The holy grail of consumer investing may be a new, voice-activated, augmented-reality-infused platform. But that’s not to say venture capitalists have given up on the platforms of the past, particularly e-commerce and the mobile internet. Both remain targets of considerable investment activity and the beneficiaries of surprising innovation. Digital brands remain hot, such as Dollar […]
Venture fundraising in the healthcare sector is on track to set a record this year with $5 billion raised through midyear, according to a study from Silicon Valley Bank. Meanwhile, a surge of activity late in the second quarter pushed first-half IPO activity in healthcare to 15 deals – all biopharma – setting the year […]
By Alex Derber, VCJ correspondent European financial-technology investment spiked in the first quarter, rising about 50 percent year on year to more than $600 million, according to consulting firm KPMG. The United Kingdom and Germany account for most for the extra activity, but France, Europe’s other large economy, curiously lags, having hosted none of the […]
Funds from JMI Equity, Insight Venture Partners and Canaan Partners have come out on top of a mid-decade portfolio of venture funds from Washington State Investment Board’s Pathway and Invesco holdings. The portfolio is made up of 2005 vintage funds and favors mid-sized capital pools and an early-stage approach to investing. Three-quarters of the nine […]
The amount of venture capital going to companies that develop drugs and therapies to treat rare diseases nearly doubled in the first half of 2017, compared with the six months prior. Companies that develop therapies or drugs for orphan diseases—which affect fewer than 200,000 people nationwide, according to the Food and Drug Administration—raised $169.26 million […]
The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System launched an in-house venture program in 2011, making it one of the few pensions worldwide to invest directly in the asset class. Today, the $85.2 billion OMERS is feeling pretty good about that bet, OMERS Ventures Chief Executive John Ruffolo told PE Hub Canada. OMERS Ventures emerged as an influential investor in North America’s tech sectors, where it has deployed some $370 million to 31 companies. It often uses the clout to draw attention and dollars to Canadian entrepreneurs and startups, which remain a primary focus. PE Hub Canada sat down with Ruffolo to talk about his firm’s strategy, plans to expand into the United States and Europe, and why more institutional investors should embrace VC.
Deal count and value dropped sharply in the first half of 2017 for the online payments sector, after peaking in the second half of 2016. Venture investors put just under $180 million toward 18 deals with companies in the internet security and transaction services sector in the first six months of 2017, compared to $519.6 […]
Venture investors poured $1.26 billion into Israeli tech startups in the second quarter, the second highest quarterly amount in five years, according to a report from IVC-ZAG. The second quarter saw 157 companies receive funding, about even with the first quarter. One of the largest deals done in Q2 was for Valens Semiconductor, which raised […]
While Snap and MuleSoft celebrated going public by ringing the NYSE bell this year, other venture-backed startups were laid to rest with little fanfare. VCJ looked at some of the more notable passings of U.S.-based startups in the first half of the year, which raised a combined $1.27 billion in venture capital before closing down. […]
Venture activity in June was mostly positive as M&A, IPOs and firm fundraising each increased during the month. Only deal value fell from the month before, according to VCJ‘s analysis of the preliminary data from Thomson Reuters. U.S.-based fundraising had its best month of the year in June as 28 firms collected $8.24 billion in […]