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The venture capital industry is largely opposed to any federal bailout, but biotech executive and angel investor Leslie Glick continues to promote his venture-capital stimulus plan in which VC firms that manage funds of $30 million or more that have been in business or operating for at least five years. In Life Science Leader, he spells out this plan, which he crafted last fall and has yet to gain widespread Congressional support for it. Glick believes the U.S. government should invest $15 billion to $60 billion per year in VC firms. According to an addendum at the end of this column, "Glick was able to get his congressman to review the plan but was told that 'it would never fly.'"….
In an editorial in the San Jose Mercury News, Bob Ackerman, founder and managing director of Allegis Capital, calls for large corporations to reinvest aggressively in venture capital and in start-up companies as outside R&D arms. "[L]everaging the top-flight innovation that is ubiquitous in venture capital circles is the most overlooked opportunity to address the deterioration in American R&D," he writes. "U.S. corporations must rise to the occasion and help restore the luster of venture capital and America's technological moxie."….
More start-up busts: We've added semiconductor company CSwitch Inc. to our long list of venture-backed companies that have gone out of business this year. We also plan to add social network TeeBeeDee Inc. to our list once, as VentureWire pointed out, it shuts down the site in a couple of weeks….
While start-ups continue to succumb to the recession, two new venture capital firms have launched. As expected, well-known entrepreneurs Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz have officially launched a new $300 million technology fund that will invest anywhere between $50,000 and $50 million in each company. Meanwhile, Excel Venture Management has closed a $125 million first fund aimed at life sciences technologies with potential to be applied to multiple markets, such as energy, defense and chemicals….
The Sand Hill Slave illustrates which thoughts circulate through the brains of venture capitalists. Yes, this is the Sand Hill Slave, so expect sarcasm.
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