VantagePoint Capital Partners Makes Worthwhile Investments

In 1996, Alan E. Salzman and Jim Marver founded VantagePoint Venture Partners and had led its success since then. The co-founders established the venture capital firm with a mission of identifying, inventing in, and mentoring entrepreneurs and start-ups that want to revolutionize sectors and change the world. The venture capital firm has maintained its focus on investments in the healthcare, clean technology, and information technology industries for this reason.

After making several successful investments in information technology and Internet, VantagePoint Venture Partners realized that its investment focus should also include clean energy technology. Said realization came after observations that the world’s energy practices should be modernized considering its over-reliance on fossil fuels, crumbling infrastructures, and growing inefficiency worsened by a growing world population. The firm decided that these energy issues can be addressed by the careful applications of advanced technology in several areas including solid-state lighting, bio-chemicals, solar power generation, electrification of transportation, resource efficiency, and grid modernization.

While still making investments in information technology, healthcare, digital media, and financial technology, the venture firm shifted its focus on start-ups and companies making notable innovations in energy-related fields. Among its early investments are Tesla, an electric vehicle manufacturer; BrightSource Energy, a utility scale solar power provider; Bridgelux, an LED lighting pioneer; and Genomatica, an advanced biochemical innovator, among others.

In 2010, the firm changed its name from VantagePoint Venture Partners to VantagePoint Capital Partners. The change was brought about by the firm’s desire to better reflect its change of focus from venture funding to growth equity funding, a move that goes beyond the limits of venture funding. The company also wanted to reflect the increased complexity of its funding structure in terms of its support for the scale-up and build-out of the highly innovative companies it invests in.

Today, the company has $4 billion in managed assets. Vantage Point Capital Partners has also established several strategic partnerships with global corporations including best Buy, Air Products, IBM, Proctor & Gamble, and DuPont, among others.