By Evan Vitale

Here are the top venture capital stories making headlines this week.

According to the New York Times, Xfund, a venture capital firm formed in 2011 as technology start-ups boomed, began coming undone last year when the relationship between its two partners soured.

The two venture capitalists, Patrick Chung and Hugo Van Vuuren, argued over the dismissal of an employee and who controlled the firm. The disagreements festered, setting off a chain of events including accusations of abuse, a restraining order application, revelations that a hidden camera was used to record an investor meeting, and an investigation by the fund’s investors.

Now the firm, which manages more than $100 million and has put money into start-ups like the genetics company 23andMe, is in salvage mode. Even so, Xfund is in no danger of immediately shutting down.

You can read the full story here: http://nyti.ms/1UBtJNg

CNBC wants you to meet the man who’s out to disrupt venture capital.

As you may know, a long-anticipated regulatory change is expected in May that will allow retail investors to join in start-up funding alongside millionaires and venture capitalists.

Unaccredited investors will be allowed to put money into start-ups, letting the average investor compete alongside the Marc Andreessens of the world to back up-and-coming companies, and potentially to make enormous profits in the process.

Rohan Shah, a student at University of Pennsylvania who founded Slice Capital, is one of the entrepreneurs leading the charge. His online portal that connects companies raising early-stage capital with investors of all sizes has the potential to disrupt venture capital, he said.

Here’s the scoop: http://cnb.cx/1SYuQnJ

A Goldman Sachs Group Inc. unit has invested $25 million in ON24 Inc., an 18-year-old software company that survived the dot-com bust and lately is seeing growth again after several strategic shifts, this according to The Wall Street Journal.

The story is here: http://on.wsj.com/1OfsP2j

By Evan Vitale

Here are the latest headlines making news in the world of venture capital.

According to the Greenville News, venture capital is not out of reach for Southern start-ups.

For young companies, money is fuel. When those companies get investments from venture capital and angel investments, it could be a rocket to success. Many of the firms providing that investment are concentrated in Silicon Valley and the Northeast, leaving startups in the Southeast to duke it out for funds from a smaller number of groups in regional hubs like Atlanta and Charlotte, as well as growing markets like Charleston and Chattanooga.

But if they’re willing to look outside their backyard, entrepreneurs can still land significant investments to help their companies grow.

Check out the full article here:

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/money/2016/04/27/venture-capital-not-out-reach-southern-start-ups/83614014/

Forbes is reporting that Rhode Island Governor Raimondo is redefining venture capital success.

In 2006, the Employee Retirement System of Rhode Island committed $5 million of worker retirement assets to a small Point Judith II venture capital fund managed by Gina Raimondo—a Rhode Island native who would go on to become, as General Treasurer, the chief fiduciary of the state pension that invested in her fund.

During her first year as Treasurer, she spearheaded a “reform” of the pension which reduced the state’s assumed return on pension investments, slashed workers’ benefits, exponentially increased fees paid by the pension to Wall Street money managers and resulted in the fund significantly underperforming its peers.

The full story is here:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/edwardsiedle/2016/04/27/rhode-island-governor-raimondo-redefines-venture-capital-success/#64d4be45257b

Kansas City is seeing a jump in venture capital, according to an article by the Huffington Post.

Kansas City has been on a roll the last few years in the entrepreneur, technology and development space. The city has the top researchers and leaders in the world for entrepreneurs at the Kauffman Foundation. KC has some of the best resources for entrepreneurs in the United States through organizations like KCSourcelink, Think Big, UMKC SBTDC and the Sprint Accelerator powered by Techstars. It boasts some of the highest speed internet as the first city to launch one gigabit Google Fiber and is a pioneer in the Smart City movement in the United States as a Cisco Smart + Connected Community.

You can read the full story here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jason-grill/kansas-city-seeing-jump-i_b_9765348.html

By Evan Vitale

Here are some of the recent venture capital stories that are making headlines this week.

