Venrock Associates
Encyclopedia
Venrock, a compound of "Venture" and "Rockefeller", is a pioneering venture capital firm formed in 1969 to build upon the successful investing activities of the Rockefeller family
that began in the late 1930s. It has offices in Palo Alto
, California
, New York City
, Cambridge, Massachusetts
, and Israel
.
(1910–2004), one of the first in this field, was the fourth of the six children of John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
. In January, 1946 he formed Rockefeller Brothers, Inc., one of the first postwar venture-capital operations, starting with a capitalization of $1.5 million. There were six partners in all, the five famed brothers and their sister, Abby. In August, 1969, the firm became known as Venrock. It is among a small number of top tier organizations that have achieved consistently superior performance.
Over the years Laurance became well known as an investor of risk capital in young enterprises whose future was based on scientific and technological developments. His investment interests included the fields of aviation, aerospace, electronics, high temperature physics, composite materials, optics, lasers, data processing, thermionics and nuclear power.
Venrock continues the seven-decade Rockefeller tradition of funding entrepreneurs and establishing successful, enduring companies. It has invested more than $2.5 billion in more than 440 companies, resulting in 125 IPO’s over the past 40 years.
Venrock focuses its investments on early-stage and start-up companies in information technology and emerging technologies. These include: Intel, Apple
, AppNexus, StrataCom
, Check Point Software
, DoubleClick
, 3Com Corporation, Mosaic, PGP, Itek
, Digex
, Media6Degrees, Smartling, Phoenix, and Second Rotation (gazelle)
. It also has a significant venture in the nascent nanotechnology
field, with early funding of the primary company in this area, Nanosys
, along with corporate heavyweights such as Du Pont.http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F40E1EFD345A0C768DDDAA0894DC404482
In addition, in the healthcare sector, Venrock has invested in HealthSouth Corporation, MedPartners, Inc. Caliper Technologies Corporation, Centocor
, Genetics Institute, Idec Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Illumina
, Millennium Pharmaceuticals
, Sirna Therapeutics
, athenahealth
and Sugen.
Rockefeller family
The Rockefeller family , the Cleveland family of John D. Rockefeller and his brother William Rockefeller , is an American industrial, banking, and political family of German origin that made one of the world's largest private fortunes in the oil business during the late 19th and early 20th...
that began in the late 1930s. It has offices in Palo Alto
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
History and performance
The venture capitalist Laurance S. RockefellerLaurance Rockefeller
Laurance Spelman Rockefeller was a venture capitalist, financier, philanthropist, a major conservationist and a prominent third-generation member of the Rockefeller family. He was the fourth child of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and brother to John D...
(1910–2004), one of the first in this field, was the fourth of the six children of John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. was a major philanthropist and a pivotal member of the prominent Rockefeller family. He was the sole son among the five children of businessman and Standard Oil industrialist John D. Rockefeller and the father of the five famous Rockefeller brothers...
. In January, 1946 he formed Rockefeller Brothers, Inc., one of the first postwar venture-capital operations, starting with a capitalization of $1.5 million. There were six partners in all, the five famed brothers and their sister, Abby. In August, 1969, the firm became known as Venrock. It is among a small number of top tier organizations that have achieved consistently superior performance.
Over the years Laurance became well known as an investor of risk capital in young enterprises whose future was based on scientific and technological developments. His investment interests included the fields of aviation, aerospace, electronics, high temperature physics, composite materials, optics, lasers, data processing, thermionics and nuclear power.
Venrock continues the seven-decade Rockefeller tradition of funding entrepreneurs and establishing successful, enduring companies. It has invested more than $2.5 billion in more than 440 companies, resulting in 125 IPO’s over the past 40 years.
