Venture capital firm Greycroft raises nearly $1 billion across two funds

(Reuters) -Venture capital firm Greycroft has raised over $980 million across two funds to invest in early- and growth-stage companies, the venture capital firm said on Wednesday.

The latest fundraise marks the largest funds Greycroft has raised since its inception in 2006. Based in New York and Los Angeles, Greycroft invests in consumer and enterprise startups and has backed fintech platform Acorns and dating app Bumble Inc.

“There are a lot of big asset owners and managers who are trying to understand how to allocate in a high inflation, high interest rate environment. And I think that growth at a discount is where venture is heading, as you’re finding high growth businesses that are repricing back to levels that we’ve we haven’t seen for years,” said Ian Sigalow, Greycroft’s co-founder and managing partner.

Amid high interest rate and economic uncertainty, and a abrupt collapse on Silicon Valley Bank, the venture capital industry saw a 50% decline in total number of investments, in the first quarter year-over year, according to data from KPMG.

AI-related startups have emerged as a bright spot for venture funding, a major theme which Sigalow said Greycroft plans to focus on in its new funds.

(Reporting by Krystal Hu in San Francisco and Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Marguerita Choy)