UPFRONT VENTURES

is a Santa Monica-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology companies. It is one of the largest venture capital firms in Los Angeles, with $2 billion in total raised funds.

Last year the company closed its seventh early-stage fund of $280 million alongside its third $200 million growth vehicle and $185 million in our continuation fund - giving the company a total of $650 million dollars to invest in seed and early stage companies.

In a blog post, Upfront Ventures chief executive Mark Suster said the $655 million would go toward companies in health care and applied biology, defense technologies, agriculture technology and sustainability, fintech, and gaming infrastructure.

The volatile economic environment hasn’t changed how Upfront tackles funding.

“In the past decade we have remained consistent, investing in 12–15 companies per year at the earliest stages of their formation with a median first check size of approximately $3 million,” Suster wrote on his blog.

Upfront also kicked off 2022 by bringing back in-person events such as community breakfasts, sunset happy hours and the Upfront Summit at the Banc of California Stadium with speakers such as Jeffrey Katzenberg who talked about the future of digital technology.

The VC firm also expanded its team by hiring 10 additional employees last year. Most recently, the company welcomed Nick Kim, a partner focusing on seed and early-stage investing here at the firm. Upfront also opened its second office, in San Francisco, with a team of six investing professionals working out of the space.