(Bloomberg) -- Bling Capital, a venture firm targeting the earliest of startups, has raised $270 million at a difficult time for most of the venture capital industry.
The firm was founded by Ben Ling, whose nickname inspired its name, a Silicon Valley veteran who has held senior roles at companies including Google, YouTube and Facebook. In his prior role at Khosla Ventures and also through personal investments, he was an early backer of companies including Lyft Inc., Palantir Technologies Inc. and Instacart Inc.
The latest fundraising is Bling’s fourth since launching in 2018, and will be split across two funds. One of the funds is for pre-seed and seed-stage startups, meaning companies at their youngest stages. The other fund will invest in slightly larger startups, through their Series B funding rounds.
Bling now has more than $750 million in assets under management. Its headquarters is in Miami, with other offices located across the US. It plans to invest in a variety of industries, including artificial intelligence, software, healthcare, consumer companies and financial technology.
Existing portfolio companies include AI-enabled fintech Vise Technologies Inc., shipping and logistics platform Veho Tech Inc. and private company data platform Grata Inc. Part of the way Bling works with its portfolio companies is creating what it calls a Product Council, which includes numerous senior tech leaders who are available to advise startups on business development questions.
Investor backing for venture capital firms has fallen since the pandemic boom and many startups have struggled to raise money in recent years — but Ling said that now is an especially good time to invest. “The people that are starting companies right now are very serious about their goals and putting a dent in the world.”
Bling General Partner Kyle Lui said all of the firm’s major existing limited partners put more money into the newest Bling funds, a vote of confidence in the firm. Lui, who joined after a stint at DCM, said “we’re probably more bullish than ever.”
One of those limited partners is Lance Cottrill, managing director at Horsley Bridge, who highlighted the firm’s strategy of offering product advisers to startups. “In a really crowded venture landscape, having something that stands out as being truly impactful to founders is a must-have,” Cottrill said.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.