According to The Orange County (CA) Register, the boom in venture capital for growing Orange County businesses slowed by nearly 11 percent in the first quarter, mirroring a similar dip nationwide.

During the first quarter of 2016, only 15 deals were inked and roughly $158 million invested. In the same period last year, venture capital firms sunk $177 million in 23 deals, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association based on data from Thomson Reuters.

“Internet of things” company Greenwave Systems, an Irvine software and services company, received $45 million in a Series C financing round in January, one of the biggest funding rounds in the quarter.

You can read the full report here:

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/venture-712935-first-deals.html

The New York Times is reporting, that General Mills and 7-Eleven are joining the venture capital crowd.

General Mills, based in Minneapolis, is part of an increasing number of old-economy companies, including the convenience chain 7-Eleven and the Campbell Soup Company, that have joined a crowd of technology companies to create venture capital funds. Through them, they scout for new products or services and promising potential business partners.

Their moves have accompanied a surge and recent crest in the valuations of many venture capital-backed start-ups. Critics say the corporate-run funds have contributed to inflated valuations for start-ups, and some funds have begun selling stakes even as they face reduced valuations on some holdings.

The full story is here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/19/business/dealbook/general-mills-and-7-elevenjoin-the-venture-capital-crowd.html?_r=0

At TechCrunch.com, the CrunchBase Women in Venture report is the third study in its ongoing analysis of women and their participation in the startup ecosystem. Read it here:

http://techcrunch.com/2016/04/19/the-first-comprehensive-study-on-women-in-venture-capital/

Bloomberg reports the University of Michigan’s endowment has bolstered its alternative assets with more than $100 million in commitments to venture capital and real estate funds.

Michigan also plans a new commitment of $50 million, subject to approval, to CD Capital Natural Resources Fund III, a London-based pool that will invest in early-stage mining opportunities, according to the agenda for the Board of Regents meeting on April 21.

Catch the story here:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-19/michigan-endowment-adds-venture-capital-real-estate-commitments

By Evan Vitale

Here are the latest headlines in venture capital news!

The Wall Street Journal’s Venture Capital Dispatch is reporting that GreatHorn Inc. wants to stop phishing attacks, a social-engineered form of cyberattack, before they even reach an employee’s inbox.

The company has raised $2.25 million in seed funding, led by ff Venture Capital and SoftTech Ventures. Techstars Ventures, RRE Ventures and Walter Winshall also participated, alongside Zelkova Ventures and V1.VC.

The funding comes after fraudsters have been using phishing attacks to file tax returns. There have been several incidents this year in which human-resources employees received fake emails from scammers impersonating company executives. The emails request W2 forms or personal information about other employees, such as Social Security Numbers. If the employee thinks they are actually coming from the top brass and responds with the information, it can leave other employees vulnerable to identity theft and tax fraud.

Read the full story here: http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2016/03/21/greathorn-seeded-for-preventing-phishing-attacks/

The St. Louis Dispatch reports Two St. Louis venture capital firms and a German technology giant are funding an expansion by Adarza Biosystems in O’Fallon, Mo.

Adarza announced Monday that it had completed a $5 million funding round led by Cultivation Capital Life Science Fund, Lewis and Clark Ventures and Siemens, the German engineering and medical-products company. Adarza will expand production capacity at its O’Fallon plant, launch a commercial line of diagnostic immunoassay kits and accelerate development of new products.

Learn more here: http://www.stltoday.com/business/columns/david-nicklaus/adarza-adds-million-in-venture-capital/article_12374e0d-c2cf-5e4b-b921-d614ccf306a4.html

A year ago, business software vendor Domo Inc. was expecting to go public by the end of 2015, Chief Executive Josh James told VentureWire.

