About Headline
Headline is a venture capital firm founded in 1998. It is primarily based out of San Francisco, United States. As of Aug 2026, Headline is an active investor, having invested in 530 companies, with 36 new investments in the last 12 months. It primarily invests in Series A round in United States based startups. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from Enterprise Applications to Consumer and FinTech. Most recently it participated in the $***** Series A round of recri Overall, Headline portfolio has seen 18 unicorns, 20 IPOs and 94 acquisitions including key companies like Farfetch, Scopely and Mistral AI. A lot of funds co-invest with Headline, with names like Greycroft sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. Headline has team of 61 people including 13 partners.Key Metrics
Team Members
Portfolio Sectors
Portfolio Locations
Rounds of Entry
Series A, Seed & 11 more
Portfolio Acquisitions
Portfolio Unicorns
Portfolio Soonicorns
Headline's List of Top Investments
Headline has a portfolio of 530 companies, including 18 unicorns. Their most notable investments are in Tabnine and TRADOM.Their portfolio spans across United States, Brazil, Japan and 36 more locations. They have invested in Enterprise Applications, Consumer, FinTech and 35 other sectors, across stages such as Series A, Seed and 11 more. Here is the list of top investments by Headline:
1. Farfetch
Online retailer offering multi-category fashion products. The product catalog includes apparel, handbags, shoes, watches, jewelry, backpacks, belts, and more for men, women, and kids. In addition, the company also offers pre-owned fashion products. Its mobile application is available for Android and iOS platforms.
Key facts about Farfetch
- Founded Year: 2007
- Location: London (United Kingdom)
- Last Known Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $709M
- Employee Count: 3,155 as on Mar 31, 2026
- Investors: HPR Capital, Dragoneer Investment Group and 30 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Post IPO, Apr 27, 2020, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
2. Scopely
Developer of interactive entertainment and video games across multiple platforms. The company creates, publishes, and operates immersive games. It utilizes a technology platform to support a diversified portfolio in the games industry. The company focuses on building long-lasting game experiences.
Key facts about Scopely
- Founded Year: 2011
- Location: Culver City (United States)
- Annual Revenue: £1M - £10M as on Dec 31, 2021
- Last Known Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $1.02B
- Employee Count: 3,862 as on Jun 30, 2026
- Investors: Cross Creek, InvestX and 70 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series E, Oct 28, 2020, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
3. Mistral AI
Provider of customizable, open-source artificial intelligence models and solutions for various applications. It is a company specializing in open-source large language models and generative AI, providing cutting-edge language models for various applications.
Key facts about Mistral AI
4. Flutterwave
Provider of payment solutions for online and physical business transactions. It offers tools for accepting payments, payouts, transfers, and creating online stores. The company provides application programming interfaces for developers to integrate payment functionalities. It also facilitates tuition payments and event ticket purchases.
Key facts about Flutterwave
- Founded Year: 2016
- Location: San Francisco (United States)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series E
- Total Funding till date: $489M
- Employee Count: 882 as on Jun 30, 2026
- Investors: Glynn Capital, Alrai Capital and 73 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series E, Jul 07, 2026, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
Thrive Market is an online membership-based platform offering organic groceries. Their product catalog includes snacks, beauty products, household products, beverages, etc. The company claims that its users can shop across categories like vegan, paleo, raw, gluten-free, etc. Some of the brands associated with the company are Jackson's honest, Acure, Smarty Pants, etc.
Key facts about Thrive Market
- Founded Year: 2014
- Location: Los Angeles (United States)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series C
- Total Funding till date: $332M
- Employee Count: 907 as on Jun 30, 2026
- Investors: Western Technology Investment, SIZE and 64 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series C, Jul 16, 2018, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
Headline's Year-on-Year Investment Trends
Headline has invested in 530 companies over the last 26 years, with an average of 26 new investments annually in the last 10 years. In 2025, it made 39 investments, while as of Aug 2026, it has made 27 investments in this year. Its most recent first time investment was in recri and most recent follow-on round was in Taxwire.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 23 | 4 | 27 |
2025 | 34 | 5 | 39 |
2024 | 26 | 6 | 32 |
2023 | 25 | 13 | 38 |
2022 | 43 | 18 | 61 |
2021 | 48 | 14 | 62 |
2020 | 18 | 5 | 23 |
2019 | 15 | 7 | 22 |
2018 | 14 | 6 | 20 |
2017 | 10 | 11 | 21 |
Headline's Investments by Stage
Headline has made 144 investments in Series A stage with an average round size of $11.3M, 136 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $4.72M and 55 investments in Series B stage with an average round size of $45.6M.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Series A | 144 |
Seed | 136 |
Series B | 55 |
Series C | 16 |
Series D | 3 |
Others | 9 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Headline's Investments by Sector
Headline has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Enterprise Applications, Consumer, FinTech, Retail and Vertical SaaS. Notably, it has invested in 463 Tech companies, 311 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 305 Software companies and at least 214 companies focusing on Consumer (B2C).Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Enterprise Applications | 185 |
Consumer | 82 |
