Thursday, March 2, 2017

Next Coast Ventures Raises $85M Fund

Austin-based Next Coast Ventures, the new venture capital firm led by Mike Smerklo and Tom Ball, officially announced its debut fund, worth $85M, this morning. Next Coast Ventures said the fund's limited partners include institutional investors, funds of funds, and family offices. The new firm is specifically focused on "finding outsized opportunities between the coasts with talented, tech-savvy entrepreneurs with vision." Next Coast Ventures says that it has made six investments so far, including Austin companies Umuse, Dropoff, OnRamp and Phlur; the firm also has made an investment in Cloverpop (San Francisco) and Clarity Money (New York). Ball said in the company's announcement for the fund, that the "time is ripe to build something in Austin that drives real impact."