Canada’s top 10 venture-capital financings in the second quarter drew $518 million from investors, up 8 percent from the $480 million that went into the top 10 deals a year earlier. The number is based on PE Hub Canada’s list of the largest deals announced from April through June, supplemented by preliminary data from Thomson Reuters. It suggests Canadian VC investment activity this year is so far keeping pace with the robust trend lines of 2016. At the end of June, VC funds invested $1.75 billion in Canada, preliminary data show, not far behind the $1.78 billion invested in the first half of last year.
Like a lot of lumbering land-based species, luggage has evolved slowly, from the steamer trunk to the suitcase to the 1987 invention of the Rollaboard. Since that milestone, the luggage world has been relatively calm. But that calm caught the attention of entrepreneurs and investors, who — what else? — set out to disrupt the $40 […]
Funds from Menlo Ventures and Technology Crossover Ventures hold the top spots in a portfolio of venture funds at the Washington State Investment Board. The portfolio, with vintages of 2003 to 2016, favors large and mid-sized funds with a multi-stage approach to investing. Almost half of the 11 funds are greater than $1 billion and […]
In the course of a week, allegations of sexual harassment and predatory behavior have unraveled Binary Capital, launched a lawsuit by a former employee, and prompted renewed discussion over how to address gender discrimination in venture capital. Plenty of venture firms and managing partners have weighed in publicly, censuring now-departed Binary Capital Managing Partner Justin […]
The mood in venture is more positive than it was a year ago. Valuation declines have leveled off and the IPO market is more welcoming. Hope has risen that public market demand will absorb at least some of the industry’s unicorns without huge down rounds. Deal terms, too, have shifted in the favor of investors, […]
What a difference 18 months can make. Many entrepreneurs, who were once in the fundraising driver’s seat, are suddenly finding raising money difficult. Valuations that two years ago soared to astronomical levels are now more constrained. Deals take longer to complete. And protective terms designed to reduce risk are more readily being applied. In the […]
Politically motivated boycotts have long presented a minefield for advertisers, with companies that dare to promote their products on programs deemed too left or too right facing a clamor of opposition and a potential dip in sales. Now the latest weapon for politically active net-surfers is online reviews. And no company may be too small […]
The IPO market is getting hot as June wraps up, with 10 companies expected to go public in the busiest week of the year so far. Three of the new issues this week are venture-backed. Year-to-date in 2017, 69 IPOs have priced, putting it on pace to surpass the 105 new issues in all of […]
Benhamou Global Ventures said it closed an oversubscribed third fund of $80 million with a more international LP base and a mandate to continue investing worldwide. The early-stage fund is modestly larger than the firm’s $72 million second fund, which was raised in 2014. Its aim is to take slightly higher ownership positions in portfolio […]
Funds from IVP and Contour Venture Partners lead an eclectic portfolio of venture funds at the New York State & Local Retirement System. The portfolio, with vintages of 2007 to 2015, favors smaller, early-stage funds, but also mixes in a fund of funds and two later-stage partnerships. No fund tops $750 million and only three […]