By Evan Vitale
Let’s see what stories are making headlines this week in the world of venture capital.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Tyson is launching a $150 million venture-capital fund in hopes that it will facilitate expansion and innovation. Other food and agricultural conglomerates such as General Mills Inc., Coca-Cola Co. and Campbell Soup Co. have launched venture-capital efforts in recent years, jockeying for position against Silicon Valley firms including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Khosla Ventures. Details: http://on.wsj.com/2hcFuxd
GreenBiz.com has an interesting article asking the question “can venture capital ever propel cleantech?” According to the article, a July report by MIT Energy Initiative, “Venture Capital and Cleantech: The Wrong Model for Clean Energy Innovation (PDF),” has compared the performance of venture capital (VC) in the software, medical and cleantech sectors. The results showed VC is not the right model for investments in the cleantech sector. Public funding is crucial at the beginning of projects. Details: http://bit.ly/2h69A5f
According to pymnts.com, venture capital has hit a plateau citing analysts KPMG and CB Insights. Data suggests the trend is global: North America VC investments for the quarter were fairly flat compared to Q2, and while Europe saw an increase in the number of deals for VC funding, there was a decline in the value of that collective funding. Even Asia is seeing a pullback from investors, the report found, finding that VC funding activity has “slowed down dramatically” since 2015. Details: http://bit.ly/2ge84cy
Finally, Wing Venture Capital has announced that it has closed Wing Two, its $250 million second fund, according to venturebeat.com. Wing Two has the backing of some of the wrold’s most sophisticated investors, including premier universities and private foundations. Details: http://bit.ly/2gk4FfM
Have a great week!
