Arch Venture Fund VIII shoots past the original target of $250m.

Arch Venture Partners has raised $400m for its eighth fund. The fundraising was first announced in April 2014, when the firm was targeting $250m. The latest fund brings the firm’s total to more than $1.85bn.

Matching Arch Venture Fund VII from 2007 in size, the new fund will continue to focus on companies operating in the sectors of healthcare, energy and materials. The 2007 fund has given Arch a 24% internal rate of return on investment so far, a considerable increase over the 2004 $350m fund with only a 4% return.

Indeed, Arch has been celebrating several successes recently, with its portfolio companies Agios Pharmaceuticals, Bluebird Bio and Receptos all completing well-received initial public offerings in 2013.

Originally a spin-out from Chicago University, Arch was originally formed in 1986 as a non-profit affiliate corporation called Arch Development. Its aim was to commercialise technologies developed at Argonne National Laboratory and the university. It then changed course three years later when it raised its first venture fund and became Arch Venture Partners. To date, Arch has invested in more than 150 early-stage businesses.