Written by Alex Iskold and edited by
Richard MacManus.
Whether you like the bubble mentality of the current era or not, it's hard to deny
that VCs play a big role in the Web ecosphere. Many prominent venture firms have funded
startups in social networking, online video and vertical search - helping to jumpstart
the current excitement about new social technologies.
With that in mind we prepared a comparison of VC portfolios. We included VCs that we
think are most active in the space, but please note that this is not an exhaustive
list. Also we have not attempted to include all of their investments, just the main social web ones. Bearing all that in mind, we encourage you to use the comments section to suggest
VCs and companies you think should be added.
We've put the portfolio companies into 4 major categories. Some compromises where made
in order to keep the list of categories short - for example Digg would be more precisely
categorized under Social News and Flock as Social Browsing, but to keep the chart simple
we filed both under Social Networking and Bookmarking.
In addition to the linked logo of each company, the table below also contains its
current Alexa traffic rank - a basic (if controversial) measure of popularity. The VC
listings include the links to their company, as well as partners working in Web space.
Also, we've included links to their blogs and Technorati ratings of the popular VC
blogs.
| |
Accel Partners
Technorati links:
128 |
Inv:
15M (*)
Alexa:
138 |
Inv:
15M (*)
Alexa:
980 |
Inv: 11.5M
Alexa:
1,600 
Inv: 18M (*)
Alexa:
51,000 
Inv: 5.7M (*)
Alexa:
6,200 |
Inv: 13M
Alexa:
69 
Inv: 15.5M
Alexa:
42,800 |
August Capital
Technorati links: 171
David Hornik, blog,
Technorati rank:
3,539 |
Inv: undisclosed
Alexa:
33,300
|
Inv: 12M
(*)
Alexa:
2,500 |
Alexa:
237 |
Alexa:
672
Acquired by Monster.com
|
Benchmark
Capital
Technorati links:
160
|
Inv: 15M
(*)
Alexa:
138 |
Inv: 1M
Alexa:
8,600 |
|
Inv:
15M
Alexa: 281
Inv: 10M (*)
Alexa:
41 
Inv: 8.3M (*)
Alexa:
1,700
Inv: 15.5M
Alexa:
42,800 |
Bessemer Venture Partners
Technorati links: 88
David Cowan, Blog,
Technorati
rank: 14,371 |
Inv: 10.25M (*)
Alexa:
3,600 |
Inv: 10M
Alexa:
190 
Inv: 4M (*)
Alexa:
3,100 |
|
Inv: 1M
Alexa:
8000 
Inv: 3M
Alexa:
2,600 |
Draper Fisher Jurvetson
Technorati
links: 232
Tim Draper
Steve Jurvetson, blog
Technorati rank:
31,000 |
Inv: 10.25M (*)
Alexa:
3,600 |
Inv:
4M (*)
Alexa:
47,000 
Inv: 7M (*)
Alexa:
500 |
Inv: 2.1M (*)
Alexa:
3,300
Inv: 7.6M
(*)
Alexa:
237 |
Inv: 7.5M
Alexa:
2,000 |
First Round Capital
(Angel)
Technorati
links: 89
Josh Copelman , Blog,
Technorati rank:
5,634 |
Pre-launch
Alexa:
6,500 
Alexa:
2,950 
Alexa:
125,000
Alexa:
33,300
|
Alexa:
3,100 |
Pre-launch
Alexa:
57,500 
Alexa:
25,500 
Alexa:
14,100
|
Alexa:
627 |
Garage Technology Ventures
Technorati
links: 65
Guy Kawasaki
blog, Technorati rank: 54 |
Inv: 7M (*)
Alexa:
29, 300
Alexa:
1,400
|
|
Inv: 1.5M
Alexa:
78,500
Inv: 3M (*)
Alexa:
5,800
|
Inv: 3.55M (*)
Alexa:
9,000 |
Greylock
Technorati links: 122
David Sze |
|
|
Inv: 7M
(*)
Alexa:
12,100 
Inv:
seed
Alexa:
5,000 
Inv: 6.2M (*)
Alexa:
21,700 |
Inv: 3M (*)
Alexa: 95
Inv: 25M
(*)
Alexa:
69 
Inv: 10M (*)
Alexa:
222 |
Kleiner Perkins
Technorati links:
591
|
Inv: 8.85M (*)
Alexa:
13,800 |
|
|
Inv: 3M
(*)
Alexa:
41 |
Leap Frog
Ventures
Technorati links:
59
Peter Rip, Blog,
Technorati rank:
7,730 |
|
|
Inv: 19M
(*)
Alexa:
14,100 
Inv: 1.5M
