Announcing Acadian Ventures Fund II

We launched Acadian Ventures in 2019 because we saw a need in the market.  Founders had a desire for hands-on investment partners with specific experience building and scaling market-leading companies.  During this time, “specialization” was emerging in venture capital where highly focused firms, with expertise and knowledge of specific markets, were starting to gain traction.  

Our thesis at the time was somewhat contrarian – a seed stage firm investing globally, choosing to focus on complex, unsexy, even boring markets, typically avoided by larger, generalist investors until much later in the company’s maturity.

We are still very early in our journey. But excited to continue what we are building with the close of Acadian Ventures Fund II, a new $30 million early stage fund focused on the next generation of work technologies.  The new fund is anchored by ServiceNow Ventures and Connecticut Innovations with additional participation from venture capital firms, family offices, high-net individuals, many of our founders, and a majority of limited partners from our first fund.  Acadian Ventures Fund II is almost triple the size of our first fund and represents a total of over $60 million assets under management (AUM).

Over the last 4 years, we’ve had the pleasure of working with 35 companies and nearly 100 entrepreneurs around the world, connecting them with our operating network of hundreds of executives who have built and scaled $1B+ businesses.  One of our proudest accomplishments is achieving 96% founder net promoter score, showcasing our hand-on approach to support our founders..  

Today, we are focused on four core themes:  Intelligent work applications, work infrastructure (i.e. data and APIs), new regulatory and compliance, and the emerging global workforce.  These are all categories where we have spent time building and scaling businesses as operators and investors in leading software companies including Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, and Cornerstone OnDemand.  

As we look to the future, we do so with gratitude to the founders we serve and the limited partners who have entrusted us with their capital.  Building startups entails endurance, stamina, and perseverance.  As early stage investors we expect to be wrong frequently but as long-term investors, we will always be empathic, open, and optimistic.  We are always on the lookout for exceptional founders.  Drop us a note at hello@acadianventures.com if you are ready to start your own journey.