Crosslink Capital Closes Sixth Venture Capital Fund

Crosslink Capital, a stage-independent venture capital and growth equity firm, announced that it has closed Crosslink Ventures VI, a $200 million venture fund focused on information technology and energy technology investments.

Like prior funds, Crosslink Ventures VI is stage-independent with a bias to early-stage investments. The new fund attracted investment from existing and new limited partners (LPs). Among those the new LPs investing in Crosslink Ventures VI is Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian).

"We joined Crosslink Ventures VI as a new limited partner because Crosslink Capital has consistently been a top performer in up or down markets, and we're convinced their unique investment strategy works," said David Turner, Managing Director, head of Private Equity at The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. Cheng Wang, Principal at Guardian, will join the Crosslink Ventures VI Advisory Board.

Crosslink's Venture funds are focused on creating or finding the best companies in the best growth sectors, leveraging investment insights from the public and private markets. While Crosslink invests at all stages, the Firm prefers early stage investments and has had an active Entrepreneur-in-Residence program over the past ten years. This program led to the formation of both SeaMicro and Twin Creeks Technologies in Crosslink Ventures V. The Firm's early investment and active involvement in Pandora is a standout example of the Crosslink model. Other successful applications of the Crosslink model are seen in the Firm's successful investments in Ancestry.com, Omniture (acquired by Adobe Systems), and Equinix.

"The continued support from existing LPs and commitment from new LPs affirms that our hybrid investment approach is unique and effective," said Michael Stark, General Partner, Crosslink Capital. "This is a great time to be a venture capital investor with fresh capital. Innovation continues regardless of the business cycle and now is the time to be building the next generation of great companies."

Capital from Crosslink Ventures VI already has been committed to two new companies, including an early-stage investment in social gaming company Hi5 and a mid-stage investment in LiveScribe, the creator of the Pulse and Echo smartpens. Crosslink leads and takes a board seat in over 90% of its new investments and these two new companies continue that trend.

With the closing of Crosslink Ventures VI, Crosslink Capital now has $1.5 billion under management. Venture capital investments being made this year are one-half from Crosslink Ventures VI and one-half from Crosslink Capital's Crossover Funds, giving Crosslink approximately $400M of investable venture capital for new investment opportunities.