Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital Group is in talks to raise $500 million for a new early stage venture fund.
The new fund would be the firm’s third Ascent Fund, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked to not be identified because the details aren’t public.
The new fund will focus on investing in startups at the earliest stages — seed and Series A rounds. B Capital will be investing across several categories, including enterprise software, health care, financial technology and climate technology. It would roughly double its $254 million predecessor fund from 2021.
The fundraisng is separate from $2.1 billion for a growth and related funds that the firm announced in January.
A spokesperson for B Capital declined to comment.
The firm was started by Facebook co-founder Saverin as well as Raj Ganguly. It has invested in Indian online-education company Byju’s, machine learning business DataRobot, crypto trading business FalconX and customer analytics software firm Pendo.
As of January, B Capital, which is also led by Howard Morgan and Sheila Patel, had $6.3 billion in assets under management after raising its Growth Fund III and companion funds.
Its limited partners include the New York State Common Retirement Fund and the New Mexico Educational Retirement Board.
B Capital also has a partnership with the Boston Consulting Group, which includes offering advice on liquidity events, such as a sale. Stellantis NV agreed in November to buy the firm’s portfolio company aiMotive for its automotive software.
Saverin said in January that the tech correction could make it a good time to invest. “History has shown that volatile times offer fertile ground for new ideas and breakthrough innovation,” he wrote.
