Steve Case's Revolution Growth Raises $525 Million To Keep Backing Startups Far From Silicon Valley
When billionaire Steve Case looks to put money into potentially breakout companies, he doesn’t keep any secrets about his strategy. Instead, he hits the road on a bus tour or publishes a book.
Whether its finding startups far from New York and San Francisco through an annual road tour called Rise of the Rest or arguing for a new wave of Internet company through a new book, Case likes to publicize his theories—and then invest tens of millions behind them alongside his partners at his firm, Revolution Growth.
The former AOL founder will have plenty of cash to test his new theory: that a class of companies need help to forge strategic partnerships and deeper policy efforts to achieve real success. Revolution Growth announced the closing of its Revolution Growth III fun on Tuesday, an oversubscribed $525 million fund that gives the firm $1.1 billion in capital overall across a previous growth fund and venture fund.
“We won’t be chasing the unicorn market,” says Case, but will target companies that have reached valuations of several hundred million and could checks of between $25 million and $50 million to maintain their growth. “The Internet is integrating more seamlessly throughout our lives,” he argues, and for companies in areas such as education tech and health tech, that creates a range of opportunities but also new contention when it comes to regulation.
Based out of Washington, D.C., Revolution believes it’s ideally located to help companies work with the government on topics such as full-time versus part-time employee rights. Case points to Uber as a company that now occupies two floors of Revolution’s office building with staff focused on policy....MORE
