Kemble, Another Dell Deal today. Maybe all the Dell investors should buy Nike's too, to keep up with the pace of this company! :)Leigh
"Investors include Dell Computer Corp. <DELL.O>, FleetBoston Corp. <FBF.N>, BancBoston Capital, Sumitomo Corp. <8053.T>, Rowe Price Associates and others."
Idealab raises $1 billion, plans global move
PASADENA, Calif., March 13 (Reuters) - High-tech "incubator" idealab!, which nurtured a handful of start-ups into companies now worth $10 billion, said Monday it closed a new round of funding worth $1 billion that will let it take its strategy global.
Idealab said the new funding will be used to set up incubators at new locations around the world, with Europe likely to be the first area of concentration, said founder and Chairman Bill Gross, in an interview.
Idealab joins a growing movement by venture capitalists to leave their Silicon Valley roots as e-commerce begins to boom outside the heartland of technology.
Idealab said it raised its $1 billion in a Series D preferred financing round from major companies worldwide. Investors include Dell Computer Corp. <DELL.O>, FleetBoston Corp. <FBF.N>, BancBoston Capital, Sumitomo Corp. <8053.T>, Rowe Price Associates and others.
The privately held idealab funds start-up companies and offers office space and other infrastructure for them during their early development. The strategy has helped bring a number of companies to market with successful initial public offerings, including eToys Inc. <ETYS.O>, GoTo.com Inc. <GOTO.O>, CitySearch <TMCS.O>, NetZero <NZRO.O> and Tickets.com <TIXX.O>.
Gross said that his company would continue to be guided by the same investment principles that created its initial success, though it will shift the industry targets and the geography of its investments.
In the past it has invested mostly in dot-com companies with direct contact with consumers over the Internet, but Gross said future priorities would probably be in education, healthcare and wireless communications. "Pervasive computing," using devices beyond the personal computer, will be more important," Gross said.
Gross said that the appetite among investors for high-tech funds remain high, and his funding round began with a much smaller goal in mind.
"We were really surprised at how strong the demand was," he said. "We thought we'd raise $100 million to $125 million, and demand was so high we ended up accepting a lot more."
But Gross said the large-scale funding fits its investment strategy of taking on big ideas "that can affect many people and change the world."
The company's strategy will also be attractive in places where potential entrepreneurs may be reluctant to leave large corporations to join a start-up.
"Our style of company provides a safety net to leave comfortable jobs and take the plunge," said Gross. "We think we can lure talent out of slower moving industries and into what we are doing."
Gross set up his initial incubator in the Southern California community of Pasadena, and has since opened operations in Silicon Valley, New York and Boston.
20:49 03-13-00
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