The Russian venture capital firm Troika Ventures, the first institutional investor in Evernote, has decided to sell its stake in the California based IT company.
Founded in 2007 by a Russian-American team, Evernote offers a range of computer, phone and web-based tools designed “to remember things big and small from your notable life.” The startup has signed up 20 million subscribers in a span of four years.
Though details of the transaction were not immediately available, Troika Dialogue’s venture capital division head, Artyom Yukhin, recalled that Evernote had been “one of the first companies that we invested in,” adding that “the exit, at over ten times our original commitment, was a difficult decision for Troika and for me personally– but we ultimately decided to provide liquidity to our investors.”
Troika had invested $4.5 million in the round A funding in 2009.
Evernote has attracted investments of about $95 million to date, including a $50 million round last July led by Sequoia Capital. After acquiring Troika Dialog’s stake, Sequoia Capital’s total investment in Evernote is likely to exceed $50 million.
