Shasta Ventures Announces Closing of Its Second Fund at $250 Million

Business Wire, Oct 31, 2007

The Venture Capital Firm's Focus on Early-Stage Technology Investments Continues

MENLO PARK, Calif. -- Shasta Ventures today announced the closing of Shasta Ventures II, L.P., a $250 million venture capital fund formed to make investments in early-stage technology companies. Limited partners in the fund are primarily returning investors from Shasta's first fund, encompassing many leading institutional investors including endowments, foundations, pensions and family offices.

Shasta Ventures, which began investing its first fund of $210 million in early 2005, has made 22 investments to date in early-stage companies spanning consumer and business internet services, mobile and wireless, and software and infrastructure. With its new fund, the firm will continue this investment strategy. Companies in the Shasta portfolio include Arch Rock (sensor networking), Eye-Fi (wireless photography), SayNow (voice and text services), Mint (online personal finance services), Lithium (hosted community services) and Turn (automated advertising platform). To date, two Shasta portfolio companies have been acquired: Logoworks (acquired by HP) and iConclude (acquired by Opsware).

"The interest from our investors was very strong and we were able to close the fund quickly following an efficient process," said Tod Francis, a managing director for Shasta Ventures. "This new fund enables us to continue our strategy of working with early-stage entrepreneurs who are leveraging technology to improve customer experiences."

The investment team at Shasta Ventures includes Robert T. Coneybeer, Tod H. Francis, Ravi Mohan and Jason Pressman in addition to CFO Austin Grose. The team possesses a rare combination of core technology expertise and deep experience in marketing to consumers. By combining these skills in an integrated, collaborative approach, Shasta helps entrepreneurs build companies that address the growing demand among consumers and enterprises for new technology products and services.

About Shasta Ventures

Shasta Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm investing in technology-enabled businesses serving consumers and enterprises. Located in Menlo Park, California, Shasta Ventures has $460 million dollars under management. Shasta was formed in 2004 by venture capital veterans and has made 22 investments to date across consumer and business services, infrastructure and software. For more information on Shasta Ventures, please visit www.shastaventures.com.