Venture Capital News
The Ohio Capital Fund Finalizes Five Investment Commitments
The Ohio Capital Fund (TOCF), managed by Buckeye Venture Partners, LLC, announced commitments to five venture capital funds, including four with offices in Ohio.
Bridge Investment Fund L.P. (Bridge), SunBridge Partners Technology Fund III, L.P. (SunBridge), and Chrysalis Ventures (Ohio) III, L.P (Chrysalis) all have offices in Cleveland while River Cities Capital Fund IV, L.P. (River Cities) is based in Cincinnati. SV Life Science Fund IV, L.P. (SV) is a national fund with offices in San Francisco, Boston and London.
Established by the State of Ohio through legislative mandate, The Ohio Capital Fund receives oversight from the Ohio Venture Capital Authority (OVCA). This group is comprised of nine members, including seven members appointed by the Governor from the general public, as well as the Ohio Tax Commissioner and the Director of the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD).
The five most recent venture funds, targeted heavily in Ohio, focus on investing in emerging companies in the technology and healthcare industries.
Chrysalis Ventures, with a new office in Cleveland, invests in the healthcare services and technology, media and communications and business services sectors, primarily focused on early and expansion stage companies located in the Midwest and in the Southern United States.
Also in Cleveland, Bridge invests in early-stage health technology companies based in Israel with the intent of moving their portfolio company headquarters to Ohio.
River Cities is a Cincinnati-based venture capital fund investing in companies in the healthcare and information technology sectors. River Cities focuses its efforts mainly in the Midwest and Southeast United States.
The only non-Ohio fund announced by The Ohio Capital Fund at this time, SV Life Sciences, is a national fund with a multi-stage investment focus within the areas of health care services, biotechnology, biopharmaceutical, and medical devices. Bruce Peacock, an SV venture partner, has joined the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center Technology Validation Board demonstrating SV's strong interest in Ohio medical technologies.
While not concentrated in the health care industry, Cleveland-based SunBridge invests in early-stage, U.S.-based technology companies in the following sectors: computing, communications and manufacturing, including materials, semiconductors, components, equipment and software. SunBridge also has an office in Palo Alto, CA.
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George Roberts Named Venture Partner at OpenView Venture Partners
Representatives of OpenView Venture Partners announced Tuesday that George Roberts has joined the firm as a Venture Partner effective April 2, 2007.
George Roberts is a former member of the executive management team at Oracle, with over 25 years of deep management experience in the software industry.
For the last three years, Roberts has been making private investments and serving as a board member of several fast-growing venture capital-funded software companies, including ScriptLogic Corporation, Fieldglass Inc., and Informance International.
From 1990 to 2003, Roberts spent 13 years at Oracle Corporation, most recently having served as EVP of North American Sales. While at Oracle, Roberts was responsible for over $1 billion in revenue and over 2,000 employees, reporting directly to the company's CEO and Chairman, Larry Ellison.
Roberts also served as a member of the firm's executive team responsible for restructuring Oracle, increasing profit margins from 22% to over 40%, and positioning Oracle as the second most profitable company in the industry after Microsoft.
Other notable milestones in Roberts's tenure at Oracle include growing revenue tenfold from $30 million to $300 million in the Central Sales Division over a 7-year period, architecting the channel strategy for North America, and realigning the organization's go-to-market approach from a heavy direct sales focus to a balanced distribution model incorporating telesales and broad based channel programs. In addition, Roberts started Oracle's Business Online Applications Hosting unit, which today generates over $500 million in revenues.
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SSM Announces Addition of Venture Partners; Larry Coleman, PhD and David Swenson to Focus on Healthcare Services and Information Technology Investments
Representatives of SSM Partners, a leading venture capital firm focused on healthcare and technology-enabled services investments, announced Monday that well-known healthcare venture capital investors Larry Coleman, PhD and David Swenson have joined the firm as Venture Partners.
Dr. Coleman and Mr. Swenson are the founders of Coleman Swenson Booth (CSB), one of the first dedicated healthcare venture capital funds in the U.S. As principals of CSB for over twenty years, Coleman and Swenson have invested in over 80 healthcare companies. Past investments include such highly successful companies as Surgical Care Affiliates, Pyxis, Integrated Health, Long Term Care Group, Coventry and Vitas.
In their capacity as Venture Partners, Coleman and Swenson will be integrally involved in the sourcing, evaluation and management of healthcare investments for SSM. Coleman and Swenson will be based in Nashville, Tennessee and will evaluate potential deals throughout the United States.
Coleman's healthcare industry experience spans over 30 years. Prior to entering the venture capital industry, he held senior management positions at Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing (3M), SmithKline Instruments and Diagnostics, and Damon Clinical Laboratories. In 1983, Coleman entered the venture capital industry as President of HCA Capital Corporation, a subsidiary of Hospital Corporation of America. He co-founded and serves as Managing General Partner of Coleman Swenson Booth, one of the first dedicated healthcare venture capital funds in the U.S. Coleman has served as a director on the boards of twenty-six start-up and emerging growth healthcare companies. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Active Services, an adult day care provider; and LXU Healthcare, a specialty surgical marketing and distribution company. He received an A.B. degree from the University of North Carolina and a Ph.D. in immunology- biochemistry from the University of South Dakota.
Swenson's healthcare industry experience began in 1981 at Hospital Corporation of America. At HCA, he served as Senior Strategic Planning Analyst and Chief Financial Officer, The Center for Health Studies; and Treasurer and Investment Manager, HCA Capital Corporation. Swenson co-founded and serves as General Partner of Coleman Swenson Booth. He has extensive experience in tracking emerging technologies and alternatives to hospital delivery of healthcare, analysis of hospital management companies, strategic planning, and financial analyses for corporate acquisitions and mergers. Swenson has served on the boards of twenty-five start-up and emerging growth healthcare companies. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of NotifyMD, a provider of Internet-based physician practice communication services; and SleepMed, a sleep disorder management and treatment company. Swenson is a past Director of Pyxis Corporation. He received a B.S. from Austin Peay University and an M.B.A. from the Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University.
