NEW YORK-Boston-based Atlas Venture has closed its sixth venture-capital fund, raising a total of $950 million in new private equity to invest in early-stage American and European companies involved in communications, information technology and life sciences.
In its April 26 announcement, Atlas Venture said it also is in the process of raising a “parallel fund… which will invest alongside the main fund.”
Atlas Venture now manages more than $2.5 billion in venture-capital investments, all focused on the same three industry sectors.
Last year, 14 of the companies in Atlas Ventures’ portfolio went public, including Orchestream Holdings plc, a communications company that debuted on the London Stock Exchange last June.
Another 11 of the venture-capital firm’s investee companies merged or were acquired last year. In the communications sector, Element 14 Inc. was acquired by Broadbeam Corp.; Cerulean Technology Inc. by Aether Systems Inc.; T.sqware Inc. by GlobeSpan Inc. Another, The industree BV, merged with BarcoNet NV.
In the information technology sector, one investee company, SpeechWorks International Inc., went public last year. Another three were acquired.
“While the prospects for 2001 are, of course, less certain, we have many companies that are well placed to take advantage of IPO (initial public offering) markets whenever they re-open, and a number of our portfolio companies are in merger discussions,” said Christopher Spray, a senior principal of Atlas Venture.
