[May 19, 2005] Storm Ventures Closes Storm Ventures III; New Fund Remains Focused on Seed and Early-Stage Investments in Information Technology, Communications and Networking Tweet MENLO PARK, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- May 19, 2005 -- Storm Ventures today announced the closing of Storm Ventures III, a $220 million venture capital fund that will focus primarily on investment opportunities in seed and early-stage companies in information technology, communications and networking, including semiconductor, systems and software technologies. Storm Ventures Fund III follows Storm Ventures Fund II, a $312 million fund, which closed late in 2000 and included a large commitment from individual investors. In contrast, Storm Ventures III includes mostly institutional investors. "This is a testament to the fund's performance during an unusually difficult investment environment," commented Larry Rusoff, Portfolio Manager of General Motors Asset Management. "As a new LP, I am pleased that the Storm team exercised discipline in keeping their fund size consistent with their early-stage focus, despite being significantly oversubscribed." Institutional investors in Storm III include, among others, the Alfred I duPont Trust, Flag Capital, General Motors Asset Management, Goldman Sachs, Vencap and Spur Capital. "This was like starting a brand-new fund," said General Partner Alex Mendez. "We are pleased to have these new institutions behind us because they have a much longer term view of venture capital, and we look forward to building long lasting relationships with them." Among Storm's flagship investments in the previous fund was Airespace Inc., a wireless LAN systems startup that was co-founded and incubated at Storm. Airespace was purchased by Cisco Systems this year for $450 million. General Partner Tae Hea Nahm was the founding CEO of the company, and with various Storm colleagues, spearheaded the definition of the product, go-to-market strategy, fundraising and the recruitment and building of the early Airespace team, including CEO Brett Galloway. "The team at Storm has consistently demonstrated a keen ability to spot trends and to create or invest in companies to take advantage of those trends," said Charles Baillie, Managing Director in Goldman Sachs Asset Management's Private Equity Group, an investor in Storm II and Storm III. "For the past four years, we've seen them attract strong entrepreneurs with high quality ideas and actively guide them to success." Founding general partners Ryan Floyd, Alex Mendez, Tae Hea Nahm, and Sanjay Subhedar continue to anchor the Storm team, which consists of a dozen investment professionals. Most have strong operating backgrounds. The entire Storm team will play an active role in all Storm investments. "By tapping our operational backgrounds and startup investing experience, we offer entrepreneurs an insightful perspective and skill set that helps build long-term, sustainable businesses," said general partner Sanjay Subhedar. "Our goal is to add value that exceeds the dollars we invest." About Storm Ventures Storm Ventures, based in Menlo Park, Calif., is a seed and early-stage venture capital firm with a proven combination of operational management and venture investment expertise. This helps the firm to identify the most promising investment opportunities in emerging IT, communications, and networking markets and to guide entrepreneurs toward success. The firm has three funds with more than $500 million under management. For more information, visit www.stormventures.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]