SAN FRANCISCO—Thayer Ventures has raised $80 million to invest in new start-ups in the $10 trillion global travel and transportation industries. Limited partners in the new fund include strategic investors, family offices, sovereign wealth funds and other institutional capital.
”We are pleased to announce the completion of funding for Thayer Ventures Fund III,” said Chris Hemmeter, managing director at Thayer Ventures. “With this unprecedented period of global change and dislocation, we believe macro-disruptions, including the current COVID-19 environment, will be catalytic toward the pace of innovation and further underscore our long-term investment thesis. Disruptions across the value-chain, when combined with shifting consumer behavior patterns, accelerate the displacement of long-term incumbent technology providers and promote adoption of more flexible models across industries. We believe our portfolio companies will help lead that process in the future.”
Investments already made out of Thayer Ventures’ Fund III include cross-industry connectivity platform Beekeeper, commercial cleaning robotics innovator Dishcraft Robotics, mobility pioneer May Mobility and hotel management disruptor Lifehouse.
“Travel and transportation are among the world’s biggest and most robust industries, serving fundamental and immutable human needs and aspirations,” said Mark Farrell, managing director at Thayer Ventures. “The return of these industries will be driven by innovators including many of the companies in the portfolios of Thayer Ventures III and our earlier funds.”
In line with its sole focus on travel and transportation technologies, Thayer Ventures supports its capital investments with a deep network of decision-makers to help capture proprietary deal flow; offer portfolio companies tactical and strategic value; and drive investor returns. Many of its early stage investments have been the beneficiaries of this approach, and have either engineered profitable exits or built sustainable businesses that position them for continued growth and market leadership, according to the company.
“We’re excited about the progress and culmination of funding for our third fund, and I’m pleased to be a part of a business that has grown, evolved and become more impactful in a dynamic marketplace, providing our companies with strategy and execution to be successful and repeatable,” said Thayer Managing Director Jeff Jackson.
