Emerging Managers

Seed-focused Pear seeks $35 mln for expansion fund

Palo Alto, California-based venture firm Pear, which raised $75 million for its second seed-stage fund in 2016, is seeking to raise $35 million for Pear Ventures I Expansion, according to a regulatory filing. The firm is led by Pejman Nozad and Mar Hershenson, the founding managing partners.

Fusion Fund launches in Ohio

Bounce Innovation Hub, Acquire Investments and JumpStart Inc announced the launch of Fusion Fund, a $20-million, for-profit venture fund aimed at growing companies in and around Ohio. The fund will make seed and early-stage investments in advanced materials, life sciences and tech companies located within a four-hour radius of Akron, Ohio.

Venture capital emerging manager roundup: Clean Energy, Blume, Ben Ling and more

Ground transportation-focused Autotech seeks $225 mln for second fund

Menlo Park, California-based Autotech Ventures, is seeking to raise $225 million for its second fund, according to a regulatory filing. The firm said last year it raised $120 million for its inaugural fund. The firm is headed up by Managing Directors Alexei Andreev, Quin Garcia and Daniel Hoffer. Autotech Ventures focuses on connected, autonomous, shared and electrified vehicles and related mobility services.

Technology Impact Growth Fund seeks $200 mln

Palo Alto, California-based Technology Impact Growth Fund is raising $200 million, according to a regulatory filing. Listed as the fund's managers are Dipender Saluja and Ion Yadigaroglu. The two are partners at the Capricorn Investment Group, an investment firm formed by former eBay President Jeffrey Skoll.

Emerging manager roundup: Health Velocity, Base10 Partners, Bluepoint and more

500 Startups wraps up oversubscribed Vietnam fund

500 Startups, which operates worldwide micro-funds, announced it has raised $14 million in an oversubscribed Vietnam-focused fund. The fund, launched in 2016, had targeted initially to raise $10 million. In a blog post, 500 Startups said it has already invested nearly $3 million in 36 companies to date, with a focus on companies serving the Vietnam market or leveraging Vietnamese talent. The fund is led by Eddie Thai (a Vietnam-based entrepreneur) and Binh Tran (co-founder and former CTO of Klout).

Monthly recap of fund briefs through Nov. 15

Venture capital emerging manager roundup: Greenspring, PVP, Work-Bench and more

Seed-focused 1984 Ventures raises more than $42 mln for first fund

San Francisco-based 1984 Venture has raised more than $42.27 million from 50 investors, according to a regulatory filing. The firm says it is now targeting $50 million for the inaugural fund. 1984 Ventures, named as an homage to the year Apple introduced the Macintosh computer and advertised it with a futuristic Super Bowl commercial, invests in early seed businesses using software to solve real-world problems. The firm is led by entrepreneur and investor Ramy Adeeb, a onetime principal at Khosla Ventures.