Enerkem, a company that turns trash into clean fuels and green chemicals, this week accounted for the biggest cleantech deal in the history of Canada’s venture market. The Montréal company on Tuesday said it raised $280 million in new financing. The round was backed by U.S. investment manager BlackRock and Chinese bioindustrial conglomerate Sinobioway, both new investors, as well as Enerkem’s longstanding investors. The Enerkem deal is the all-time largest raised by a domestic VC-backed cleantech company, Thomson Reuters data show. It beats Enerkem’s own record, set in 2013, when it secured $87 million in two tranches.
An alumni group from the 500 Startups accelerator program is hoping to be for early-stage venture fundraising what Blue Apron is for home cooks. Instead of investors selecting individual portfolio companies, 22X Fund comes pre-assembled, like a recipe-meal kit. The fund is a portfolio of 30 of the 36 companies from 500 Startups’ 22nd batch […]
By Mike Janke, DataTribe I have been a venture capitalist for more than three years, and before that a serial entrepreneur and startup CEO and angel investor. The difference between the two positions is huge. And the experience I developed as a CEO became invaluable when I moved over to the VC side. As a VC […]
Funds from Element Partners and Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital head a portfolio of cleantech venture funds at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. The portfolio of 2007 to 2010 vintages is a mix of mostly smaller and mid-sized funds. The majority focuses on a multi- and late-stage approach to investing, with several zeroing in specifically […]
VCs have the means to appreciate the finer things in life. So it’s probably a safe bet that at least one or two have an original Picasso or Warhol hanging on their office walls. And beyond bragging rights, owning one of these greats is probably a good investment, especially given that Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi […]
Enterprise-focused, early-stage investor Storm Ventures has added Paul Willard as a partner and has promoted Arun Penmetsa to partner. Separately, a source familiar with the matter said Storm would raise a new fund this year, with a first close likely in Q2. The target on the planned sixth fund and other details couldn’t be learned. Willard […]
Funds from Aisling Capital, Clarus Ventures and Asia Alternatives lead a portfolio of late-decade venture funds at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. The portfolio of 2008 and 2009 vintages is a mix of mostly smaller and mid-sized funds. It employs primarily an early and multi-stage approach to investing, though it also has two funds […]
Uber may be venture capital’s greatest success story and also perhaps its greatest stumble. In eight short years, it grew to dominate a new era of transportation, raised an astronomical $22 billion, more than any other U.S. venture-backed company, and attracted seasoned early investors, including Benchmark, First Round Capital, Lowercase Capital, Goldman Sachs and Menlo […]
Uber is by no means your run-of-the-mill startup, but perhaps the most unique thing about the ride hailing company is this: Despite the brand damage of the past year, the stumbles and legal foibles, its business continues to do well. Most companies would have experienced an existential blow by now. Chalk it up to extraordinary […]
By Sean Cunningham, Trident Capital Cybersecurity Given the explosion of ransomware attacks in 2017 and stunning breaches like those at Equifax and the National Security Agency, it’s no surprise that corporations worldwide invested yet another record amount in cybersecurity products and services. Predictably, venture capitalists and their counterparts inside corporations also invested a record amount […]