Dan Primack

Softbank Capital has quietly raised $100 million for a new fund, which will focus on early-stage investments in the social computing space. The entire capital commitment came from Tokyo-based namesake Softbank. This is different from Softbank Capital's prior fund, a $230 million pool in which Softbank was joined by several other limited partners. That fund is now fully-committed, although there is still dry powder for follow-on investments. I last reported on Softbank Capital in June 2009, when co-managing partner Eric Hippeau left to become CEO of portfolio company HuffingtonPost. At the time, remaining managing partner Ron Fisher said that the firm

Earlier today, iPhone assistant maker Siri confirmed that it has been acquired by Apple. No financial terms were disclosed by the startup, which had raised $24 million in VC funding from Menlo Ventures, Morgenthaler Ventures and SRI International (from which it spun out in 2008). Some notes: 1. Robert Scoble first spotted the deal, based on an early termination of Hart-Scott-Rodino by the SEC. Good eyes, although it saddens me that this could prompt other reporters to regularly begin sifting through FTC notices (saddens me more that I hadn't done my own regular sweep). 2. Scoble also wrote the following, vis-a-vis price: If previous acquisitions by Apple are an indicator this would have gone for 8x to 10x investments, which would have put the price at about $200 million. Since this company/product just came out this year (I named it one of the startups to watch in 2010) it would have had to go for that amount or more to get the investors interested in selling so soon. I've spoken to a source familiar with the deal, who says that Scoble "is a very smart guy." It's not $200 million on the nose, but it's very, very close.

I recently ran across a regulatory filing from HealthCare Ventures, which has been making early-stage and growth-stage deals since 1985. It suggests that the firm is targeting upwards of $250 million for its ninth fund, which would be a step down from the nearly $380 million raised for Fund VIII in 2005. More interesting than what's included in the filing, however, is what's missing. Namely, managing directors James Cavanaugh and Hal Werner. Both were listed as principals in a Fund VIII filing, but not this time around. They also happen to be HealthCare Ventures' only investment pros in Princeton, N.J., while the rest are based in Cambridge, Mass. (the new filing lists the Cambridge address, whereas past ones list Princeton).

Last month we wrote about how a pair of provisions in Chris Dodd's financial reform bill could be problematic for angel investors and startups. One provision would virtually double the theshold for qualifying as an accredited investors, while the other would have effectively removed the federal exemption for Regulation D -- thus increasing the cost and complexity for those raising money from sources in multiple states. VC bloggers took to their keyboards with outraged strokes, while trade groups like the Angel Capital Association and Connecticut Technology Council worked to change minds of Capitol Hill. Not sure which was more effective, but the trade groups are now claiming a tentative victory.

Back in February, Bessemer Venture Partners announced a trio of promotions. Not mentioned was that the moves were made, in part, to succeed two existing pros who had been asked to move on. peHUB has learned that the two departees will be Devesh Garg, a managing director of BVP India, and Justin Label, a partner working […]

Tomorrow we will launch our annual Desperate Interns Drive, in which first-year MBA candidates find summer jobs at VC firms, PE firms, banks, portfolio companies, etc. So if your firm or one of your portfolio companies is looking to hire summer interns from the current crop of first-year MBA candidates, please drop me a note at daniel.primack@thomsonreuters.com. All postings can include as much or little information as you’d like to provide. Minimums are firm type (VC, LBO, I-Bank, etc.) and job location. If you’d like to keep your firm identity anonymous, just be sure to let me know. There is no fee for this service.

More than 700 peHUB readers took over Mighty in San Francisco last Wednesday, for our latest peHUB Shindig. Plus, we raised more than $6,400 for the Guardsmen, a local group that helps send 2,500 at-risk youth to outdoor education programs each year. Great to see so many of you there, and sorry we’d been gone for so long (our last SF event was in October '08). Next up will be Chicago, with details to come soon. And, yes, we do hope to return to San Francisco before the year is out. A final thanks to our sponsors: Capital Dynamics, FLAG Capital, Rothstein Kass, SecondMarket and True Ventures. Photos after the jump...

Greycroft Partners today announced that it has closed its second fund with just over $130 million in capital commitments. This is the early-stage VC firm launched several years back by Alan Patricof, with a focus on digital media. A few quick notes (since I'm writing from 30k feet on my way from Boston to San Francisco): 1. Patricof has promised LPs that Greycroft will never raise more than $150 million for a fund. Ever. 2. That said, this vehicle is much larger than Greycroft’s debut effort, which originally closed on $50 million before later expanding to $75 million. The idea for the larger fund is to do more deals, rather than to do larger deals. 3. Greycroft is in the process of hiring a new partner for its Los Angeles office, but has not yet decided between a couple of finalists for the job. The firm also has promoted principal Ian Sigalow to partner.

Not that it’s surprising, but word is that Sequoia Capital is way oversubscribed for its new fund. As you might recall, the Silicon Valley stalwart was looking to raise around $1 billion for a vehicle that would consolidate several (but not all) of its existing geographic strategies (during Sequoia’s recent annual meeting, the presentation included a procession of partners […]