Domo, according to the Wall Street Journal, has now raised $131 million as it waits for the markets to become more receptive to information technology companies. The company extended its last funding round, a $200 million Series D round raised in April 2015, at the same valuation and same terms, adding money from insider BlackRock Inc. Credit Suisse and unnamed family offices, some in Asia and Russia, and taking total funding to $590 million, according to Mr. James.

You can read more here: http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2016/03/22/domo-raises-130-million-holds-its-2-billion-valuation/

 

By Evan Vitale

What new in venture capital news?

According to the Wall Street Journal, Justworks – a benefits and payroll company – has secured $33 million in Series C funding, which brings the total amount the company has raised to $53 million. Redpoint Ventures led the round and had participation from existing investors Bain Capital Ventures, Thrive Capital and Index Ventures.

You can read the full story here: on.wsj.com/1TOM8Xu

Who is the biggest venture capital firm in the world? China.

Fortune is reporting that China has funneled $338 billion into startup investment funds.

In bid to ease the slowing Chinese economy into a consumer-based rather than heavy industry-focused one, the country reportedly raised about 1.5 trillion yuan, or $231 billion, in state-backed venture funds through 2015, according to Zero2IPO.

That tripled its assets under management to $338 billion. The money, which is almost five times the amount raised by any other venture firm in the world in 2015, comes mostly from tax revenues or state backed loans, and is funneled into some 780 funds across the country.

The full report is here: for.tn/1p9jFht

Bustle, a New York City-based news site aimed at millennial women, has raised $11.5 million in new funding led by Saban Capital, with participation from GGV Capital and existing investors General Catalyst Partners, Time Warner Investments, and Social Capital. Richard Yen of Saban Capital will join the company’s board.

The media company, founded in 2013, has amassed an audience of 32 million, most of which are young women between the ages of 18 and 34, according to comScore. The site’s advertisers, including Campbells and Adidas, purchase packages that include a mix of native advertising, traditional display ads, and video. Last year, Bustle hit its revenue goal of $10 million. The company expects to “substantially outperform” its goal of $20 million for 2016, according to CEO and founder Bryan Goldberg.

The story is here: for.tn/1UlvBsp

By Evan Vitale

Here are some of the latest headlines and news in the world of venture capital.

According to the Wall Street Journal, companies with technologies to reduce preterm births drew significant interest from venture capitalists in 2015 and helped drive investment in reproductive health to a record amount of $333.1 million for the year. Reproductive health is one of the smaller categories for venture investment among 17 areas of the human body surveyed by VentureWire and market tracker Dow Jones VentureSource. Health-care venture firms have focused mostly on disease therapies, and pregnancy hasn’t been seen as a medical condition that needs treatment. Last year’s investment total topped the previous high of $298.1 million reached in 2001. Read the rest of the story here: http://on.wsj.com/1pqoweA

Backstage Capital, the bootstrapped venture capital fund founded by Arlan Hamilton and focused on investing in “overachieving, underrepresented startup founders,” is launching their official website (www.BackstageCapital.com) and announcing the first six investments they’ve made. Hamilton is one of the first LGBT black women to start a venture capital fund and became the first black woman to lead an AngelList syndicate last Fall. Since November 2015, Backstage Capital has invested amounts ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 into companies with diverse founders like Kairos, Wedspire, TextEngine, and Nailsnaps. Currently, Backstage Capital’s roster of investors (LPs) includes individuals such as Marc Andreessen, Susan Kimberlin (formerly of Salesforce), Brad Feld, Leslie Miley (formerly of Twitter), and Lars Rasmussen (co-creator of Google Maps). The full press release is here: http://prn.to/21NrNTd

SportTechie is reporting Ted Leonsis, the business mogul that owns and operates Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), has quietly announced his intentions for a $10 million venture capital fund for the purposes of investing in sports and entertainment tech startups.

MSE owns three Washington D.C. sports teams—the Mystics of the WNBA, the Capitals of NHL and the Wizards of the NBA. You can read the full story here: bit.ly/1QRMDch