Venture Investors plans to raise up to $100 million for a new, healthcare-focused venture capital fund, the Madison, WI-based firm said in a document recently filed with federal securities regulators.
VI is the oldest and largest venture capital fund in Wisconsin. It created a new business entity, “Venture Investors Health Fund 6 Limited Partnership,” under whose name the document was filed. The filing lists the same business address and some of the same executive officers as previous funds VI has raised for investing in startups.
Scott Button, a managing director at VI, declined to say what the organization’s timeline is for raising the new healthcare fund, citing regulatory restrictions. He also declined to comment on the types of investments VI plans to make once it has finished raising the fund.
Most, but not all, of the companies in VI’s portfolio develop products and services for the healthcare industry—everything from new drugs and diagnostics to medical devices to software for doctors and other professional caregivers.
The Wisconsin-based healthcare businesses that VI has backed include Cellectar Biosciences (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CLRB]]), FluGen, and TAI Diagnostics.
Two Madison-based startups in VI’s portfolio were acquired by large, publicly traded companies in the last two years: NeuWave Medical, which was sold to Ethicon, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: [[ticker:JNJ]]); and Virent, which was acquired by Andeavor (NYSE: [[ticker:ANDV]]).
Several Michigan-based companies have also received investments from VI, which has a satellite office near the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor. They include SkySpecs, HistoSonics, and Delphinus.
