Alta Partners is a venture capital

Venture capital

Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...

 firm based in San Francisco, CA. The company was founded in 1996 by Dr. Jean Deleage, Ph.D.

Jean Deleage

Dr. Jean Deleage, Ph.D. was an early venture capital investor responsible for the founding or co-founding of three notable venture capital firms since 1971: Sofinnova, Burr, Egan, Deleage & Co. and Alta Partners.-Career:...

, who was also a founder of the venture capital firms Burr, Egan, Deleage & Co.

Burr, Egan, Deleage & Co.

Burr, Egan, Deleage & Co. was a venture capital firm which focused on investments in information technology, communications, and healthcare/biotechnology companies....

 (BEDCO) and Sofinnova

Sofinnova

Sofinnova is the name shared by two formerly-related venture capital firms, Sofinnova Ventures and Sofinnova Partners. Both firms trace their roots back to Sofinnova SA, an investment institution founded in Paris in 1972. The two firms have raised nearly $3B combined since inception, and share...

, together with Garrett Gruener

Garrett Gruener

Garrett Gruener is founder of Ask.com and a co-founder of Alta Partners, a venture capital firm. He was also a candidate for the 2003 California recall special election from the Democratic Party, finishing 28th in a field of 135 candidates with 2,562 votes....

, a former general partner at BEDCO.

The company was founded in 1996 and invests in biotechnology

Biotechnology

Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...

 and life science companies. According to the company website, over the past ten years, Alta has invested in over 150 companies, including some of the leaders in the biopharmaceuticals, medical technology

Medical technology

Medical Technology encompasses a wide range of healthcare products and is used to diagnose, monitor or treat diseases or medical conditions affecting humans. Such technologies are intended to improve the quality of healthcare delivered through earlier diagnosis, less invasive treatment options and...

, and information technology

Information technology

Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...

 sector.

The firm is no longer associated with the Boston-based venture capital firm, Alta Communications

Alta Communications

Alta Communications is a Boston-based private equity firm specializing in equity investments in media and telecommunications companies.Their equity funds are invested in about 100 companies with total market capitalization approximately $1.5 billion....

, which also traces its roots to Burr, Egan, Deleage & Co.

Burr, Egan, Deleage & Co.

Burr, Egan, Deleage & Co. was a venture capital firm which focused on investments in information technology, communications, and healthcare/biotechnology companies....

.

Investment funds

Since 1996, Alta has raised eight venture capital funds including four funds in its Alta California Funds series, three funds in its Alta Biopharma Partners series and most recently in 2006, Alta raised Alta Partners VIII with $500 million of investor commitments.

The following is a summary of the venture capital funds raised by Alta as of 2008:

• 1996 - $130m - Alta California Partners (Early Stage)
• 1998 - $180m - Alta Biopharma Partners I (Late Stage)
• 1998 - $186m - Alta California Partners II (Early Stage)
• 2000 - $212m - Alta Biopharma Partners II
• 2000 - $229m - Alta California Partners III (Early Stage)
• 2003 - $300m - Alta BioPharma Partners III
• 2004 - $184m - Alta California Partners IV (Early Stage)
• 2006 - $500m - Alta Partners VIII

External links

• Alta Partners (company website)