Managers

Emerging managers Cowen, Pontifax, Maven and others lift fundraising total

Activity picks up for emerging managers as 12 young venture firms raised about $708 million in the previous two-week period

Ginkgo Bioworks’ $350 mln fund to deploy capital by year-end

The Ferment Fund will exclusively support companies that have been spun out from Ginkgo and will benefit from full access to the company’s platform for cell programming.

Abalos Therapeutics grabs Series A

Abalos Therapeutics, a German cancer drug developer, has raised 12 million euros in Series A financing. Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund and Gruenderfonds Ruhr led the round.

Azitra fetches $14 mln Series A

Farmington, Connecticut-based Azitra Inc, a clinical-stage medical dermatology company addressing serious skin conditions by harnessing the microbiome, has raised $14 million in Series A financing. KdT Ventures and Bios Partners led the round with participation from Connecticut Innovations and Godfrey Capital.

Cyteir Therapeutics scores $40.2 mln Series B

Lexington, Massachusetts-based Cyteir Therapeutics, a developer of next-generation synthetic lethal therapies for cancer, has secured $40.2 million in Series B funding. Novo Holdings led the round with participation from Venrock, DROIA Oncology Ventures, Osage University Partners, Lightstone Ventures and Celgene Corporation. As part of this closing, Dr. Karen Hong of Novo Ventures will join the Cyteir board.

Jackson Square raises $193 mln

Jackson Square Ventures, which backed DocuSign, UpWork and Strava, announced it raised $193 million for its third and largest fund. The San Francisco-based firm was targeted $150 million, according to a regulatory filing in May. The latest fund is 60 percent more than the $120 million it raised for Fund II in 2016. As part of the new fund, Victor Echevarria was promoted to partner. The firm is led by Managing Directors Pete Solvik, Greg Gretsch and Josh Breinlinger.

Rhode Island ramps up new secondaries strategy, buys stake in Industry Ventures

The pension system will take an opportunistic approach, investing in LP interests in both new and existing funds with its GPs, as well as the funds of GPs with which it does not have relationships, senior investment officer Jonathan Popielarski said.

Investors eye the great outdoors as Americans go glamping

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