VC Headlines Archives

Evan Vitale – Jay Z Starting VC Platform?

March 7, 2017 by Evan Vitale

By Evan Vitale

Here are a few stories that are making headlines in the world of venture capital.

It’s only a rumor folks, but the BIG rumor is Jay Z is launching a venture capital firm. Recently, Jay Z’s company – Roc Nation – formed Arrive, a VC “platform” that will help younger startups build that brands and their businesses.

You can read more details here: http://engt.co/2mxis6j

The Washington Post has an interesting article titled “The disrupters in the venture capital industry are ripe for disruption.”

More and more new venture capital funds are popping up in the greater Washington region. Funds such as Blu Ventures, Gula Tech Adventures, NextGen Venture Partners, DataTribe, Lavrock Ventures and Strategic Cyber Ventures are writing smaller checks and providing more hands-on mentoring than larger incumbent funds can. They challenge the prevailing model for existing venture capital funds and fill a void in the greater Washington region.

Arguably, the venture capital industry needs to be disrupted. Over the last 10 years, the herd has been winnowed significantly. Venture funding has been consolidated into fewer but larger funds, with $1 billion funds becoming more and more commonplace. Our region’s best-known venture capital organizations — name brands such as Revolution and New Enterprise Associates — are able to raise more money because of their investment success. In this way, the market works fairly, rewarding those who can generate positive returns for investors.

Evan Vitale – VC Stories Making Headlines!

January 9, 2017 by Evan Vitale

By Evan Vitale

What stories are already making headlines in the early part of 2017?

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that former Novartis Pharma-unit head David Epstein has joined Flagship Pioneering. Epstein is the latest in a line of top pharmaceutical executives—such as former Sanofi SA Chief Executive Chris Viehbacher and AstraZeneca PLC’s ex-chief medical officer, Briggs Morrison—to join venture-capital firms or young biotech companies following long careers in the industry giants. Details: http://on.wsj.com/2iDRN3n

Forbes has announced it’s 30 Under 30 in venture capital. You can meet and learn more about the top young investors for 2017 here: http://bit.ly/2iP30hP

Blockstack, a New York company that develops platforms for secure, server-less apps using blockchain technology, raised $5.3 million in a round of venture capital funding. According to a report, the funding was provided by Union Square Ventures. The article, published by pymnts.com is available here: http://bit.ly/2inxdmS

At the Minneapolis firm Loup Ventures, formally launched this week by former securities analyst Gene Munster and two partners, the founders have basically turned that idea on its head. Instead of looking for visionaries to back, savvy entrepreneurs should come looking for them, as they are the ones with the confident vision of the future. They are so confident that they are publishing a 27-page manifesto with the title “The Future Perfect: Rediscovering Utopia.” Details: http://strib.mn/2jmWBNM

TechCrunch has published one of the first bold prediction headlines of the year stating that “2017 will be a strong year for venture capital.”

Contributor Matt Murphy writes:

“What does my crystal ball say about the outlook for venture capital in 2017? The building blocks of a better year are in place. Many venture capital firms are flush with cash, startup valuations have become more reasonable, technology industry M&A is robust and the technology IPO market is improving. Moreover, the obsession of funding unicorns at almost any price — and at the expense of smaller startups — has materially waned. All good news.”

Details here: http://tcrn.ch/2imTEcJ

Evan Vitale – Venture Capital News!

December 26, 2016 by Evan Vitale

By Evan Vitale

While the holidays are definitely upon us, there’s still plenty of venture capital stories and news making headlines recently. Here are some of the highlights:

Bloomberg Technology has a nice piece on Superflex – a company that was spun out of a project at SRI International (the company that incubated Apple’s Siri). On Tuesday, Superflex announced it has raised $9.6 million from investors including Japanese venture capital group Global Brain and Horizons Ventures, the VC fund of Asian billionaire Li Ka-shing. Details: http://bloom.bg/2h8Xt8e

Forbes continues to follow and report on the “Tech Triangle” of venture capital and startups in the leading global hubs of China, Israel and the United States. Recent examples of cross-regional Israel-Asia venture capital deals, Hong Kong-based Arbor Ventures has led a $9.5 million, Series A investment in EverCompliant, a cyber intelligence company in Tel Aviv that’s a leader in detecting and preventing transaction laundering. This is Arbor Venture’s third investment in Israel — a $10 million, Series A round in January 2016 in TravelersBox, and an investment in a fraud prevention startup Forter. Details: http://bit.ly/2hWlT1Y

It wasn’t the kind of statement likely to win the hearts and minds of those who consider Monsanto synonymous with Big Agriculture.

“If you think about it, there are two people on Earth that need to know a lot about remote sensing (technology) — Monsanto and the CIA,” said John Hamer, managing director of Monsanto Growth Ventures, the venture capital arm of Monsanto.