Alexa:
45,800 |
|
Mayfield Fund
Technorati links:
359
|
|
|
Inv: 10M(*)
Alexa: 11,600
|
Inv: 7M(*)
Alexa:
2,900
|
Mobius Venture Capital
Technorati
links: 131
Brad Feld, Blog,
Technorati rank: 1,924 |
|
Inv: 7M
(*)
Alexa:
500
Inv: 10M (*)
Alexa:
2,150
|
Inv: 7.6M
(*)
Alexa:
237 |
Inv: 8M
(*)
Alexa:
7,800 |
Omidyar Network (Angel)
Technorati links:
186
Pierre Omidyar, Blog,
Technorati rank:
none |
|
Alexa:
47,000
Alexa:
3,100 |
Alexa:
7,200
Inv: 2.1M (*)
Alexa:
3,300 |
Alexa:
95 |
Redpoint Ventures
Technorati links:
40 |
|
|
|
Inv: 8.3M (*)
Alexa:
1,700 
Inv:
15M
Alexa:
6
Acquired by
News Corporation |
Sequoia Capital
Technorati links:
410
Mark Kvamme
, Roelof Botha |
Inv: 8.85M (*)
Alexa:
13,800
Inv: 1.5M
Alexa:
2,950 
Inv: 11.5M
Alexa:
13 |
|
|
Inv: 4.7M
Alexa:
222 |
Sherpalo Ventures
Technorati links:
174
|
Inv: 8.85M (*)
Alexa:
13,800
|
|
|
Alexa:
627
|
SoftTech VC
(Angel)
Technorati links:
32
Jeff Clavier, Blog,
Technorati rank:
3,346 |
Alexa:
1,900
|
Alexa:
980 |
Alexa:
25,000
Alexa:
7,200 
Alexa:
61,500 
Alexa:
stealth |
Alexa:
9,000 
Alexa:
1,500
Acquired by AOL |
The Founders
Fund
Technorati links:
10
Peter Thiel |
Alexa:
2,170 |
|
Inv: 0.76M
Alexa:
17,200 |
Inv: 5M
(*)
Alexa:
34,400 |
Union
Square Ventures
Technorati
links: 294
Fred Wilson, Blog,
Technorati rank: 686 |
Inv: 4M (*)
Alexa:
7,500 |
Inv: 1-2M
Alexa:
500 |
Inv: 5M
(*)
Alexa:
2,300 |
Inv: 1-2M
Alexa:
154
Acquired by Yahoo! |
The (*) means that more than one VC participated and so the exact amount by this firm is not known. Other things: Angels are indicated in parenthesis. The transaction amounts/links for Angels are not listed since they are typically small and not publicized. Also, note the distinct links to the partner's bio, his blog and the Technorati rating of his blog.
What do you think - is there enough data here to draw conclusions? For example we can see that the most popular category is Search and Classifieds. This makes sense since there are many verticals to apply search to and classifieds is likewise popular. Social Networking and Bookmarking is also very crowded and competitive. What other trends do you see?
UPDATE 18/9/06: Version 2 of the chart has now been published, incorporating the feedback received.
Comments
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what is the meaning of the (*) please ?
Posted by: micky | September 13, 2006 7:48 AM
The (*) means that more than one VC participated and so the exact amount by this firm is not known.
Other things: Angels are indicated in parenthesis. The transaction amounts/links for Angels are not listed since they are typically small and not publicized.
Also, note the distinct links to the partner's bio, his blog and the Technorati rating of his blog.
Alex
Posted by: Alex Iskold | September 13, 2006 8:15 AM
Nice, but I don't see how this is/can be useful?
Posted by: Nikola Markovic | September 13, 2006 9:05 AM
Here are some uses:
- Startups to get idea of what VC are doing,
portfolios what they like to invest into.
- VC can cross-reference their portfolio.
- You can do analysis like correlating VC blogging
with Alexa rank of their portfolio companies.
You can also look at Alexa ranks accross segment.
- Look at the sizes of VC portfolios
and typical investments.
- Have single place to find all this info,
its not that easy to assemble :)
Posted by: Alex Iskold | September 13, 2006 9:19 AM
Hi,
very interesting chart!
