By Evan Vitale
Here are the latest venture capital news stories making headlines this week.
According to Reuters, a Canadian plan to encourage private investment in the country’s venture capital industry raised more than C$1.35 billion ($1.03 billion), a government bank for entrepreneurs said on Tuesday, after the last of four funds closed to new investors.
Private equity investor HarbourVest Partners said its C$375 million ($285 million) fund, mostly dedicated to investing in venture capital funds that back Canadian companies, had been oversubscribed by the limited partners that account for two-thirds of the fund.
The remainder of the HarbourVest Canada Growth Fund was provided by BDC Capital Inc., a subsidiary of the federal government-backed Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), which operates at arm’s length.
The full story is here: http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-tech-funding-idUSL2N17820X
In Dayton, Ohio, the Dayton Daily News is reporting that the creator of a technology meant to help feed millions will soon give his first public comments since his local company was acquired.
In February, Intrexon Corp. acquired Yellow Springs company EnviroFlight LLC to form a joint venture with Darling Ingredients Inc., the world’s largest publicly traded developer and producer of sustainable natural ingredients from bio-nutrients.
EnviroFlight’s idea was to feed people with fish, and to cultivate fish with insects. You can find the complete article here: http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/business/local-company-to-discuss-venture-capital-success/nqzDR/
Meanwhile, Apple insider is reporting that a pair of Steve Jobs lieutenants — former Apple CFO Fred Anderson and software chief Avie Tevanian — have reportedly banded together in a new venture capital fund dubbed NextEquity.
The fund includes personal contributions from both Anderson and Tevanian along with cash from outside investors, according to Bloomberg. The name was chosen as a nod to NeXT, the firm at which Tevanian first led software engineering under Jobs before following the mercurial Apple founder back to Cupertino in 1997.
Both Anderson and Tevanian were formerly involved with Elevation Partners, a multi-billion dollar private equity fund fronted by U2’s Bono that has begun to wind down operations.
The full story is here: http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/04/05/former-apple-execs-fred-anderson-avie-tevanian-raise-next-themed-venture-capital-fund