Evan Vitale – VC News Update!

December 19, 2016 by Evan Vitale

By Evan Vitale

Here are some of the stories making headlines in the world of venture capital this week.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published a nice personal piece in which venture capitalist Ross Leinweber, of Cedar Road Capital, offered his “Venture Capital Wish List.” You can find the full story here: http://bit.ly/2hPjc0y

In St. Louis, venture capital firms have launched funds totaling $682 million in 2016, according the St. Louis Business Journal.

Several high-profile investment funds that launched in the fourth quarter of this year propelled St. Louis to one its best, if not the best, year on record for raising venture capital.

Nearly half a billion dollars was invested in approximately 10 funds this year. Details: http://bit.ly/2huXnXE

Entrepreneur has a piece on venture capital entitled “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Venture Capital (But Were Afraid To Ask).”

The article is appropriately sub-titled “VC sounds appealing, but is it for you? Here’s what you need to know to navigate a ‘typical’ series of fundraising rounds. The full story is here: http://bit.ly/2hswKzZ

Modern Healthcare is reporting that Inova recruits managers for $100 million venture-capital program.

Inova Health System will provide $100 million in venture capital over the next three to five years to support precision-medicine companies and create an incubator for startups. The goal is develop ideas to improve the broader health system and make money off the innovations.

The Falls Church, Va.-based system has brought aboard veteran venture capitalists Hooks Johnston and Pete Jobse to manage the investments, Inova announced. Details: http://bit.ly/2huYG9h

Evan Vitale – VC Headlines!

September 5, 2016 by Evan Vitale

By Evan Vitale

Let’s take a look at what stories are making the top headlines recently in the world of venture capital!

The Wall Street Journal reports that a rare look at startup investors’ performance shows Andreesseen Horowitz lags Sequoia, Benchmark, and Founders Fund.

Andreessen Horowitz’s first three venture funds have nearly doubled their investment capital or better since inception, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal that provide a rare look at the performance of one of Silicon Valley’s top venture-capital firms.

The firm, co-founded by web pioneer Marc Andreessen in 2009, is routinely mentioned among the pantheon of great startup investors along with the likes of Sequoia Capital—a status that has allowed it to command higher fees than some of its rivals.

But an analysis of its performance, compared with funds from top firms and industry averages, shows that Andreessen Horowitz hasn’t yet earned that reputation.

You can see the entire story here: http://on.wsj.com/2bVlA7V

In Indiana, the Indianapolis Business Journal is reporting that venture capital firm Hyde Park Ventures has finished raising money for a new $65 million fund. This is the second fund for the Chicago-based firm, which was founded in 2011 and established an outpost in Indianapolis in early 2015.

Hyde Park raised $25 million for its first fund. IBJ reported in January that it was raising $60 million for Fund II, but officials couldn’t comment at the time.

“We’re super excited about it,” Tim Kopp, who leads the local office, said Tuesday about closing the second fund. “It gives us combined assets of nearly $100 million now.”

Venture firms “close” a fund when they receive a set amount of commitments from individual and institutional investors. They request, or call, that money when they find companies to invest in.

The story is here: http://bit.ly/2c78mT1

After closing up shop a year ago, Venture Snowboards has announced they will resume business for the winter 2016-17, but some aren’t sold on the company’s role and stability. Details: http://bit.ly/2bJgsk5

Evan Vitale – Venture Capital News!

July 11, 2016 by Evan Vitale

By Evan Vitale

It’s been a short week due to the long July 4^th holiday weekend (we love those!), but there’s plenty of activity and news in the world of venture capital.

Black Enterprise has a good article featuring Arlan Hamilton and her bootstrapped venture fund.

Backstage Capital, the bootstrapped $12 million nano-venture capital fund founded by Hamilton, is dedicated to minimizing funding disparities in tech by investing $25,000‐$100,000 in pre‐seed and seed stage startups led by high-potential founders who are people of color, women, and/or LGBT. Hamilton entered the venture investing world from an unconventional path. As a band tour manager who’s worked on shows with Pharrell and Justin Timberlake, Hamilton started thinking about the venture industry after seeing others like Ellen DeGeneres, Troy Carter (John Legend’s manager), and Scooter Braun (Justin Bieber’s manager) investing in startups.

The full article is here: http://bit.ly/29wQjpP

Crain’s has released an informative piece – “74 opportunities to get the funding your business needs.”

This is the annual directory of Chicago-area venture-capital firms and private-equity firms. The alphabetical directories combined contain more than 70 firms with offices in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties in Illinois plus Lake County, Ind.

Data for most firms include 2015 and 2014 capital, sources of funding, number and dollar amount of investments made in 2015 and 2014, types of investments and the number of local employees. The Excel versions of each list include additional firms that did not appear in print as well as a contacts file with names and titles of more than 130 executives at these firms.

