Female Founders Fund Raises a $29 Million Fourth Fund

Female Founders Fund, investing in the exponential power of exceptional female talent, led by Anu Duggal, Julie Cerick, Zabreen Khan, and Layla Alexander, has raised its fourth fund at $29 million, raised between November 2023 and this month. It brings Female Founders Fund’s total capital under management to $140 million across five funds, including a $14 million opportunity fund. LPs in the newest fund include firms headed by notable women: Melinda French Gates’ Pivotal Ventures, Olivia Walton’s Ingeborg Investments, and the Anne Wojcicki Foundation. Female Founders Fund has already begun deploying capital from Fund IV, with the first investment made in 831 Stories, a romance publishing company experimenting with new models for publishing and fandom-building in the genre.

It marks a significant milestone; according to Duggal, when the fund was first launched a decade ago, fewer than 15% of managers reached a fourth fund, and the figure for solo female GPs was even smaller. The achievement comes despite a prolonged market downturn, during which some Female Founders Fund portfolio companies did not survive. As Duggal notes, the past few years have been challenging across the industry, with only the largest firms, such as Sequoia and General Catalyst, navigating the period with relative stability.

Female Founders Fund has set itself apart, despite its modest size, by deliberately cultivating an ecosystem. The firm hosts annual gatherings for founders both within and outside the portfolio, and a significant share of new deal flow originates from this community. At the top of this network sits a group of high–net-worth women who back the fund as LPs. Key milestones, such as Duggal’s investment in the first repeat Female Founders Fund founder, Mariah Chase, previously cofounder of Eloquii and now building a retail software product, highlight the ecosystem’s maturation and full-circle momentum.

Duggal has already begun deploying capital from Fund IV, with the first investment made in 831 Stories, a romance publishing company experimenting with new models for publishing and fandom-building in the genre.

It’s a significant milestone. When Duggal launched the fund a decade ago, she was told that fewer than 15% of managers ever reach a fourth fund, and for a solo female GP, that number is almost nonexistent. The prolonged market downturn made the climb even harder, with several Female Founders Fund portfolio companies unable to survive. “Unless you’re a Sequoia or General Catalyst, it’s been a rough few years,” she says.