(CBInsights)

In venture capital, network centrality is an important driver of VC performance.  In short, better networked VCs have better fund performance.  This is not networking in the “I have 500+ contacts on LinkedIn” sense but means being networked with other high quality investors to share dealflow, syndicate deals, etc.

Since VCs often syndicate their deals with other VCs, these co-investment patterns reveal a web of relationships between firms that can be analyzed to provide insight into which firms are closer than others, whose networks truly are stronger, where firms have overlapping investment strategies and where funds may be sourcing their dealflow from (what seed funds or angels for example).

Andreessen Horowitz Investment Syndicate Trends

Andreessen Horowitz (A16Z) has made a number of seed investments over the past two years, including over 30 in 2013 year-to-date. And its most frequent co-investor in such deals has been SV Angel, who has co-invested with A16Z in over 25 seed rounds and 48 deals overall. As the year-over-year trend line highlights, A16Z’s syndicate with SV Angel has increased dramatically in the last year with recent co-investments including Swiftype and Vastrm.

Fellow hyperactive VC Greylock Partners has also seen its relationship with A16Z grow recently. The two firms have made over 30 co-investments, including four in 2013 YTD. Below are A16Z’s top 5 co-investor by number of deals.

When we look beyond who they invest with to who invests in A16Z companies prior to them getting involved, it is not surprising to find Y Combinator as the most frequent investor in companies before A16Z invests. In 2011, A16Z jumped on board YC’s Start Fund program. A16Z has also made a number of follow-on investments to startups first backed by prominent NY-based investor Union Square Ventures including Shapeways and Dwolla, as well as Khosla Ventures (Boku, Lookout).

Full article:

Analyzing Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital’s Investment Syndicates.