FinTech | 80 |
Retail | 60 |
Vertical SaaS | 45 |
Others | 366 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Headline's Investments by Geography
Headline has made most investments in United States (139), followed by Japan where it has made 50 investments.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
United States | 139 |
Japan | 50 |
Germany | 29 |
Brazil | 20 |
United Kingdom | 19 |
Others | 108 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Headline's recent investments
Headline has made 27 investments in 2026 so far. recri and Skalar are the latest among them.Here are the most recent investments by Headline:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aug 17, 2026 | Japan | Series A | 5306 | [+3] | |
Jul 14, 2026 | Germany | Seed | 7106 | [+4] | |
Jun 30, 2026 | United States | Series A | 3454 | [+3] | |
Jun 30, 2026 | United States | Seed | 2513 | [+3] | |
Jun 23, 2026 | Brazil | Series A | 9824 | [+4] |
Unicorns in Headline's Portfolio
Headline has 18 unicorns in its portfolio - Black Forest Labs, Owner, Mistral AI and others. The most recent unicorn in their portfolio is Black Forest Labs. It became a unicorn in 2025.Here is a list of unicorns in Headline's portfolio:
Tracxn Score | Company | Short Description | Founded year | Sector | Location | Company Stage | First Investment/ Acquisition Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
58 | Frontier AI lab building visual infrastructure for tomorrow's creative reality | 2024 | Wilmington | Series B | ovnmolx | ||
61 | AI-powered platform for restaurant online ordering, marketing, and customer loyalty | 2019 | Palo Alto | Series C | jslrild | ||
83 | Provider of customizable, open-source artificial intelligence models and solutions for various applications | 2023 | Paris | Series C | aqeausw | ||
67 | Developer of software for internal employee communication and experience management | 2014 | Chemnitz | Series E | zomtkdl | ||
72 | Provider of software suite solutions for e-commerce businesses | 2014 | Curitiba | Series E | asubang |
IPOs and Publicly Listed companies in Headline's Portfolio
20 of Headline's portfolio companies have become public. TMYTEK got listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TPE), in Jan 2025 and Soracom got listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) at marketcap of $221M.Here are Headline's portfolio companies that went public:
Company | IPO Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jan 15, 2025 | - | - | 8941 | |
Mar 26, 2024 | - | - | 3231 | |
Dec 08, 2023 | - | - | 3586 | |
Nov 05, 2021 | Jun 28, 2018 | Series C | 3874 | |
Dec 25, 2020 | Oct 16, 2016 | Series B | 1607 |
Acquired companies in Headline's Portfolio
94 companies from Headline's portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition was Tabnine in Jul 2026 by Tricentis for $*****.Here are Headline's portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jul 30, 2026 | Apr 27, 2020 | Series B | 6154 | |
Jul 28, 2026 | - | - | 2276 | |
Feb 23, 2026 | May 27, 2014 | Seed | 9953 | |
Nov 19, 2025 | Apr 24, 2018 | Series A | 8868 | |
Nov 10, 2025 | - | - | 9997 |
Team profile of Headline
Headline has a team of 61 members including 13 Partners, 13 Venture Partners and 27 Principals located in United States, Japan and 9 more locations. Headline's team sits on the board of 4 companies.Here is a list of top team members in Headline:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Partner | Alameda | - | ||
Partner | Tokyo | - | ||
Partner | Philippines | - | ||
Partner | Japan | |||
Partner | Taipei | - | ||
Partner | Hamburg | |||
Partner | London | - |
Co-investors of Headline
Over the past 26 years, 2322 investors have co-invested in Headline's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before Headline: Greycroft, Y Combinator and 733 others have invested in rounds before Headline. There are 11 companies where Greycroft has invested before Headline and 11 companies where Y Combinator has invested before Headline.
- Top Co-investors of Headline: 901 investors entered a company along with Headline. These include investors like Greycroft (22 companies).
- Invested after Headline: A total of 686 investors have invested in Headline's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include Greycroft (8 companies), Insight Partners (6 companies) and SVB (6 companies).
Recent News related to Headline
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Skalar snaps €12M from Headline to build a tax and accounting firm designed around AITech Funding News•Jul 14, 2026•QED Investors, Skalar, Future Present, MS & AD and 2 others
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Brazil’s Vixtra raises $9.6mn to scale import finance platformIntelliNews•Jun 25, 2026•Valor Capital Group, Vixtra, BlueStone, Simma Capital and 5 others
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Birmingham AI company Unloqs £900k fundingBusinessCloud•Jun 25, 2026•Covatic, Angel Investors, Vixtra, Valor Capital and 3 others
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Exclusive: Flease raises €13M to shake up France’s corporate fleet marketTech Funding News•Jun 23, 2026•Aonia, 50 Partners, Acadian Ventures, Founders Future and 7 others
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Datamint raises R$ 25 million in seed round led by HeadlineT FORUM•Jun 18, 2026•Datamint, Valutia, Headline, Opus and 1 other
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Fonoa Raises $110M to Expand AI Tax PlatformVentureburn•May 29, 2026•Coatue, Forestay, Headline, Fonoa and 4 others
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Fonoa Acquires PwC Tax Platform, Secures $110 Million for AI DevelopmentSeeNews•May 29, 2026•Fonoa, PwC, Headline, Coatue and 6 others
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Crypto wallet start-up Deblock reportedly raises £13.3m in fresh fundingFinTech Futures•May 26, 2026•20VC Fund, Deblock, Chalfen Ventures, Headline and 1 other
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AI search firm Searchable secures £10.3 million in funding from Headline at £62.9 million valuationRetail Technology Innovation Hub•May 18, 2026•Searchable.ai, Headline
