Thursday, February 7, 2008

ATV closes new $300M fund

Venture capital firm Advanced Technology Ventures, which operates an office in Waltham, this week revealed closing its eighth fund in December 2007.

ATV's $303 million fund is much smaller than its previous fund, which totaled $800 million and closed in 2001. The latest fund is expected to support continued investments in early-stage information technology, clean technology and health care companies, spokeswoman Donna von Halle said.

ATV, which also operates an office in Palo Alto, Calif., was founded in 1979. Portfolio companies include Acceleron Pharma Inc., a Cambridge biopharmaceutical firm and Hydra Biosciences Inc., a Cambridge biotechnology company.

New England venture capital firms raised the same amount during the fourth quarter 2007 as they did during the same period in 2006, according to a report by the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and Thomson Financial.

Local firms raised nearly $1.2 billion for 10 funds during the quarter, the same as the $1.2 billion raised for six funds during the fourth quarter 2006. For the entire year 2007, New England VCs raised $6.16 billion compared with $4.56 billion during 2006. Bessemer Venture Partners, which operates an office in Wellesley Hills, raised the second-largest fund in the nation last year, attracting $1.3 billion in capital, the report shows.