This article first appeared on the Boston Business Journal, a sister publication of BostInno.
Boston-based Polaris Partners on Thursday unveiled a new investment fund — the firm's eighth — with $435 million ready to deploy. Founded in 1996, the firm has raised more than $4.3 billion lifetime.
Polaris Partners, which invests in technology, biotech and healthcare companies at all stages of growth, is one of the most active venture firms in Massachusetts. It invested almost $84 million in 26 deals in Massachusetts in 2015, according to Boston Business Journal research. The firm's portfolio of active investments includes ClearSky Data, Drizly, Iora Health, Localytics and Qstream.
Past successes include tech firm Akamai (Nasdaq: AKAM) and drugmaker Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ALNY), both among the most valuable companies based in Massachusetts.
"Raising capital, in and of itself, is not an accomplishment for venture firms or entrepreneurs," managing partner Dave Barrett wrote in a Medium post announcing the fund. "What’s truly important is two-fold: Exceptional reputations with entrepreneurs by repeatedly helping to build important companies. Strong relationships with Limited Partners alongside exceptional performance."
Barrett said the latest fundraising exceeded Polaris' initial goal for the fund of $400 million, and that the firm has already begun making investments with the new money.
Last year Polaris added Brendan Hannigan, former founder of cybersecurity company Q1 Labs, as a partner. Q1 Labs was acquired by IBM in 2011 and forms the backbone of its Cambridge-based IBM Security division.
