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An acquisition for a hundred million would have been real validation, but this is certainly progress. Charles River Ventures is intent on getting in good Web 2.0 deals as exemplified by the launch of its QuickStart Seed Funding program and its recent investment in Geni at a rumored $100 million valauation. I would suggest the firm may be a little late to the game. However, a few big hits could make the strategy pay.
So, the firm must be pleased that Google has seen fit to make a rare direct investment in CRV's portfolio company, Maxthon. The firm was the sole investor in Maxthon's $6 million first round last year. CRV general partner Bill Tai is excited about the browser startup's growth in recent months. He and his colleagues will be even more excited if today's investment leads to a profitable Google acquisition or partnership.
For more on Google's invetment into Maxthon, see:
TechCrunch
Tags: maxthon, browser, crv, , vc, venture+capital
These days many VC investors with a focus on the Internet sector face the same problem: too much money raised and too few good deals. The biggest headache, however, is a viable exit market. A lot of these new Web 2.0 start-ups are founded on the hope of being acquired by Google (or maybe Yahoo). As the M&A team at Google gets smarter (hopefully) on deal selection, the exit pipeline is not getting any better for venture investors.
Bill does have a reason to get excited. They say that in the age of Internet, celebrate early and celebrate often, because who knows what happens tomorrow.