Foundation Capital raises $750M fund, claiming focus on cleantech
Foundation Capital has closed on its sixth venture fund to date, pulling in $750 million, of which the firm says it plans to set aside a full $250 million for investment in the burgeoning cleantech space.
The firm’s investments in cleantech companies began back in 2003, but it has so placed relatively few bets, with half of those going to technologies focused on energy management for utilities and the commercial market. However, the firm also recently won one of three coveted spots in a new Department of Energy program, gaining the right to place an entrepreneur in Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
One of the firm’s entrepreneurs-in-resident, Ashmeet Sidana, also recently became a general partner. Skip Glass joined as operating partner, while Mike Brown and Steve Vassallo became principals.
Foundation also invests in consumer Internet, semiconductors, telecommunications and networking, and enterprise software. The firm’s last fund was $525 million, closed two years ago.
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About the Author, Chris Morrison
Chris Morrison writes about cleantech and environmental issues for VentureBeat, with occasional forays into gaming and semantic technology. He got his start writing about tech for Business 2.0 magazine, but quickly realized new media was the ticket when that institution closed its doors in 2007. Chris has also covered public equities and regulatory issues. He originally hails from southern Virginia, graduated from Evergreen State College in Washington, and now lives in San Francisco.