TCV reins in $3B for fund VII

Technology Crossover Ventures last week closed a $3 billion seventh fund that is more than double the size of its prior fund.

The new fund comes just two years after TCV finished raising $1.4 billion for its last fund, TCV VI, which was the largest venture fund raised in 2005. TCV also says its seventh fund is the largest tech-focused venture capital fund closed in 2007.

General Partner Rick Kimball says the firm increased the fund size to expand its investment timetable from two years to four years.

“As much as we like fund-raising, we like investing better,” says Kimball, who adds that the firm plans to hire at the partner, principal and venture partner levels in coming months. TCV VII brings the firm’s total capital under management to $7.7 billion.

Limited partners in the new fund include the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, New York State Teachers’ Retirement System, Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association, Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association, Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board and the University of Texas Investment Management Co.

With TCV VII, firm partners say they plan to extend their current strategy of investing in later-stage technology companies. Fund VII will focus on Internet, financial technology, communications infrastructure, software and health care IT. The funds will be invested by TCV’s 28-member team, which includes eight partners.

In September, TCV took part in a $27 million later stage round for fast-growing real estate site Zillow and a $12.5 million early stage round in Intelligent Beauty, an Internet marketing service for beauty brands. In August, the firm partnered with the Blackstone Group to complete a $1.4 billion buyout of Travelport, a distributor of travel information and major stakeholder in travel site Orbitz Worldwide.

The firm saw some liquidity in May when TechTarget, a publisher of IT-focused content, raised $100 million in its IPO. The company raised about $130 million in early and late stage venture capital from TCV, Polaris Venture Partners and other investors. Another TCV portfolio company, RiskMetrics, which develops financial risk management software, is in registration to go public.

TCV began fund-raising for the newest fund around Labor Day, Kimball says, and wrapped up in early November, about a week earlier than expected.

In addition to Kimball, TCV general partners include John Drew, Will Griffith, Jay Hoag, Carla Newell, Jake Reynolds and Robert Trudeau. All general partners also managed investments for TCV VI.