Obvious Ventures, which was co-founded by Ev Williams of Twitter fame, has closed its second fund with more than 55 percent more commitments than its first vehicle. Altogether, the fund raised commitments from 54 LPs, according to the regulatory filing. Williams, who was an LP in the firm’s first fund, made a larger financial commitment in […]
Alex Derber, VCJ Correspondent Most VCs like to emphasize the benefits they offer entrepreneurs beyond simple equity investments. These might be a bulging contacts book, specialist knowledge or overseas ties, but some European firms now hire dedicated support staff, a practice common in the United States but still novel in Europe. One such firm is […]
Funds from Polaris Venture Partners and DFJ were off to fast starts in a late-vintage venture portfolio at the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension System. The 14-fund portfolio, with vintages of 2013 to 2016, is largely made up of mid-sized funds and is evenly balanced between early-stage and late-stage investors. About three-quarters of the […]
Gil Penchina, founder of Flight Ventures, the largest syndicate on the AngelList platform, joined IDG Ventures earlier this year as a managing director. But the move was made without much fanfare. The San Francisco venture firm, which raised $120 million for its third fund in 2015 to invest in consumer and enterprise tech companies, added […]
Remember the old days of voice recognition? Siri, which has been a part of Apple’s iOS since 2011, would hear you say “order pizza” and she’d give you cures for alopecia. No longer: Voice has arrived. Virtual assistants like Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, Microsoft’s Cortana and Google Assistant are now delivering far better voice recognition. And […]
Hi everyone, I’m thrilled to join the VCJ and PE Hub team, and I look forward to delving into the world of venture capital. I’m a Bay Area native, raised in the South Bay before leaving for college and a stint on the East Coast. But I couldn’t be separated from Philz Coffee and the […]
Valor Equity Partners is marketing its latest growth equity fund with a $750 million target, two limited partners told VCJ. The firm has not set a hard cap, but Valor Equity Partners IV is unlikely to surpass $1 billion. New York State Teachers’ Retirement System and Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund both committed up to $75 million to the fund […]
Funds from Longitude Capital, Canaan Partners and IVP have risen to the top of a well-performing, mid-life venture portfolio at the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension System. The 14-fund portfolio, with vintages of 2008 to 2012, is largely made up of mid-sized funds with an exposure to early-stage investing. About two-thirds of the funds […]
New Enterprise Associates is seeking a $3 billion fund. But it’s hardly the only firm currently courting LPs. A VCJ analysis of newly filed regulatory documents this year shows that besides NEA more than 70 other venture firms, corporations, incubators and equity-trading platforms are seeking more than $5 billion in funds and that more than $1.3 […]
Real Matters, a real estate technology platform, has priced its recently filed initial public offering in Canada. The Toronto company, backed by a mix of private and public investors, expects to raise as much as $132 million from a sale of common shares at $12 to $13 per unit, according to the updated prospectus. Earlier this week, Bloomberg said Real Matters is seeking a $1.1 billion valuation with the issue. That’s well up from the $653 million value reported for the business a year ago.