Lightspeed Venture Partners, a leading provider of seed and early-stage venture capital to technology companies, today announced the closing of Lightspeed VII, capitalized at $475 million, which was above the firm's target of $400 million. The fund's closing brings the partnership's total capital under management to $1.3 billion.
The firm's limited partners include established institutional funds, pension funds, university endowments, foundations, and technology entrepreneurs from North America, Europe and Asia. Returning investors include Bessemer Trust, Alfred L. DuPont Trust, Horsley Bridge Partners, Pantheon Ventures, and the Partners Group. New to Lightspeed's investor base are the Regents of the University of California and several international limited partners such as GIC Special Investments of Singapore.
Lightspeed VII will continue to emphasize lead investor positions in seed and first-round financings, as did Lightspeed VI, which made over 80% of its investments in early-stage companies. The partnership plans to invest the new fund in information technology companies in areas including Internet services, digital media, consumer electronics, infrastructure systems and software, semiconductors, and emerging technologies.
While the majority of investments will be in US companies, the fund partners stated that Lightspeed VII will also incorporate active investment programs in Israel and Asia.
Lightspeed general partner Ravi Mhatre said, "As the technology business becomes more complex and increasingly global, it is important for Lightspeed to continue to extend our international capabilities through placement of Lightspeed resources in other countries, relationship development with international technology leaders, and partnerships with venture firms outside of the US."
Lightspeed Venture Partners manages $1.3 billion of committed capital and focuses on seed and early-stage information technology investments in the US, Israel and Asia. The firm's partners have invested in more than 100 technology companies over the past two decades. Israeli companies in which Lightspeed has invested include Electronics for Imaging (Nasdaq: EFII), Galileo Technology (sold to Marvell Technology Group for $2.7 billion in shares), Harmonic (Nasdaq: HLIT), OpTier, Personeta, Terayon Communications Systems (Nasdaq: TERN), and Transparency Software.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on Monday, January 09, 2006