Venrock focuses its investments on early-stage and start-up companies in information technology and emerging technologies. These include: Intel, Apple
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
, AppNexus, StrataCom
StrataCom
StrataCom, Inc. was founded in Cupertino, California, USA, in January 1986 by 26 former employees of the failing Packet Technologies, Inc. StrataCom produced the first commercial cell switch, also known as a fast-packet switch. Its product was the working proof of the technology which became...
, Check Point Software
Check Point
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. is a global provider of IT security solutions. Best known for its firewall and VPN products, Check Point first pioneered the industry with FireWall-1 and its patented stateful inspection technology...
, DoubleClick
DoubleClick
DoubleClick is a subsidiary of Google that develops and provides Internet ad serving services. Its clients include agencies, marketers and publishers who serve customers like Microsoft, General Motors, Coca-Cola, Motorola, L'Oréal, Palm, Inc., Apple Inc., Visa USA, Nike, Carlsberg among others...
, 3Com Corporation, Mosaic, PGP, Itek
Itek
Itek Corporation was a US defense contractor that initially specialized in the field of camera systems for spy satellites. In the early 1960s they built a conglomerate in a fashion similar to LTV or Litton, during which time they developed the first CAD system and explored optical disk technology...
, Digex
Digex
DIGEX was an early provider of Internet services in the United States credited with creating the "managed hosting" business. Its corporate predecessor, Digital Express Group, and then DIGEX provided dialup "Public Access Unix" shell accounts in the Baltimore-Washington region beginning in the fall...
, Media6Degrees, Smartling, Phoenix, and Second Rotation (gazelle)
Gazelle (internet company)
Gazelle is a service of Second Rotation, Inc., based in Massachusetts in the United States, that allows consumers to sell their old electronics — such as cellphones, laptops, mp3 players, digital cameras, camcorders, gaming consoles, GPS devices, and others — for cash...
. It also has a significant venture in the nascent nanotechnology
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
field, with early funding of the primary company in this area, Nanosys
Nanosys
Nanosys is a nanotechnology company located in Palo Alto, California founded in 2001.Nanosys, Inc designs products based on a technology platform that incorporates high performance inorganic nanostructures...
, along with corporate heavyweights such as Du Pont.http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F40E1EFD345A0C768DDDAA0894DC404482
In addition, in the healthcare sector, Venrock has invested in HealthSouth Corporation, MedPartners, Inc. Caliper Technologies Corporation, Centocor
Centocor
Janssen Biotech, Inc., formerly Centocor Biotech, Inc., is a biotechnology company that was founded in Philadelphia in 1979 with an initial goal of developing new diagnostic assays using monoclonal antibody technology....
, Genetics Institute, Idec Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Illumina
Illumina (company)
Illumina, Inc. is a company incorporated in April 1998 that develops, manufactures and markets integrated systems for the analysis of genetic variation and biological function. Using its technologies, the company provides a line of products and services that serve the sequencing, genotyping and...
, Millennium Pharmaceuticals
Millennium Pharmaceuticals
Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., The Takeda Oncology Company is a biopharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Company markets Velcade for injection, a cancer product, and has a growing clinical development pipeline of product candidates...
, Sirna Therapeutics
Sirna Therapeutics
Sirna Therapeutics was a San Francisco, California based biotechnology company that explores the use of RNA interference in human disease therapy. Sirna's development pipeline includes several small interfering RNA drugs, thought to stably silence the expression of specific disease-related genes...
, athenahealth
Athenahealth
athenahealth, Inc. is a publicly traded American company that provides physician practices with online practice management and electronic medical record software, combined with medical billing and other healthcare business services...
and Sugen.
Further reading
- Harr, John Ensor, and Peter J. Johnson. The Rockefeller Century: Three Generations of America's Greatest Family. New York: Charles Scribner's SonsCharles Scribner's SonsCharles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing a number of American authors including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen King, Robert A. Heinlein, Thomas Wolfe, George Santayana, John Clellon...
, 1988. - Winks, Robin W. Laurance S. Rockefeller: Catalyst for Conservation, New York: Island Press, 1997.