UC Berkeley-focused House Fund II has raised $44m from investors including endowments for the university and the wider University of California ecosystem.
University of California, Berkeley-focused venture capital firm The House Fund has closed its second fund at $44m, TechCrunch reported on Monday.
The capital came from endowments for UC Berkeley and the wider University of California system as well as Ahoy Capital and undisclosed other fund-of-fund vehicles, unnamed family offices, UC Berkeley alumni and tech industry executives.
The fund originally had a $50m target, according to a late 2017 regulatory filing. IT services provider Infosys is already a backer, having provided $10m in March 2019.
House Fund II will invest in artificial intelligence-focused startups founded by UC Berkeley faculty, alumni and graduates, but has raised the threshold for each deal to up to $1m of pre-seed funding, up from $50,000 to $100,000 for its predecessor fund.
The vehicle will also look to participate in later early-stage rounds and intends to reserve part of the capital for reserves. Its portfolio already includes blockchain-powered game developer Forte, decentralised cloud computing platform Oasis Labs and job search portal Placement.com.
The first House Fund launched in 2016 with $6m from University of California’s UC Ventures unit and a number of UC Berkeley graduates.
The funds’ combined portfolio numbers about 50 companies, according to TechCrunch. Both funds were founded by UC Berkeley alumnus Jeremy Fiance and operate as affiliates of UC Berkeley-oriented startup institute The House.
