Don’t bank on a repeat of last year’s record fundraising, but investing confidence may gather steam
It’s been a tough few years for cleantech. And while no one expects a huge upturn, key specialist venture firms continue to selectively put money down on promising technologies. Money invested in the broad cleantech sector, which includes solar, energy-efficiency, battery-storage, water and related technologies, has continued to decline and is off its high of the […]
In the summer, Technology Crossover Ventures announced a $2.5 billion ninth fund with the intent to follow a now well-honed investment strategy of looking where many other firms don’t. The 21-year-old firm positions itself as a growth-stage investor ready to back companies on the brink of scaling with revenue of $30 million to $50 million […]
Although some worry that Brexit will eventually cause London to lose its standing as the center of European venture capital, the United Kingdom remains, for now, the top country in money raised. A total of 283 U.K. companies raised more than $2.9 billion during the year, more than any other European country during the year, according to […]
Given the rapid pace of innovation, it should come as no surprise 2016 showed itself to be the third consecutive year of an investment boom in biotechnology. It also shouldn’t turn heads that startups pursuing cancer therapeutics, microbial development and genomics science accounted for a dominant share of the year’s big deals. Companies such as […]
It should come as no surprise that 2016 cemented its position as the second largest year for cyber security investing. Through late December, investors put $2.4 billion to work with startups in the United States, trailing only 2015 in dollars deployed, according to data from Thomson Reuters. With high-profile identity theft and hacking making news […]
Canada’s venture industry in 2016 had its best fundraising year since the dot-com era, thanks to greatly improved supply-side conditions. Some 25 funds banked more than $2.2 billion in committed capital this year, according to preliminary data from Thomson Reuters and supplementary data compiled by PE Hub Canada. That’s up 86 percent from $1.2 billion raised in 2015. In fact, the data suggest fundraising levels in 2016 are the highest in Canada since 2002, when $2.5 billion was secured.
Funds from OrbiMed Advisors, GGV Capital and Shasta Ventures lead a portfolio of recently minted venture funds at the California State Teachers’ Retirement System. It’s worth noting that all three funds improved mightily in the 12 months ending in March, a period when venture valuations were under pressure. The portfolio of 18 CalSTRS holdings with […]
European venture firms, much like their U.S. counterparts, had a busy year of fundraising in 2016. Through Dec. 21, 61 European firms collected $7.5 billion in commitments. That amount has already exceeded all of 2015, when 73 firms collectively raised $7.4 billion, according to VCJ‘s analysis of preliminary Thomson Reuters data. The 2016 fundraising amount is […]
In November, 500 Startups ditched “accelerator” from its vernacular and rebranded its program offerings. The seed-stage investor now calls its accelerator the “500 Seed Program” and its growth effort is the “500 Series A Program.” But other than that, don’t expect a major change in course from 500 Startups, which is now in 50 countries, says Partner […]