unclear why True decided to raise a much smaller fund. Venture Capital Journal reached out for comment, but did not hear back by press time.
True is coming to market in one of the worst fundraising periods in recent memory. Global fundraising totals have declined for the past three years and hit an eight-year low in the first half of this year, according to previous VCJ reporting.
A major factor behind the downturn is an ongoing shortage of distributions to LPs, which typically use returns from older funds to commit to new vehicles. True’s last four funds have generated little to no distributions to LPs, according to performance data published by investors in those funds.
True raised its most recent fund in December 2022, closing on $885 million for Fund VIII, or $85 million more than its original target.
Since its founding in 2005, True has built up a notable base of LPs. Investors in Fund VIII include large public pensions such as CPP Investments, Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois and University of Texas/Texas A&M Investment Management Company. Insurance giant TIAA is also an LP in the fund, along with the University of Minnesota Foundation, Croucher Foundation, Hillman Family Foundations, Northwell Health Pension Plan, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation and Southern Company Pension Fund, among others.