I would definitely add Dailymotion (www.dailymotion.com) in the video space :
Alexa ranking : 550
A-round (€7m ? to be confirmed, sept 06) with US/European VCs Partech International (www.partechvc.com) and Atlas Venture (www.atlasventure.com)
See articles (in French, sorry) : http://fr.news.yahoo.com/08092006/7/dailymotion-a-trouve-des-investisseurs.html
http://www.zdnet.fr/actualites/internet/0,39020774,39363161,00.htm
Posted by: Stephane Valorge | September 13, 2006 10:07 AM
I would add General Catalyst to that list. They have invested in many of the same companies on your list, as well as some not mentioned.
www.generalcatalyst.com
Cheers!
Posted by: JonR | September 13, 2006 10:46 AM
Thanks for your suggestion! I see that they invested in Kayak:
http://www.generalcatalyst.com/portfolio/kayak.html
What other companies do you think fit this list?
Alex
Posted by: Alex Iskold | September 13, 2006 10:59 AM
"You can do analysis like correlating VC blogging
with Alexa rank of their portfolio companies.
You can also look at Alexa ranks accross segment."
I think it has zero bearing, some of the biggest and best web companies came out of firms that don't have blogs. VC's can use a blog for deal flow
Posted by: Nik Cubrilovic | September 13, 2006 12:41 PM
i agree with another poster that this information as it stands has limited usefulness. to be more useful it should have more granular categorization (companies in compared categories are very different - may want to have each category be it's own tab with sub-categories) and the dates of the investments should be listed (this will let readers estimate how much time some of those firms have left, when the space picked up, etc.).
the key use as it stands is just as a snapshot of vc investments in the key web2 areas. i don't buy the vc blogging correlation at all. are you saying that some vc blogging is going to generate more traffic and user uptake to the site then the actual utility of the web service, the pr/marketing of the service, etc.? that's pretty silly. also, your sample space is too small to generate any statistically significant insights.
Posted by: joseph | September 13, 2006 1:17 PM
Thanks for the chart; nice work. I have just uploaded in my blog (i'm sorry it's in spanish)
i miss same vs firms but i thinks it's a great job; Well done!!
Posted by: Ander Hilario Gómez | September 13, 2006 1:27 PM
Nic,
Thanks for your comments. We are not saying these numbers are something that you should go by, we are saying this is interesting information. For example, Fred Wilson's blog is very popular and his companies have good traffic. This is not a trend, but in the day and age when news and PR are critical its not to be ignored.
A lot of VCs with popular blogs mention their companies and this certainly creates them good exposure. Of course, you are correct and there are many firms that do not have partners with blogs and had great successes.
Alex
Posted by: Alex Iskold | September 13, 2006 2:02 PM
Joseph: thanks for your comments.
We started with a more granuar categorizations, like audio, video, bookmarks and networks in different columns. The resulting matrix ended up fairly sparse. We made this choice of representation to increase readability. I agree with you that it might have been also useful another way.
In terms of usefulness of data. We did not draw conclusions, you actually drew the correlation conclusion yourself. And yes, the data set is small, but this is really all we have.
This post is intended as information resouce not a research paper with definitive conclusion. It would be great to be able to track this information over time. Then perhaps we would be able to draw some conclusions.
Alex
Posted by: Alex Iskold | September 13, 2006 2:07 PM
To back up Alex's comments, let me say again that we're not claiming this as a complete analysis or exhaustive list. That kind of project would take considerable time and it's the kind of thing JupiterResearch charge a healthy fee for! ;-)
As it is, Alex spent a lot of time doing the chart and I spent a lot of time trying to get it formatted for and published on R/WW (!). Ideally we should put this on a R/WW wiki and build up the data over time (which is something I'm considering - would people be interested in that?).
Also I updated the post with extra comments.
Posted by: Richard MacManus | September 13, 2006 3:07 PM
To add, Meebo had Sequoia investment, Friendster had multiple rounds, Truveo was also acquired by AOL and Userplane never had any investment : ) .
And where is Mayfield!
Posted by: Michael Jones | September 13, 2006 10:34 PM
Kral Benim
Posted by: Crazy Carter | September 14, 2006 2:47 AM
Also Sherpalo Ventures, www.sherpalo.com
http://www.sherpalo.com/portfolio.php
Posted by: Sreen | September 14, 2006 5:30 AM
Michael, thanks for your comments and help!
