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Primera Capital

North America, California, United States, Oakland

Description

Primera Capital is an Oakland, California-based venture capital firm established in 2005, dedicated to funding early-stage technology companies. The firm primarily focuses on Seed, Series A, and Series B rounds, seeking out innovative startups with strong potential for market disruption. With a strategic emphasis on companies that are either generating revenue or are on the cusp of doing so, Primera Capital aims to back ventures with clear business models and pathways to growth. Their investment approach is characterized by a hands-on partnership with founders, leveraging their extensive industry experience to guide portfolio companies through critical development phases.

The firm raised its inaugural fund, Primera Capital I, totaling $100 million, which has been deployed across a diverse portfolio of technology ventures. This fund has enabled Primera Capital to make approximately 28 investments since its inception, demonstrating a consistent commitment to the early-stage ecosystem. Their investment thesis often revolves around disruptive technologies in sectors such as enterprise software, cloud computing, and consumer internet, aligning with the evolving landscape of the tech industry.

Primera Capital boasts a strong track record of successful exits, with 12 companies achieving liquidity events. Among their most notable successes are Xoom, a digital money transfer service acquired by PayPal for $890 million, and OpenDNS, a cloud security provider that was acquired by Cisco for $635 million. Other significant exits include Virsto (acquired by VMware) and the IPOs of companies like RingCentral and CloudFlare, underscoring their ability to identify and nurture high-growth potential. These exits highlight Primera Capital's acumen in selecting companies that not only achieve significant scale but also deliver substantial returns for their limited partners.

Overall, Primera Capital has established itself as a seasoned early-stage investor with a clear focus on value creation. Their disciplined investment strategy, coupled with a history of backing successful ventures, positions them as a key player in the Silicon Valley and broader tech investment landscape, continuing to seek out promising technology companies for their portfolio.

Investor Profile

Primera Capital has backed more than 35 startups, with 0 new investments in the last 12 months alone. The firm has led 6 rounds, about 17% of its total and boasts 8 exits across its portfolio.

Investment Focus Highlights

  • Concentrates on Series Unknown, Series A, Seed rounds (top funding stages).
  • Majority of deals are located in United States, Israel, Canada.
  • Strong thematic focus on Health Care, Internet, Software.
  • Typical check size: $1M – $5M.

Stage Focus

  • Series Unknown (23%)
  • Series A (23%)
  • Seed (17%)
  • Series C (14%)
  • Series B (14%)
  • Pre Seed (6%)
  • Debt Financing (3%)

Country Focus

  • United States (69%)
  • Israel (14%)
  • Canada (11%)
  • United Kingdom (6%)

Industry Focus

  • Health Care
  • Internet
  • Software
  • Education
  • Biotechnology
  • Advertising
  • Automotive
  • Publishing
  • Saas
  • Information Technology
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FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Learn who this investor regularly partners with—both firms and angels—and explore their latest activity.

Who does Primera Capital frequently co-invest with?

ADM Ventures
North America, Illinois, United States, Decatur
Co-Investments: 1
Gabriel Venture Partners
North America, California, United States, San Mateo
Co-Investments: 2
Kleiner Perkins
North America, California, United States, Menlo Park
Co-Investments: 2
Techstars
North America, Colorado, United States, Boulder
Co-Investments: 2
Real Ventures
North America, Quebec, Canada, Montréal
Co-Investments: 3
Barclays Corporate Banking
Europe, England, United Kingdom, London
Co-Investments: 1
Bessemer Venture Partners
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Co-Investments: 3
Mistral Venture Partners
North America, Ontario, Canada, Ottawa
Co-Investments: 2
Alumni Ventures
North America, New Hampshire, United States, Manchester
Co-Investments: 2
Zeev Ventures
North America, California, United States, Palo Alto
Co-Investments: 6

Which angels does Primera Capital often collaborate with?

OS
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Shared Deals: 1
OZ
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Shared Deals: 1
MW
North America, New York, United States, New York
Shared Deals: 1
OD
North America, California, United States, Palo Alto
Shared Deals: 1
Shared Deals: 1
DK
North America, New York, United States, New York
Shared Deals: 2
Eyal Gura
Asia, Israel
Shared Deals: 2
CG
North America, California, United States
Shared Deals: 1
BM
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Shared Deals: 1
MC
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Shared Deals: 1

What are some of recent deals done by Primera Capital?

Air Protein

Pleasanton, California, United States

Air Protein develops protein-enriched food made from CO2.

BiotechnologyFood and BeverageFood ProcessingNutritionSustainability
Series UnknownMay 19, 2023
Amount Raised: $75,000,000
GLIDER.ai

Fremont, California, United States

A Talent Quality Platform: vet, place and hire quality talent at scale with confidence

Artificial Intelligence (AI)Human ResourcesInformation TechnologyInternetRecruitingSaaSSoftware
Series AMar 7, 2023
Amount Raised: $10,000,000
Airlinq

San Ramon, California, United States

Airlinq is an enterprise-grade cloud and edge platform that handles complex connected car and IoT use cases.

AutomotiveCloud Data ServicesInformation TechnologyInternet of Things
Series UnknownFeb 9, 2023
Amount Raised: $10,519,234
Caramel

Los Angeles, California, United States

Car checkout platform

AutomotiveDirect SalesRecreational Vehicles
SeedNov 30, 2021
Amount Raised: $12,000,000
mimik

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Enabling hyper connected world with its hybrid edge cloud platform for a sustainable & systematic digital transformation

Cloud Computing
Series ANov 3, 2021
Amount Raised: $14,300,000
vFunction

Menlo Park, California, United States

VFunction allows enterprises to tackle application modernization and accelerate digital transformation.

Business DevelopmentCloud Data ServicesCloud InfrastructureSoftware
Series AOct 19, 2021
Amount Raised: $26,000,000
sona

Los Angeles, California, United States

sona is a digital therapeutics company, using science-backed music to improve mental health.

AppsHealth CareMedicalMedical DeviceMental HealthMusicMusic StreamingNeuroscienceTherapeuticsWellness
Pre SeedJul 1, 2021
Amount Raised: $1,000,000
Lifelink Systems

San Francisco, California, United States

Healthcare, Patient Engagement, Conversational Engagement, SaaS

Health CareInternetMedicalSaaS
Series AMar 30, 2021
Amount Raised: $9,750,000
BioSight

Carmiel, HaZafon, Israel

Biosight is a private Phase 2 clinical stage biotech company developing innovative therapeutics for hematological.

BiotechnologyHealth CarePharmaceuticalTherapeutics
Series CDec 2, 2020
Amount Raised: $27,000,000
TechSee

Herzliya, Tel Aviv, Israel

TechSee builds smart visual platforms that enable service providers to interact with the customer via a live virtual channel.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)Augmented RealityCommunications InfrastructureComputer VisionMobileSoftwareVirtualization
Series COct 26, 2020
Amount Raised: $30,000,000