General Catalyst raises fund V

General Catalyst Partners raised $715 million from 77 investors for two funds, according to recent regulatory filings.

The funds, General Catalyst Group V and General Catalyst Group V Supplemental, amount to a 78% increase over the firm’s previous fund, a $400 million vehicle raised in 2005.

The Cambridge, Mass.-based firm was founded in 2000 and invests in information technology companies across stages. It has yet to take a startup public, according to Thomson Financial (publisher of PE Week).

General Catalyst has sold four of the 76 companies it has backed during its seven-year history. It sold instant messaging security company IMlogic, which had raised $33.75 million, to Symantec for $90.7 million in 2005. It sold financial advising service UPromise, which had raised $118 million, to Sallie Mae for an undisclosed amount in 2006. It sold travel planner Away.com to Orbitz for an undisclosed amount. And it sold two-way radio communications company Smartlink Radio Networks, which had raised $27 million, to CalAmp Corp. in March for $8 million.

Massachusetts-based venture firms have raised $4.5 billion so far this year. Other large funds raised in the Bay State this year include the seventh fund of Battery Ventures, which raised $750 million; the $550 million fourth fund of MPM BioVentures; the $545 million growth equity fund raised by North Bridge Venture Partners; and the $362.6 million raised by Spark Capital. —Alexander Haislip