Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures targets $350M for new funds

Valar Ventures, one of the three venture funds co-founded by Peter Thiel, has filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to raise $350 million across two new funds. The PayPal co-founder and billionaire investor in Facebook and SpaceX is also behind Founders Fund and Mithril Capital Management.

Valar, a New York-based firm, plans to raise $150 million for its fifth flagship venture fund and an additional $200 million for its first opportunity fund, presumably for follow-on investments in its most high-growth investments, according to the documents.

Led by general partners Andrew McCormack and James Fitzgerald, Valar tends to invest in financial services companies. Its portfolio includes fintech startups N26, which recently raised a $300 million round at a $2.6 billion valuation, banking application Even and peer-to-peer currency exchange TransferWise.

Valar closed its debut fund on $32 million in 2014 and has since set its sights on larger pools of capital. Valar IV, the firm's largest fund yet, brought in $133.4 million in 2018. Founders Fund, Thiel's San Francisco venture firm, closed on more than $1 billion for its last effort, and Mithril, his growth equity firm, secured more than $800 million for its sophomore fund in 2017.

Banking startup N26 raises $300 million at $2.7 billion valuation