Valar Ventures
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Venture capital |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Founder | Andrew McCormack, James Fitzgerald, Peter Thiel |
| Headquarters | Manhattan, New York City , United States |
Area served | Europe, United Kingdom, United States, Canada |
Key people | Andrew McCormack (managing partner), James Fitzgerald (managing partner), Peter Thiel |
Valar Ventures is a venture capital firm headquartered in the United States, established in 2010 by Andrew McCormack, James Fitzgerald, and Peter Thiel. The company focuses its investments on technology startups located outside of Silicon Valley, with particular attention to markets across Europe, the UK, the US, and Canada. Initially formed as a spin-off from Thiel Capital—Peter Thiel's San Francisco-based parent organization—Valar Ventures now operates from offices near Madison Square in Manhattan. The firm's name is inspired by the Valar, powerful entities featured in J. R. R. Tolkien's mythology. Andrew McCormack and James Fitzgerald hold positions as managing partners.
Investments
Valar was the pioneering venture fund to back Xero, making its debut investment in October 2010 when the company's valuation was approximately $98 million. The firm subsequently led several funding rounds that helped elevate Xero's market capitalization to over $4 billion by February 2014.
The firm also spearheaded the Series A and B funding rounds for TransferWise in January 2013 and April 2014, respectively. Following Valar's participation, Andreessen Horowitz took the lead in TransferWise's Series C round. It is noteworthy that financier Jeffrey Epstein invested $40 million across two funds managed by Valar Ventures during 2015 and 2016.
Both Xero and TransferWise received capital from Valar's inaugural $100 million fund, which incorporated a $32 million vehicle dedicated specifically to New Zealand investments. Additional significant portfolio companies include Breather, N26 (which secured €10 million in a 2016 Series A), Descomplica, Dinda, Even, EyeEm, Granify, Homie, Lystable, Oppa, fintech enterprise Stash, TradeIt, and Vend.
In 2018, Valar led the Series A financing round for fintech startup Petal and followed with a second round for German insurtech company Coya. By February 2019, Valar led a $28 million Series B financing for Cluno, a German mobility and fintech firm, with additional investments from Acton Capital Partners and Atlantic Labs.