Venrock Locks Up New Fund, Hires GPs

Last year saw various general partners leave the venture firms where they made their marks, as funds were cut or as firms re-focused investments.

Gone are Tom McConnell of New Enterprise Associates, Todd Brooks of Mayfield and Neal Douglas of Spectrum Equity Investors.

Venrock Associates, the venture firm started by the Rockefellers in the 1930s, also saw some changes. Gone are GPs David Hathaway and Joe Casey. Venrock GP Tom Frederick resigned and Terry Garnett left to launch a new technology-based buyout firm with former ComVentures partner David Helfrich.

But last week, Venrock Associates announced it has raised $550 million in new capital and added Anders Hove and Michael Feinstein as new general partners.

Hove is the former CEO of BB Biotech/Bellevue Asset Management of Switzerland, and will focus on biotech and medical device investments out of Venrock’s New York office.

Feinstein will focus on IT investments out of Venrock’s Cambridge, Mass., office. He previously served as a general partner with Waltham, Mass.-based Atlas Venture.

The pair partially replace the four Venrock pros who have left since the firm’s $656 million third fund was raised in 2000.

Limited partners of the new fund, according to Venrock, include members of the Rockefeller Family and associated entities as well as endowments and foundations.

Venrock will continue to invest jointly in early stage information technology and health care companies. The firm anticipates that approximately 70% of the investments will be in the information technology industry and 30% in health care and life sciences.

Dan Primack contributed to this report.