Bain Capital Ventures Raies $600 Million Fund

For the largest venture capital firms, there is no shortage of capital.

Bain Capital Ventures has raised $600 million for a new fund, its largest to date, the firm told DealBook. Bain Capial Ventures, which had previously raised a total of $1.48 billion, said the round was "significantly" oversubscribed, with new investors making up about 15 percent of the fund.

The announcement comes as many of the largest venture firms in Silicon Valley are bulking up. Over the past 12 months, several have raised giant funds, in excess of half a billion dollars. Andressen Horowitz, the firm led by Netscape's co-founder, Marc Andreessen, is said to be seeking $1.5 billion in new capital, two people with knowledge of the matter have said. Accel, an early backer of Facebook, closed  multiple funds last year, totaling more than $2 billion. Although less capital is flowing into the broader venture capital industry, limited partners have doubled downed on some of the largest companies with the most recognizable brand names.

Mike Krupka, a managing director of Bain Capital Ventures, said Bain could have raised its target higher, but it wanted to keep the fund size manageable. The firm began marketing the fund last November and closed it about two weeks ago.

"We're taking a measured approach to growth in the marketplace, not an overly aggressive approach," he said in an interview with DealBook.

"If firms grow too quickly, it can be difficult," he added.

With its new fund, Bain plans to stay the course, using its traditional strategy of making early-to-late stage investments in areas like enterprise technology, e-commerce and health care. The firm, which has raised four previous funds, has generally put half its capital into early-stage  investments and the rest into growth-stage companies.  Investments are expected to range from $100,000 to $50 million. Last week, the firm led a $238 million financing round in SquareTrade, a start-up that provides warranties for technology companies like Apple.

Bain, a LinkedIn investor, plans to pursue more late-stage companies in the e-commerce or consumer Internet space, but Mr. Krupka acknowledged that valuations have felt pretty high, in some instances.

"It's hard to find the right opportunities in those areas," he said.

Bain Capital Ventures' s limited partners include the San Francisco Employee's Retirement System, a new investor in the fund, and the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio.