Highway 12 Ventures Raises $75 Million Second Fund. Invests in 3 Businesses. Firm continues focus on high-growth opportunities in the Intermountain West

Highway 12 Ventures http://www.highway12ventures.com
announced today that it has raised its second venture capital fund, Highway 12 Ventures II, totaling $75 million. Fund II will continue the firm’s strategy on early-stage investments in the Intermountain West states of Idaho, Utah, Colorado and Montana. Highway 12 Ventures I ($25 million) debuted in 2001 and has built a successful portfolio of companies led by outstanding entrepreneurs including @Last Software (a leading provider of 3D design software acquired by Google), Attensity (the innovator in text analytics solutions) and OpenLogic (the leading provider of support and services for open source projects).

In addition to the repeat participation of all Fund I institutional investors including the Public Retirement System of Idaho (lead investor), new institutional investors include The Montana Board of Investments, Darwin Ventures and The Utah Fund of Funds. "The Utah Fund of Funds is excited to include Highway 12 Ventures among our portfolio of quality investment firms," said Jeremy Neilson, Managing Director of the Utah Fund of Funds. "We were drawn to Highway 12 Ventures for a number of key reasons, but especially by the partners’ unfailing commitment to building the Intermountain West by identifying and supporting promising ideas and entrepreneurs in the region."

Peter Freudenthal, Managing Partner of San Francisco based Fund of Funds Darwin Ventures adds, "We believe that there are inefficient emerging US venture markets which will foster important new companies and generate quality returns for institutional investors. Darwin Ventures is focused on identifying the most promising managers within these markets and we believe that Highway 12 Ventures is well positioned to become one of the leading venture firms in the fastest growing region in the country."

According to Founder and Managing Partner Mark Solon, “The addition of such a reputable group of institutional investors coupled with the strong exit scenario in the region over the last five years helps validate our investment thesis that the region represents a vibrant new market for start-ups.” “We believe that the lure of a unique quality of life coupled with an established business infrastructure will continue to make the Intermountain West the fastest growing region in the country for talented entrepreneurs.

Along with Mr. Solon, returning General Partners Mike Mers and Phil Reed round out the management team. Mr. Reed is a lifelong entrepreneur, having founded twelve companies including both ComputerLand and Business Land. Mr. Mers spent a decade at Hewlett Packard before entering the venture capital business with Intel Capital and later joining BRM Capital in New York.

With the new fund, Highway 12 Ventures will continue its strategy of partnering with the most promising entrepreneurs that are building high-growth companies in the Intermountain West. The fund will typically invest between $250,000 and $3 million in a first round and up to a total of $5 million in each of its portfolio companies.

Highway 12 Ventures has made four investments from the new fund including an investment alongside Benchmark Capital and Shasta Ventures in Logoworks, a Utah company providing design services for small businesses which was recently acquired by HP. Other investments in Fund II include Kestrelink (Boise, ID), Vico Software (Boulder, CO) and DAZ 3D (Salt Lake City, UT).

Importantly, Highway 12 Ventures will continue its close affiliation with Village Ventures, a nationwide network of early-stage venture capital funds focused on investing in the nation’s most promising yet underserved markets. Village Ventures achieves economies of scale by centralizing numerous administrative, investment, and operational services for its network of partner funds. This centralization of services allows the time and energy of partner fund managers to be focused on investing in and guiding companies.

About Highway 12 Ventures

Highway 12 Ventures is a leading early-stage VC fund investing in high-growth, entrepreneurial companies in the Intermountain West states of Idaho, Utah, Montana and Colorado. With over $100 million under management, it is Idaho’s largest venture capital firm. Highway 12 Ventures is part of the Village Ventures nationwide network of venture capital funds. For more information call (208) 345-8383 or visit http://www.highway12ventures.com

Contact:

Denise DeCarli

Highway 12 Ventures

(208) 345 – 8383

[email protected]

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Highway 12 invests in four businesses

Idaho’s largest venture capital firm raises $75 million for second fund.

By Ken Dey – [email protected]

Highway 12 Ventures http://www.highway12ventures.com/index.html has raised $75 million to launch its second venture capital fund.

The Boise-based venture capital firm, which started in 2001 with an initial $25 million fund, said the new capital will help provide funding to 15 to 18 companies over the next four to five years. The first fund helped fund 11 companies, including two in Idaho. Highway 12 is Idaho’s largest venture capital firm.

Full Story: http://www.idahostatesman.com/business/story/110937.html