Harpoon Ventures Raises $125 Million to Support Startups

Early-stage venture capital (VC) firm Harpoon Ventures has closed a $125 million fund to support enterprise startups serving the public and private sectors. 

“We’re thrilled to announce the close of our latest fund,” the firm said in a Friday (Dec. 8) post on LinkedIn. “This milestone marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter as we continue to partner with visionary founders to help them transform their industries.” 

This is the firm’s third institutional fund, and it brings its assets under management to $300 million, Larsen Jensen, founder of Harpoon Ventures, said in an announcement attached to the company’s post. 

With it, the firm will continue to invest in artificial intelligence (AI), deep tech, cybersecurity, enterprise infrastructure and other fields, the announcement said. 

“Being an active teammate is an overused VC buzzword, but we thrive working in the trenches with our founders,” Jensen said in the announcement. “It’s how we stay close to shifting trends and bring value to our portfolio.” 

To date, Harpoon Ventures has helped its companies win $500 million in new customer deals from Fortune 500 and government customers, and has helped to syndicate nearly $1 billion in follow-on financings, per the announcement. 

This latest raise comes at a time when economic uncertainty can foster innovation, companies with compelling solutions and durable capital partners can emerge as frontrunners, and a new digital age of AI and integrated systems is emerging, the announcement said. 

“We’re looking forward to the next generation of Harpoon and the next generation of technology that is going to positively change the fabric of the world,” Jensen said in the announcement. 

Harpoon Ventures is five years old and invests in commercial products that can also be sold to federal agencies, Bloomberg reported Friday. 

The firm invests early and holds onto the shares for perpetuity, according to the report. 

“We want to build an organization that lasts for decades,” Jensen told the media outlet. 

This announcement comes at a time when there has been a drastic drop in VC spending. During the second quarter, American investors backed one-third fewer startup deals than they did a year ago.