VC fund briefs, week of July 28, 2008

Levensohn to launch efforts for fund VI

Levensohn Venture Partners is preparing to begin raising $150 million for its fourth early stage fund, according to VentureWire. The San Francisco-based firm currently manages about $165 million from its two previous funds combined.

The firm’s fund-raising efforts will no doubt be lifted by the sale of Rapt Inc. In March, Microsoft Corp. agreed to acquire Rapt, a San Francisco-based developer of profit optimization software for an undisclosed price. Rapt had raised about $55 million in total VC funding from Levensohn, Accel Partners, Octane Capital Management and other investors.

OrbiMed raises $150M

OrbiMed Advisors has raised $150 million for a Pan-Asian health care venture capital fund, according to VentureWire. The New York-based firm also hired Dr. Sunny Sharma, a former vice president with Investor Growth Capital, as a partner to lead its new office in Mumbai. Sharma joins Drs. Nancy Chang and Jonathan Wang, who both joined OrbiMed last year, to invest in health care companies in China, India and other Asian countries.

The Pan-Asian fund is a new vehicle for OrbiMed. The health care-dedicated investment firm raised a $500 million fund in 2006 to invest primarily in the United States. The firm also has invested in a few companies in Israel, Canada, Ireland, Germany and France.

European firm comes to Silicon Valley

DN Capital, a London-based venture firm focused on software and digital media, plans to open an office in Palo Alto, Calif. The firm is currently fund-raising for its second effort and has already raised about $78 million. The firm, f.k.a. Digital Networks Global Ventures, raised about $63 million for its previous fund, which closed in 2001. Seven of the firm’s 12 investments have been in U.S.-based companies, according to Thomson Reuters (publisher of PE Week).

DAG to raise fourth fund

DAG Ventures is preparing to raise $700 million for its fourth fund, according to Private Equity Insider. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based firm raised $500 million for its third fund, which closed last year. Limited partners in previous funds include Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System and Syracuse University.