SAN FRANCISCO – Pantheon Ventures in early April was awaiting the completion of paperwork by a few limited partners before declaring a final wrap on its third fund-of-funds. Pantheon USA Fund III, launched in mid-1998, was the firm’s first major fund raising effort to include investors in the United States (VCJ, September 1998, page 21). […]
BOSTON/NEW YORK – HarbourVest Partners, L.L.C. is marketing its sixth fund-of-funds targeting investments in the United States. The launch is significant because it signals HarbourVest’s further movement away from committing to buyout partnerships and direct deals. If it reaches its $2 billion target, HarbourVest Private Equity Partners VI, L.P. is planning to invest $500 million […]
PHILADELPHIA – Two months after its January launch, Comcast Interactive Capital Group, the venture capital subsidiary of cable operator Comcast Corp., hired veteran venture capitalist Samuel Schwartz as a managing director. Mr. Schwartz is Comcast’s first deal-oriented hire since the group launched its $100 million VC unit (VCJ, February, page 5). He joins the company […]
PALO ALTO, Calif. – MeriTech Capital in mid-March hired its second managing director, Mike Gordon, formerly of BT Alex. Brown. Mr. Gordon will join MeriTech Managing Director Paul Madera in overseeing the late-stage fund, which is a joint effort of Accel Partners, Brentwood Venture Capital, Oak Investment Partners and Worldview Technology Partners (VCJ, April, page […]
CINCINNATI – Blue Chip Venture Co. plans an April close on the $150 million Blue Chip Capital Fund III L.P. The fund will invest in roughly 25 companies with an individual average investment of $6 million, said General Partner John Wyant. Blue Chip III’s minimum investment will be $2 million and no investment will exceed […]
SAN FRANCISCO – Chase Capital Partners in March beefed up its San Francisco presence by hiring David Britts as a second principal in the four-man office, said Shahan Soghikian, a general partner at Chase. “His bailiwick has been networking equipment, which is a natural extension from our concentration on telecom services,” said Mr. Soghikian, who […]
SEATTLE – Five months after the start of a bitter legal battle that pitted a poster child of the upstart e-commerce industry against a giant brick-and-mortar retailer, Amazon.com Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. have settled their lawsuit. The settlement brings an end to a long legal tale that started in October, in which Wal-Mart brought […]
Someday, perhaps soon, Congress will have to make changes to the country’s Social Security program. While it’s safe to assume most venture capitalists won’t rely on the program to ensure the comfort of their own retirements, they might want to keep an eye on the reform process, and not just out of an interest in […]
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Kitty Hawk Capital provides financing for early- and expansion-stage information-technology, medical devices and consumer businesses throughout the Southeastern United States. Since its inception in 1980, the firm has invested in 70 private companies and currently manages more than $100 million. Kitty Hawk Capital IV, the firm’s most recent fund, held a $43 […]
LONDON – Just one month after the official start of fund raising, Paradigm Ventures, the brainchild of Esprit Telecom founder Michael Potter, in March raised $100 million to invest in European fast-growth, high-tech ventures. Mr. Potter is to step down as president and vice chairman of Esprit to run Paradigm, following GTS’s December acquisition of […]