Meebo is a chat platform, we did not think it fits this chart. Where would you suggest we put it?
Jeff Clavier told us that he was a seed investor in Userplane.
Other changes, including adding Mayfield will be done shortly.
Alex
Posted by: Alex Iskold | September 14, 2006 7:03 AM
Great stuff. For what it is worth, I am also an investor in and huge fan of VideoEgg. I was also an investor in Tickle (one of the earliest players in the social networking space -- aquired by Monster.com). My partner John is an investor in Trumba. We (August Capital) are really excited about new media and next gen web apps.
Posted by: David Hornik | September 14, 2006 10:30 AM
David, thank you for your comments.
These investments that you mentioned are angel investments or August capital investemented in these companies?
Alex
Posted by: Alex Iskold | September 14, 2006 11:05 AM
Like the post. You missed The Boston Associates which recently finded Offertrax. Web 2.0 is clearly a Westcoast game - for now.
Posted by: ronald pruett | September 14, 2006 12:24 PM
Thanks for your commment, Ronald. We looked at Boston Associates and we can't tell which other companies in their portfolio are in web 2.0 space?
Also, since your company is in the stealth mode, we are not certain how to classify it. Is it RSS-based shopping application?
Alex
Posted by: Alex Iskold | September 14, 2006 1:01 PM
Offertrax is the announced company and is focused on connecting merchants and consumers via RSS. So, yes it is safe to say that it is a "social shopping" application and is working to facilitate transactions not just tags and bookmarks though they will play a role. Thanks.
R
Posted by: ronald pruett | September 14, 2006 3:13 PM
Ronald, how about other companies in the portfolio. We only listed VC if they have at least two holdings in the space.
Alex
Posted by: Alex Iskold | September 14, 2006 4:25 PM
Alex, all of the investments I reference above (VideoEgg, Tickle and Trumba) are August Capital investments for sure.
DAVID
Posted by: David Hornik | September 15, 2006 1:36 PM
Thanks David, we will be adding VideoEgg and Tickle in the next update (coming soon). Trumba does not quite fall into any of these categories... Where would you suggest we put it?
Alex
Posted by: Alex Iskold | September 16, 2006 8:31 AM
Please add FilmLoop (photo) and CFares (search) to us.
Guy Kawasaki
Posted by: Guy Kawasaki | September 16, 2006 11:28 AM
Guy, what is the "C" of Cfares supposed to mean? Cheap?
Posted by: Graeme Thickins | September 17, 2006 7:56 AM
All updates have been made, please let us know if there is some other information that needs to be fixed / missing. Note that we could not obtain some investment sizes information. If its public and you have it, please point us to the site.
Thanks!
Alex
Posted by: Alex Iskold | September 18, 2006 4:09 PM
Cool Table! I was inspired to map some relationships using our LinkSViewer software (as brethren on Guy Kawasaki's blog). Check out the map and some commentary at www.linksviewer.com/blog or click on my name. The main point is that there are some interesting relationships contained within the table, particularly examining the people involved. So...the table has been put to good use! We are interested in how others would interpret the map - something like inserting a caption to our image. dk
Posted by: Dean Krikorian | September 18, 2006 4:16 PM
Dean,
This is really quite impressive! I am a big fan of networks and graphs and I think that they can lend a really big insight into the structure and even dynamics of things.
I think it would be interesting to run cluster analysis on the graph (do connected component analysis). An effective way of presenting this information is Dependency Structure Matrix (DSM) developed at MIT. Despite the fancy names it is easily digestible by everyone. Take a look if you have not seen it yet.
And as far as interesting relationships go... Nothing interesting ever happens without interesting relationships :)
Alex
Posted by: Alex Iskold | September 18, 2006 4:55 PM
Great chart but please can you add Index Ventures to the list as we're one of the leading European vc's in the web space with a portfolio which includes Skype, Netvibes, All Peers, Stardoll, Last.fm, FON, King.com, Betfair... Thanks.
Posted by: Sayula | September 19, 2006 4:41 AM
Very useful chart. Clearly the people who failed to see its usefulness weren't the intended audience. To someone in social media, at a start-up, the value of what you have done is both obvious and undeniable.
I would suggest that Tim Connors at US Venture Partners deserves a place on here with the firm's post-bubble investment in Spoke Software. Sierra was also in on that. And Clearstone invested in ThisNext.
Posted by: Alex Shartsis | October 2, 2006 12:15 PM