Venture capital firm
Upfront Ventures , formerly known as GRP Partners , 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.
[1]
[2]
[3] Since its founding in 1996, Upfront Ventures has invested in more than 200 companies, with notable exits including
Ulta ,
[4]
Overture ,
[5]
PayPal Credit ,
[6]
TrueCar ,
Disney Digital Network , Kyriba,
[7] and
Ring .
History
Upfront Ventures was founded by Yves Sisteron, Steven Dietz and Steve Lebow in 1996 in
Century City , Los Angeles under the name GRP Partners.
[8]
GRP Partners was best known for investing in chain restaurants like
P. F. Chang's and
Starbucks , as well as retailers like
Costco and
Ulta ,
[4] but it also invested in tech companies such as
PayPal Credit ,
Overture , and
Disney Digital Network .
[5]
Mark Suster joined GRP Partners in 2007 as general manager,
[1] and became a managing partner in 2011.
[9]
In 2013, the company renamed itself to Upfront Ventures, a rebranding intended to reflect transparency and openness with
startups in their early stages, and in reference to the entertainment industry's
upfronts . The company also moved to Santa Monica, California, placing it in closer proximity to Los Angeles' tech and startup center,
Silicon Beach , although the company makes investments in companies all over the world.
[8]
[6] The firm also opened a San Francisco office in 2020.
[10]
In 2015, the company named rap artist
Chamillionaire as its "entrepreneur-in-residence", where he developed the
Convoz app.
[11]
In July 2017, Upfront created a $400 million fund, specifically established for investing in startups over the next several years.
[2]
Upfront Ventures also hosts the Upfront Summit tech conference, held in Los Angeles.
[12]
In 2020, Upfront engaged in the payroll space by leading seed round funding for Clair.
[13]
Funding rounds
Year
Amount
2017
$402 million
2014
$280 million
2013†
$200 million
2008
$185 million
2000
$390 million
Sources:
[2]
[5]
[6]
[14]
[a]
Investments
The firm’s notable investments include:
Notes
^ † Both LA Times sources give conflicting amounts for 2013, with Andrea Chang reporting $200 million for 2013 (in an article published on June 27, 2013)
[8] and Paresh Dave reporting $230 million for 2013 (in an article published on July 4, 2017).
[2] The Chang source is used in the graph.
References
^
a
b
"Full transcript: Venture capital firm Upfront Ventures' Mark Suster on Recode Decode" . Recode. April 20, 2018.
^
a
b
c
d Dave, Paresh (July 4, 2017).
"Upfront Ventures, L.A. County's biggest venture capital firm, just got bigger" . The Los Angeles Times .
^ Chang, Andrea (June 8, 2015).
"L.A.'s tech industry is booming, but how big is it?" . The Los Angeles Times .
^
a
b Dealbook (October 26, 2007).
"Ulta Salon's Backers Reap Solid Returns from I.P.O." New York Times .
^
a
b
c Grant, Rebecca (June 27, 2013).
"L.A.-based GRP Partners closes new $200M fund, rebrands as Upfront" . Venture Beat .
^
a
b
c Lawler, Ryan (2013).
"GRP Partners Raises $200 Million Fund, Nabs New Office Space And Rebrands As Upfront Ventures" . Tech Crunch .
^
"Kyriba Investment Lands Bridgepoint With Majority Stake" . Pymnts . March 26, 2019.
^
a
b
c Chang, Andrea (June 27, 2013).
"GRP Partners becomes Upfront Ventures, announces $200-million fund" . The Los Angeles Times .
^
"Upfront Ventures' Mark Suster Quickly Bought in to L.A.'s Future as a Tech Development Hub | Los Angeles Business Journal" . labusinessjournal.com . April 7, 2017.
^
"Upfront Ventures opens San Francisco office, led by new partner Maliwal" . Venture Capital Journal . Retrieved 3 August 2023 .
^ Kosoff, Maya (February 25, 2015).
"Rapper Chamillionaire is now an entrepreneur-in-residence at a venture capital firm" . Business Insider.
^ Dave, Paresh (February 8, 2016).
"Upfront Summit, ads and acquisitions of Mophie and Represent among week's L.A. tech highlights" . Los Angeles Times .
^ PYMNTS (2020-10-09).
"Clair Notches $4.5M To Help Gig Workers" . PYMNTS.com . Retrieved 2020-10-19 .
^ Carney, Michael (16 December 2014).
"Upfront Ventures raises the bar on LA with a $280M fifth fund" . Pando .
^ Watson, Elaine (July 31, 2018).
"Apeel Sciences raises $70m to expand applications for its plant-based invisible skin" . Food Navigator USA (Press release). [
promotional source? ]
^ Sawers, Paul (October 30, 2018).
"Google joins $40 million investment in same-day delivery platform Deliv" . Venture Beat .
^
"Qordoba Announces $11.5 Million Series B Funding, Led by Aspect Ventures" . Venture Beat . October 11, 2018.
^
"GRP Partners Gets IPO At Qualys" . SoCal Tech . 28 September 2012.
^ Del Rey, Jason (10 September 2015).
"Secondhand Clothing Site ThredUp Raises $81 Million at Valuation Around $500 Million" . Vox .
^ DeMott, Rick (5 March 2001).
"UGO Networks Raises $23 Million" . Animation World Network .
External links