Report: Tech VC Foothill Closes Third Fund Above Target at $110M

Foothill Ventures closed its oversubscribed third fund with total commitments surpassing $110M, according to media reports citing an interview with partner Jinlin Wang in Chinese-language publication PEdaily.cn.

The Los Altos, CA-based Foothill Ventures, known as Tsingyuan Ventures until 2021, targets seed-stage companies in the areas of software, life science and deep tech. Its portfolio includes Otter.ai, PatentPal, WeRide and Webox. It was formed in 2017 by alumni of the TEEC Angel Fund, whose seed-round investments included Zoom Video. In an August 2021 statement, Wang explained that the name change arose because, while the fund’s team has close associations with China and are all graduates of Tsinghua University, its network and investments have become more global in nature.

Foothill Ventures III had a target of $100M, according to its filing with the SEC. As of June 13, 2023, it had raised $47.6M from 47 investors after opening sales of the fund in May. The minimum investment for the fund was set at $500K.

The fund's manager also sold class-P shares in the fund, aiming to raise $21.3M. At the launch of the sale on December 20, 2024, the firm raised $18.5M from the sale of the P shares to three investors, according to a same-day filing with the SEC.