US: Prominent early-stage venture capital firms Thayer Ventures and Derive Ventures have combined to form a new platform called Thayer Investment Partners [TIP].
Founded in 2009 and 2022 respectively, Thayer Ventures and Derive Ventures both invest in early-stage travel and hospitality.
The former retains a strategic focus on technology within the global travel and transportation industry, prioritising early-stage B2B companies, but selectively looking at seed and later-stage deals with selective B2C activity. Thayer Ventures currently manages four active investment vehicles with over $300 million in capital deployed and more than 30 active portfolio companies, including Sonder, BookingPal, NoiseAware, Mews, Duetto, Canary Technologies, HyperGuest and Operto.
Meanwhile, Derive Ventures is investing in the “advancement of travel, experiences, hospitality and real estate” with a mission to bridge the gap between technology and travel. Derive currently has over $45 million of assets under management and targets investments in core travel and tangential sectors, including in Mews, Canary Technologies, Naya Homes, Operto, Topkey, Directo and Way.
The new platform, Thayer Investment Partners [TIP], will leverage the experience of the founding members of both firms to drive value for industry partners and invest in a new generation of innovative startup companies. Thayer Ventures’ Chris Hemmeter and Derive’s founders, Tyler Carrico and Mike Scott, will serve as managing partners for TIP, which is set to launch a new investment fund in the coming weeks.
Lee Pillsbury, founder of Thayer Lodging Group, which sold to Brookfield in 2014, and managing director of Thayer Ventures Funds, will continue his role as managing director. Previous funds launched by Thayer Ventures and Derive Ventures, respectively, will continue to be managed as they have been since inception; new funds will be managed under the combined TIP leadership.
Hemmeter said: “This is a transformative moment for Thayer’s portfolio companies, for our industry partners and for investors. Thayer and Derive are already the leading early-stage investors in travel and hospitality, together we are best positioned to capitalise on the next wave of innovation and leverage an expanded team to deliver maximum value to our industry partners.
“We are set to tackle a new era of innovation in travel, which includes the transformative development of AI, a radically rethought and reimagined booking funnel and the need to break down silos that continue to hold back progress toward seamless customer journeys and business efficiencies for travel providers.
“We’re delighted to welcome back Tyler Carrico, who launched his investment career at Thayer Ventures six years ago, and to welcome his co-founder at Derive, Mike Scott, who brings travel investing experience from KSL Capital Partners. By adding Derive’s capabilities to Thayer Ventures, we deepen and expand Thayer’s reach even further through the new TIP platform.
“We are excited to build out the new platform with a robust team and unmatched record of investment success,” he added.
Scott said: “We are thrilled to team up with Thayer Ventures to launch Thayer Investment Partners. The combined platform will bring an unmatched level of investing experience and strategic support to advance innovation in the travel industry.
“It will also reinforce our differentiated sector focused approach to producing best-in-class returns and providing the highest level of service to our industry partners,” he added.
Pillsbury said: “I am happy to continue to serve Thayer Ventures and the industry to help accelerate even further the bounds of innovation for strategic partners and entrepreneurial early stage startups alike. The new Thayer Investment Partners platform represents the next evolution of our original vision for transforming travel technology into in an engine of growth and efficiency for hotel owners, brands and investors across the industry.”
