Fresh $668 million Foresite Capital biotech venture fund aims to quench hunger for data, target university startups
A San Francisco venture capital firm backing data-intensive approaches to developing new drugs has raised a $668 million fund that it looks to turn loose on new ways to marry data and biology to bring therapies to market faster. Foresite Capital, whose recent investments include the machine learning drug development company Insitro, recent IPO Arcus […]
Connecticut Innovations hopes its record 2017 returns woo more venture investment
Like a gambler confident in his long-term strategy, Connecticut Innovations doesn’t sweat a bad bet. Losing — as much as $5 million on a single company in one instance — is part of the venture capital investment game. It’s a process that can feel like a slog, particularly in the seven- to 15-year investment cycles […]
4490 Ventures Raises $49M Fund to Support Startups in Midwest
4490 Ventures, a Madison, WI-based venture capital firm that supports startups in the Midwest, has raised $49 million for its second fund, according to a document filed with federal securities regulators on Wednesday. Greg Robinson, managing director at 4490, says the document is an “interim filing” and 4490 plans to finish raising its second fund later this […]
Utah’s Kickstart launches state’s richest seed investment fund
While investment deals in startup companies are down signficantly among North American venture capital firms, one Utah company that specializes in early funding is on an arc of success that is showing no signs of slowing down. Kickstart Seed Fund announced Wednesday the state’s largest ever seed-dedicated venture capital fund and, at $74 million, the […]
GV co-leads $27.1M Series A in Oxford Uni life sciences spinout Vaccitech
Leaning on its in-house life sciences expertise GV has backed another biotech startup in the UK, co-leading a £20 million ($27.1M) Series A in Oxford University spinout Vaccitech, which is developing a universal flu vaccine. Sequoia China, another new investor, is also co-leading the round, along with existing backer Oxford Sciences Innovation (OSI) — which operates a fund that invests in high […]
Univ. of Tokyo startups are targets of new $220m tech fund
A venture capital firm affiliated with the University of Tokyo has established a fund that ranks among Japan’s biggest in targeting startups with roots in higher education, eyeing ambitious candidates offering cutting-edge technologies developed at the school. University of Tokyo Edge Capital plans to assemble about 25 billion yen ($226 million) for the fund by April. It has […]
UChicago food allergy startup ClostraBio raises $3.5 million
Prof. Cathryn Nagler had been researching the physiological origins of food allergy and potential treatments for over 30 years, but she hadn’t considered the possibility of translating that research into a business. But just 15 months after considering that possibility and beginning her entrepreneurial career, she is the founder of a promising, emerging venture. Nagler’s new […]
Ottawa pushes venture capitalists to fix startup gender gap as condition of $400-million funding
Ottawa is pushing venture capitalists to help fix the gender gap in the Canadian startup scene, telling those who want to qualify for a $400-million funding program they must “demonstrate how their strategies would advance these objectives.” In its call for expressions of interest for the program to backstop venture capitalists, to be posted Monday, […]
U of Minnesota Spin-off Vigilant Diagnostics Wraps Seed Round with Chinese Investment
A University of Minnesota medical technology spin-off firm seeking to significantly improve the sensitivity and speed of infectious disease detection says it has tapped a Chinese investor to complete a seed financing round in addition to landing a $300,000 National Institute of Health commercialization grant. Vigilant Diagnostics LLC, co-founded in 2014 by U of M […]
Z21 Innovation Fund to accelerate University of Southampton Web startups
Funding is being made available for projects at the University of Southampton capitalising on the growing potential of the Web through the new Z21 Innovation Fund. The fund, a collaboration between the University of Southampton and the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), launched yesterday with an event at the University’s Highfield Campus during Global Entrepreneurship Week that saw representatives […]