You can find out more here: http://bit.ly/29kcZ8f

In New York, the New York Business Journal is reporting a big decline in New York City venture capital deals for the second quarter of 2016.

The number of venture capital (VC) deals over the course of April, May and June saw a significant decline. According to investment research firm PitchBook Data, the tally of deals in the second quarter of 2016 is at 178 — the fewest number of deals since the fourth quarter of 2011.

You can read the full story here: http://bit.ly/29p1fmY

Evan Vitale – Venture Capital News!

June 27, 2016 by Evan Vitale

By Evan Vitale

As we are winding down the end of the second quarter, let’s see what stories are making headlines in the world of venture capital.

The Wall Street Journal has published a piece on Russia’s venture capital funds looking abroad.

Russian venture-capital funds are shifting their gaze to outside the country, contributing to an exodus of capital amid an economic crisis and Western sanctions.

A robust startup scene emerged in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and venture-capital funds followed closely behind. New companies sprung from the scientific and academic communities Russia nourished during the Cold War, including Doroga TV, a vehicle-tracking GPS service, and Kuznech, an app that allows customers to shop by browsing online images. But funding is now looking for better opportunities outside Russia.

The full story can be found here: http://on.wsj.com/28MmrUW

According to the Atlanta Business Chronical, TTV Capital has invested in FinTech startup. TTV Capital led Apruve Inc.’s Series A round of funding that raised $2.2 million in capital.

The company will use the investment to hire employees in sales, marketing and software development. Apruve’s employee count is approaching 10, a company spokeswoman said.

Businesses use Apruve’s technology to manage accounts receivable and provide customers with revolving lines of credit.

Palo Alto, Calif.-based venture capital firm Allegis Capital also participated in Apruve’s round of funding.

The full story is here: http://bit.ly/28Sh1uj

Fortune.com and many other publications have learned that venture capital icon David Morgenthaler, who was largely responsible for the modern venture capital marker, has died.

Morgenthaler passed away at the age of 96 years-old. At the time, he was a patient of the Cleveland Clinic, an organization where he served on the board and finance committees for decades.

More can be found at: http://for.tn/28QKaWJ

So has the first half of 2016 been a good year for venture capital? What’s in store for the next six months, especially with the election looming in November?

Evan Vitale – VC Headlines

April 18, 2016 by Evan Vitale

By Evan Vitale

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

According to The Seattle Times, venture capital activity has slowed down some in the first quarter in the state of Washington, but it’s also more in line with traditional VC levels.

Washington state companies saw a dramatic 60 percent drop in venture-capital financing during the first quarter, according to the quarterly Dow Jones VentureSource report being released Thursday.

But the funding numbers actually might be good news. The first quarter’s total for the state — $296 million in 27 deals — is much more in line with traditional venture-capital levels, said Greg Beams, a partner at Ernst & Young in Seattle.

The rest of the article is here: http://www.seattletimes.com/business/technology/venture-capital-funding-sinks-but-thats-not-a-bad-sign/

GeekWire.com is reporting that U.S. venture capital firms raised $12 Billion in the first quarter of 2016, but overall activity has dipped for the third straight quarter.

CB Insights and KPMG released their “Venture Pulse” report for Q1 2016 and found that U.S.-based VC-backed companies raised $14.8 billion across 1,035 deals, marking the third consecutive quarter for decreased deal flow. While funding dollars actually rose by 6 percent from Q4 2015, it’s still far from the quarterly totals reported from Q4 2014 to Q3 2015.

Globally, VC firms invested $25.5 billion last quarter, down from $27.9 billion in Q1 2015.

You can get the full scoop here: http://www.geekwire.com/2016/u-s-venture-capital-firms-raise-12b-q1-deal-activity-dips-third-straight-quarter/

Bloomberg has a nice interview with Howard Lindzon, co-founder and chief executive officer at StockTwitz. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2016-04-14/is-cheap-money-helping-fuel-tech-venture-capital

CNN Money has an interesting article on why so few Latino-owned businesses are gaining venture capital funding.

Only about 1% of all Latino-owned businesses created between 2007 and 2012 in the U.S. received venture capital or angel investments, according to a report by the Stanford Graduate School of Business that surveyed roughly 1,800 businesses.

One big reason: Very few Latino-owned firms are even walking through the doors of venture capital firms to begin with.

Of all the firms that received VC funding, 87% had white founders, according to report from CB Insights. Asian-owned firms ranked a distant second, at 12%, while Black-owned companies represented a tiny 1% sliver. CB Insights said it did not break out a figure for Latino-owned firms.

Check out the article here: http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/12/smallbusiness/latino-venture-capital/