Northern Light brightens with $350 million second fund
Fund II is backed by institutional investors from the US, Europe, and Asia, including Princeton University. Deals will continue on the firm’s initial strategy, targeting venture capital investments in technology, media and telecommunications, as well as consumer products and services.
Northern Light senior vice president and CFO Jeffrey Lee said there will be an emphasis on technology opportunities in information technology, and also vertical industries where technology plays a key role. On the consumer side, the target is “highly capital-efficient opportunities in services and products that benefit from the rapidly rising China middle class.” A majority of the fund’s corpus is expected to go to early stage companies, he added.
Fund II follows a respectable track record of deals from the inaugural effort for the nine-partner firm, which has offices in Beijing’s Tsinghua Science Park, Shanghai and Silicon Valley. Two of the firm’s 14 portfolio companies from Fund 1 have gone public on NASDAQ: chip designers Actions Semiconductor and Spreadtrum Communications.
Two Northern Light investees are also notable for having received later-stage financing from KPCB China in June this year: online baby product retailer Redbaby (Series C) and wireless networking technology startup Aerohive Networks (Series B, also). Its other portfolio companies include micropayment service LianLian Pay and mid-priced hotel chain Hanting Hotels.
Northern Light has strategic alliances with Greylock Partners and New Enterprise Associates, which serve as “special” limited partners and strategic advisors. The firm’s network also extends to Lightspeed Venture Partners, a co-investor in Series A funding for Aerohive.