Commonwealth Capital Ventures

Address: Bay Colony Corporate Ctr., 950 Winter Street, Suite 4100, Waltham, MA 02451
Phone: 781-890-5554

Website: http://www.commonwealthvc.com

Commonwealth Capital Ventures was founded in 1995 by a team of experienced venture capital investors. With more than $580 million of committed capital under management, the firm’s partners have invested in roughly 140 high-growth companies, many of which are leaders in their respective industry categories. Our limited partners are highly sophisticated venture investors and include leading educational and financial institutions, pension funds, and family offices. We are aligned with our investors in providing patient capital with a view toward long-term success. Our current $250 million fund closed in early 2007 and is appropriately sized to focus on early stage opportunities and later stage venture growth enterprises.
Our Name
The term “commonwealth” means “for the common good.” In its institutional form, the term applies to a group of parties allied in furthering the greater good of all members. Commonwealth Capital Ventures chose its name in the spirit of these definitions -- and they form the cornerstone of our investment philosophy. Collaborative, dedicated partnerships with our entrepreneurs and limited partners create mutual success for every contributor.
We seek to fund outstanding management teams and technical visionaries whose ideas and hard work create market-leading companies in large, rapidly growing industries. Our investment strategy is focused on four broad areas:
* Software & Services
* Internet & Digital Media
* Communications & Wireless
* Instruments & Systems
Commonwealth is always looking for new innovations, and we recognize these may come from new and emerging industries.
Most of our investments are in early-stage companies, though roughly a quarter are venture growth investments that are more mature but carry venture risk and opportunity. In either case, we are active, lead investors and are usually the first institutional capital invested in a company. We regularly partner with other leading venture capital firms and place great emphasis on building strong investor syndicates to give management teams the financial and support foundation they need to succeed.
Commonwealth Capital Ventures generally invests $2-$6 million initially, with up to $15 million or more per company over multiple rounds. We have made small seed investments of less than $1 million as well as later stage investments of more than $12 million. We work closely with our entrepreneurs to determine the optimal business and financial strategy, selecting what is best for sustainable growth. Our investment activity is focused on the innovation centers of the Northeast United States. We are strong believers in the value of sitting on the same side of the table with our management teams when problems or opportunities require action.

Tags: Venture Capital Firms