Makerbot And BuzzFeed Investor RRE Raised A New $280 Million Fund In Less Than 6 Weeks

The firm, which was founded in 1994, has invested in startups such as OnDeck Capital, a small business lending company that is worth nearly $1 billion, WHIPTAIL, which was acquired by Cisco for $415 million, and Makerbot, which was acquired for nearly $604 million. Other investments include SailThru, BuzzFeed, BarkBox and Business Insider.

RRE co-founder Stuart Ellman says the fundraising process took less than six weeks. Firm partner Jay Hass says RRE's fifth fund, which was raised in 2011, had a 59% internal rate of return, which encouraged LPs to reinvest.

Ellman and Hass say finding and investing in New York-Metropolitan startups is part of their core investment thesis. But not everyone is hot on New York startups.

In a recent interview with Business Insider, New York-based investor Fred Wilson said he felt the New York startup scene was exciting now than in years past. The New York Times' Jenna Wortham wrote that the east coast tech scene still lags behind Silicon Valley.

"No New York start-up has been a breakout hit, the sort of blockbuster with a multibillion-dollar valuation that has become so commonplace in Silicon Valley," Wortham writes.

Still, Hass and Ellman are bullish on New York startups. They've been investing in them for 20 years and they'll continue to do so.

"I think our fundraise demonstrates that our New York thesis is proving out in a material way," Hass told Business Insider.

"We're both proud and humbled by what New York startups have been able to achieve," added Ellman. "We think the best is yet to come."