Baltimore startup funder Squadra Ventures raised $105M for Squadra II fund

Regardless of the downturn in national markets, Baltimore-based venture capital firm Squadra Ventures, founded in 2019, has raised $105 million for its latest endeavor, Squadra Ventures II. The early-stage venture capital fund managed by Squadra has already attracted significant investments, with the potential for even more in the pipeline.

According to a press release, Squadra Ventures II has already made three investments in companies specializing in firmware security for Extended Internet of Things (XIoT) devices, AI solutions transforming warfighter interactions and business intelligence ops that streamlines BI and analytics processes.

Building upon the momentum of Squadra Ventures’ $27 million first fund, Squadra II intends to invest between $2 million and $4 million in 12 to 15 companies. The primary focus of these investments will be on startups in the defense and cybersecurity sectors, which are relatively insulated from the overall decline in the technology industry.

Guy Filippelli, the managing partner of Squadra Ventures, is confident in the fund’s potential to help even more companies.

“With the right mix of people, geography and ability to maneuver in a complex ecosystem, Squadra has the pieces in place to provide transformational support that will alter the outcomes of 15 phenomenal cyber and national security companies,” he said in a written statement.  “We’re grateful to our limited partners for putting their trust in us.”

The raise comes at a challenging time for the venture capital industry, as funds face the smallest dollar amount from investors since 2017. Despite these economic challenges, Squadra managed to expand its investor base by welcoming family offices and institutional investors such as endowments, mutual funds and money managers.

According to the aforelinked report in the Baltimore Business Journal, larger institutional investors may also consider investing in Squadra after completing a due diligence process, potentially boosting the fund size up to $120 million. The firm began fundraising for the fund in 2021, initially aiming for $80 million.