Headline is a global venture capital firm with more than 25 years behind it — a rarity in an industry where most firms are barely a decade old. Founded in 1998 in Santa Barbara, California, and formerly known as e.ventures and BV Capital, the firm adopted the Headline name and now describes itself as a boutique firm with global wingspan: intentional with every dollar, with dedicated teams on the ground in nine cities.

Thesis

Headline calls itself a data-driven VC: it uses its own technology alongside an international investment team to discover — and invest in — 'the world's boldest outliers'. The structure is distinctive: four regionally focused early-stage funds covering the US, Europe, Brazil and Asia, plus a Global Venture Growth fund that invests worldwide from Series B onwards. Regional funds see local trends up close and lead rounds at every stage; the growth fund follows winners across geographies, sometimes even choreographing transatlantic acquisitions within its own portfolio.

Sectors and stages

Headline invests across stages and sectors — from direct-to-consumer to deep tech and software. Its official brief lists adtech, commerce, fintech, media, mobile and software, and the portfolio spans both B2B and B2C. It typically takes minority stakes and does not seek board control.

Fund size

The firm reports more than $4 billion in assets under management. In September 2024 it closed $865 million across two parallel vehicles for its Global Growth Fund IV, aimed at growth-stage tech companies. Two years earlier, in July 2022, it closed more than $950 million for its early-stage funds, including R$915 million earmarked for Latin American startups.

Notable portfolio companies

Headline's portfolio spans 300+ investments globally. Category leaders include:

  • Bumble and Sonos — consumer icons
  • Segment (acquired by Twilio), SEMrush, AppFolio, ANGI and NGINX — software successes
  • Mistral AI, Honeycomb, LucidLink, Fetch, Gopuff and Acorns — newer-generation breakouts
  • Raisin, Swile, Staffbase, Brite Payments and Monta — European champions

Key people

The firm was founded by Mathias Schilling and Thomas Gieselmann, who remain general partners alongside co-founder Andreas Haug. Its San Francisco headquarters sits at the Transamerica Pyramid, with offices in Berlin, Hamburg, Paris, London, Tokyo, Taipei, São Paulo and Luxembourg — an unusually wide physical footprint for a firm of its size.

Programmes and perks

Headline does not operate an accelerator, a founder programme or a published startup-credits scheme. Its pitch to founders is the global platform itself: nine offices, a portfolio it connects across continents, and a data-driven sourcing engine that finds companies early. The firm publishes occasional market perspectives and portfolio updates rather than structured perks.

Why it matters for founders

Headline is best thought of as two things at once: a regional seed investor with real local teams — including in Berlin, London and Paris — and a global growth fund that can keep backing you from Series B onwards. For European founders with genuinely global ambitions, few firms can credibly promise a path from a local early-stage fund to worldwide growth capital under one roof.