Lawrence Aragon

Top LPs Expect VC Fundraising to Remain Difficult

"High-quality firms will find it easy to raise funds but lesser-quality funds will struggle mightily,” says Brian Rodde of Makena Capital Management, which manages and invests capital for endowments, foundations and family offices.

White House to Welcome Kate Mitchell, Other VCs, to JOBS Act Signing Ceremony

Venture capitalist Kate Mitchell has scored a coveted invitation to President Obama's signing of the JOBS Act, tentatively scheduled for this Thursday. Mitchell is co-founder of Scale Venture Partners and was chairman of the 17-member IPO Task Force that drafted the recommendations that went into the JOBS Act.

Index Ventures Raises $198M for First Dedicated Life Sciences Fund, Teams with GSK and J&J

The €150 million ($198 million) life sciences fund counts as anchor LPs GlaxoSmithKline and the venture capital affiliate of the Janssen pharmaceutical companies of Johnson & Johnson.

LACERS to Commit up to $45M to Avenue Capital, Blackstone and Hony Capital

The Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System plans to commit up to $45 million to funds managed by Avenue Capital Group, Blackstone Group and Hony Capital, according to the agenda for LACERS' March 13 board meeting.

Yelp Prices IPO Above Expected Range; Benchmark, Bessemer and Elevation Shares Worth Combined $475M

Benchmark Capital Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners and Elevation Partners as a group own 31.7 million shares worth in excess of $475 million at $15 per share.

Another VC-Backed Electric Car Maker Bites the Dust: Bright Automotive Is Shutting Down

General Motors Ventures and other VCs will lose about $16M invested in Bright Automotive. The failure follows the December demise of Aptera, another VC-backed vehicle maker.

Yahoo Claims Facebook Is Infringing on Up to 20 Patents: New York Times

Yahoo is "seeking to force Facebook into licensing 10 to 20 patents over technologies that include advertising, the personalization of Web sites, social networking and messaging," according to the New York Times.

You're Scared of Obama's Tax Plan, But Confident It Won't Pass: Poll Results

Most peHUB readers are troubled by President Obama’s business tax reform proposal, but few think it has any real chance of passing, according to our weekly poll.

Boston Seed Investor NextView Holds Final Close on $21M

The firm finished fund-raising late last year after holding a first close on $8.1 million in March 2011.

Week's Top Posts Focus on Commitments by Wisconsin and Jersey, Most Active U.S. Buyout Shops in Europe and "Job of the Week"

Here are the top 10 most popular posts among our regular readers from Feb. 13 to Feb. 17, led by the year's biggest VC fundraisers to date.