Bonfire Ventures Is Raising $165 Million For Its Third Fund

Harri Weber

Harri is dot.LA's senior finance reporter. She previously worked for Gizmodo, Fast Company, VentureBeat and Flipboard. Find her on Twitter and send tips on L.A. startups and venture capital to harrison@dot.la.

Bonfire Ventures Is Raising $165 Million For Its Third Fund
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Early-stage venture investor Bonfire Ventures is looking to up the ante with its newest fund.

The Santa Monica-based firm is aiming to raise $165 million for its third fund, according to a regulatory filing with the SEC. If it manages to raise that figure, the new fund would be 65% larger than Bonfire’s previous, $100 million core fund, which it closed in 2020.


In addition to the third fund, the venture capital firm intends to bring in as much as $65 million for a second “select fund,” another filing indicates. Judging by its previous select fund, Bonfire likely plans to use the $65 million to continue investing in its existing portfolio companies as they go on to raise subsequent funding rounds.

Bonfire has not yet disclosed any actual money raised for the two funds. The firm declined to comment.

Bonfire has carved a niche for itself by focusing its investments on B2B startups that sell software to other businesses. Its local portfolio companies include Playa Vista-based Chownow, which offers a food ordering platform for restaurants, and Downtown-based Boulevard, which makes appointment booking software for salons and spas.

In unveiling its $100 million second core fund in 2020, Bonfire co-founder Jim Andelman said the firm was on the lookout for “the weird and wonderful in this boring part of the ecosystem that is B2B software.” Bonfire closed its first, $63 million fund in 2017.

Bonfire’s other co-founder, Mark Mullen, is an investor in dot.LA.

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