2014年7月14日

在過去的40多年裏，Charles River Ventures在風投界表現出了巨大的長壽。隨著最新一隻基金的結束，該公司正試圖將品牌重塑為CRV，強調其在矽穀業務的增長。本月早些時候，我們報道稱，該公司已經關閉了第16隻基金，根據美國證券交易委員會的文件，這隻基金價值近4億美元。不過，該公司已經證實已經關閉了這隻基金，並將繼續投資於處於早期階段的初創公司。在這一行幹了44年，你知道什麼行得通，什麼行不通。過去10年，CRV有8家估值在10億美元或以上的公司退出。在同一時期，隻有紅杉資本(Sequoia Capital)、Greylock Partners和New Enterprise Associates有這麼多所謂的“獨角獸”退出。由於CRV投資較早，因此與市場上的其他公司相比，它的收益往往是超額的。例如，它是Twitter、Zendesk和Yammer等公司的第一個機構投資者。最新這隻基金較該公司2012年初募集的3.75億美元的上一隻基金略有上升。 As a result, there are certain things that haven’t changed much for CRV. For one, the firm is singularly focused on investing in early-stage startups, at the Series A level. According to general partner Jon Auerbach, the $300-$400 million range is the sweet spot for a fund like CRV, as it gives the firm more than enough money to make follow-on investments in its winners. But it’s not so overcapitalized that the firm is forced to make growth investments or go off-model. CRV plans to invest in 25-35 companies over the three-year life of the fund, with the average amount invested in each company being around $10 million. But the bulk of the fund is held in reserve for it to back companies that will have those outsized exits — whether that means an IPO or an acquisition. What has changed over the years, and will continue with the new fund, is CRV’s increased investment in startups in Silicon Valley. Originally named after the river that runs between Boston and Cambridge, the firm has spent the last decade re-inventing itself with a Silicon Valley office. After decades of betting mostly on infrastructure companies that emerged out of the Boston area, CRV opened a Silicon Valley office in 2004 and has been steadily growing its presence there. With the close of the new fund, the firm is hoping to emphasize the new-look CRV, which is increasingly focused on investing in West Coast, consumer-focused startups. It has more partners in Silicon Valley than in Cambridge, and that mix is also reflected in the types of companies it’s invested in, and the types of companies that have had the most success in the last decade. “We believe there are a finite number of change-the-world entrepreneurs… and the place that they congregate is in San Francisco and Silicon Valley,” Auerbach said. Since most of its biggest recent wins were from investments in that area, it’s probably a smart bet to keep focusing there.