Matrix (formerly Matrix Partners) is a US-based
venture capital
Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...
investment firm. The firm invests in seed and early-stage companies in the United States and India, particularly in the software, communications,
semiconductors, data storage, Internet or wireless sectors.
The firm is headquartered in
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto.
Th ...
with an additional office in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...
.
History
Founded in 1977, Matrix was an active player in the development of the
venture capital industry in the 1980s. The firm's direct predecessor, Hellman Ferri Investment Associates (1977 to 1982), was founded by Paul J. Ferri and
Warren Hellman. In 1982, Ferri and Hellman split ways and Ferri went to focus on early-stage companies, forming Matrix in Boston, Massachusetts while Hellman founded the San Francisco-based private equity firm,
Hellman & Friedman
Hellman & Friedman LLC (H&F) is an American private equity firm, founded in 1984 by Warren Hellman and Tully Friedman, that makes investments primarily through leveraged buyouts as well as growth capital investments. H&F has focused its efforts ...
which focused on later-stage firm investments.
Among the firm's notable investments, Matrix Partners was an early-stage investor in
Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Comput ...
,
Arrowpoint Communications,
Digium,
JBoss,
JustFab,
PSINet,
SanDisk,
Silverstream Software,
TheLadders.com, Sonus Networks,
Tivoli Software, Tollbridge Technologies,
VERITAS Software
Veritas Technologies LLC is an American international data management company headquartered in Mountain View, California, Santa Clara, California. The company has its origins in Tolerant Systems, founded in 1983 and later renamed Veritas Softwa ...
,
Vermeer Technologies Incorporated, and
Xilinx
Xilinx, Inc. ( ) was an American technology and semiconductor company that primarily supplied programmable logic devices. The company is renowned for inventing the first commercially viable field-programmable gate array (FPGA). It also pioneered ...
.
In 1985, Matrix raised its first
institutional
An institution is a humanly devised structure of rules and norms that shape and constrain social behavior. All definitions of institutions generally entail that there is a level of persistence and continuity. Laws, rules, social conventions and ...
private equity fund. In 2001, Matrix Partners completed fundraising for Matrix Partners VII, a $1 billion venture capital fund. In 2006, Matrix raised Matrix Partners VIII fund, with $445 million of investor commitments. In 2006, Matrix also raised a separate $150 million India fund. In July 2009, Matrix raised Matrix IX fund with $600 million. As of 2018, the firm has raised eleven U.S venture capital funds and five China focused funds. In November 2021, ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' reported that Matrix Partners is a major investor in Chinese semiconductor firms, raising U.S. national security concerns.
In July 2024, Matrix Partners announced a renaming and organizational update, with its Indian arm becoming DZ47 (with the brand name of Z47) and its Chinese arm becoming
MPCi, while the U.S. operations will continue under the Matrix brand.
Investments
In August 2023, the firm led a $3.5 million seed round for Wootz.work global sourcing platform for custom engineering equipment and solutions.
In May 2023, the firm’s Indian arm extended its then current fund from $450 million to $525 million for the South Asian market.
In April 2024, AI platform SiftHub raised $5.5 million in a round led by Matrix Partners India and Blume Ventures.
References
External links
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{{Venture capital firms
Venture capital firms of the United States
Financial services companies established in 1977
1977 establishments in California