Venture Firm Wellington Partners Launches $237 Million Life Science Fund
Wellington Partners, a top European venture capital firm based in Munich, Germany, announced the final close of its fifth-generation Wellington Partners Life Science Fund V (WPLS-V). It closed at $237 million (U.S.), which is the largest Wellington Partners fund targeting life sciences. The fund plans to build a portfolio of about 15 to 20 companies, with a […]
Chicago companies are attracting major venture funding
The University of Chicago has secured $75 million in grant funding, according to company database Crunchbase, topping the city’s recent funding headlines. The cash infusion was announced May 28 and financed by Pritzker Foundation. According to its Crunchbase profile, “The University of Chicago is not only a university in Chicago, Illinois, but also a university for Chicago. In […]
Part fund, part accelerator, Contrary Capital invests in student entrepreneurs | TechCrunch
First Round Capital has both the Dorm Room Fund and the Graduate Fund. General Catalyst has Rough Draft Ventures. And Prototype Capital and a few other micro-funds focus on investing in student founders, but overall, there’s a shortage of capital set aside for entrepreneurs still making their way through school. Contrary Capital, a soon-to-be San Francisco-based operation led by Eric Tarczynski, is […]
There’s an alternative to raising VC and it’s called revenue-based financing | TechCrunch
Revenue-based financing is on the rise, at least according to Lighter Capital, a firm that doles out entrepreneur-friendly debt capital. What exactly is RBF you ask? It’s a relatively new form of funding for tech companies that are posting monthly recurring revenue. Here’s how Lighter Capital, which completed 500 RBF deals in 2018, explains it: “It’s an alternative […]
Xconomy: Why Investors Are Turning to the Midwest
For decades, venture capital investors have targeted the East and West coasts to find and fund their next big startup growth company. The result? Two thirds of VC deals and dollars are currently, as of the first quarter of 2019, held in three states—California, New York, and Massachusetts—in three regions of the U.S. Trailing those […]
A quick look at how Series A and seed rounds have ballooned in recent years, fueled by top investors
Wing, an eight-year-old, Silicon Valley venture firm co-founded by veteran VCs Peter Wagner and Gaurav Garg, produces interesting research about its own industry every now and then, based on smaller data sets than firms like PitchBook or CB Insights tend to use. Instead of looking at funding activity broadly, the firm tracks deal-making at the […]
What Makes a Successful Startup Team
When venture capital investors are doing due diligence, they focus carefully on the financial side of the business. Does the company have an interesting business model? How big is the addressable market? What are the growth plans of the company? They hire expensive experts and use advanced data tools to answer these questions and ensure […]
Raising Seed Funding From a Traditional VC Is Harder Than Ever. Here’s Why
Without a doubt, you’ve heard reports that the VC industry is booming. And it truly is; bigger deals, bigger exits, and bigger funds are making a splash in Venture Capital. After all, who could forget the culmination of SoftBank’s $100 billion “megafund,” Spotify’s historic direct listing, or the roof-shattering $14 billion Series C round raised by Ant Financial […]
Osage University Partners raises $273 mln for third fund
Osage University Partners (“OUP”), a Philadelphia area-based venture capital firm, today announced the closing of Osage University Partners III, L.P. (“OUP III”) at $273 million, exceeding its target of $250 million. OUP III marks the firm’s third fund dedicated to investments exclusively in startups that are commercializing university research, bringing OUP’s total assets under management […]
CIT Gap Funds invests in medtech startup
The Herndon, Va.-based Center for Innovative Technology (CIT)announced that its CIT GAP Funds is investing in Richmond, Va.-based Tympanogen, a medical technology company that develops ear, nose, and throat (ENT) treatment devices based on a proprietary gel patch technology. “We have a great opportunity to take over what many consider to be a neglected market. ENT surgeons want a […]