Venture Capital Business Is Going Global Just In Time
Venture capital is going global and not a minute too soon.
With $68 billion of capital on the books and fund raising of $15 billion or more expected this year, the industry by many accounts has more money to spend than traditional opportunities to spend it on. Many VCs argue it is time to broaden the horizons of this U.S.-centered business.
The question facing VC firms is whether they can absorb all the capital investors want to give them. The fear is that if the money goes into the software, chip and high-tech hardware start-ups that VCs historically have funded, another bubble will form.
"This industry does not scale if we are to put our money into tight categories," says Mark Heesen , president of the National Venture Capital Association, which held its annual meeting Wednesday in San Francisco. Heesen suggests two new areas of investment might be nanotechnology and energy. Others say finding new opportunities means looking abroad.
In one sense, doing business overseas is not new. Start-ups looking for fast-growing markets have set up sales and marketing teams in foreign countries for years. VCs also have been active investors for a decade in Israeli start-ups.
But now their willingness to expand abroad is growing. More firms are open to making investments outside the U.S. than before, and general partners are seen frequently taking trips to India and China.
"There are pockets of worldwide innovation that are emerging," says James Breyer, a general partner at Accel Partners, who traveled to China in March and is going back again this spring. "That is changing the way we conduct business."
Going global doesn't only mean investing in a company that might be located in China or Finland. It might mean opening an office in India where a company can hire inexpensive, well-trained software engineers. It also might mean targeting a broadband market in South Korea, where the penetration of high-speed consumer networks is high.
"It's not atypical to see a five-person company with no two people on the same continent," says Heidi Roizen, managing director of Mobius Venture Capital. "I think this is going to be the state of our industry for a long time."
Money is going to flow to where the markets are growing the fastest, says Robert Grady, managing director at the Carlyle Group. Already there is so much VC money flowing into China that some question whether it is leading to overinvestment.
Nevertheless, the interest in expanding abroad continues to build. Some VCs worry they will run up against the 10% or less limit that fund-raising contracts say can be invested outside the U.S. T. Bondurant French, chief executive of Adams Street Partners, says one firm he declined to name hopes to ask its investors to ammend its contract and raise the limit to perhaps 15%.
"I think that 10% is going to change" for typical contracts, says French.
The excess money in the U.S. and a new enthusiasm among VCs already is having an impact nationally. Competition has returned to start-up deals, says Grady. Young companies receive multiple term sheets, or funding proposals, from interested VCs, and prices are being bid up by firms eager to make investments, he said.
风险资本行将逐利全球
目前，风险投资正在全球范围内暗流涌动，大有一触即发之势。
鉴于全球风险资本已高达680亿美元，且预计今年还可望筹集到150亿美元或更多的资金，显然，传统的投资方式已无法满足巨额风险资金的逐利需求。许多风险投资人士认为，现在已到了这项以美国为核心的业务开拓新的疆土的时候。
然而能否合理运用投资者委托其管理的所有资金是风险公司面临的问题。人们担心，如果风险投资公司将资金投向其以往涉足的软件、晶片和高科技硬件等初创企业，则有可能酿成新的泡沫。
国家风险投资协会(National Venture Capital Association)负责人Mark Heesen周三在旧金山召开的年会上表示，如果仅仅将资金投向为数不多的几个领域，风险投资业就不会壮大成长。Heesen认为，纳米科技和能源行业有望成为新的投资热点，而其他专业人士则认为，寻求新的投资机会意味著将资金投向海外。
然而，海外投资已不是什么新的概念。那些寻找快速发展市场的新兴公司早在数年前就在海外建立了营销团队。过去十年中，风险投资公司还一直积极投资以色列的新兴公司。
但目前，风险投资公司拓展海外投资范围的愿望正与日俱增。越来越多的公司开始向美国境外投资，各公司的普通合伙人也频繁地飞往印度和中国。
尽管提高海外投资规模的意向有增无减，但部分风险投资公司却担忧，融资合同中有关向美国境外投资的资金应不超过总资金的10%甚至比例更低的规定将使他们难以施展拳脚。T. Adams Street Partners首席执行长Bondurant French称，已有一家公司计划提请投资者修改合同规定，将境外投资比例限额提高至15%。French拒绝说出这家公司的名称。
美国境内大量的闲置资金和风险投资公司新的投资激情已在全美产生了广泛的影响。新兴公司再度成为风险资本追逐的宠儿。那些被风险投资公司看好的新创企业已收到各种融资计划书，其身价也因大量企业急于投资而日益看涨。
