Friday, February 20, 2015

Report: Austin Ventures Slowly Dissolving

A report, published today by Fortune, says that local longtime venture capital giant Austin Ventures is on the brink of winding down, as it failed to raise another fund, and partners have gone on to pursue other ventures. According to the report, the firm's general partners are splitting up, with Phil Siegal and David Lack already leaving to launch their own fund, Joe Aragona in the midst of creating a new, mid-market buyout fund, and Chris Pacitti heading up a new "pledge fund" focused on Series B and Series C funding. According to Fortune, it's unlikely that any of the new funds will retain the Austin Ventures name. The article did not address the vast number of existing investments by Austin Ventures, which presumably will continue to be managed in parallel with the partners' new funds. From the article, it's unclear how Thomas Ball and John Thornton, and Ken DeAngelis factor into the mix.