Atlas Venture is a Cambridge, Massachusetts based early-stage, biotech-focused venture firm. Atlas seeks to invest in the technology and life sciences sectors with a focus on personalized medicine, medical technologies, therapeutics, biotechnology, biology, drug discovery technologies, therapeutic platforms, novel biopharmaceutical products, novel therapeutics, novel drug discovery platforms, therapeutic products, innovative biomedical technologies, diagnostics, and medical devices.
Atlas Venture is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in life sciences startup companies in the U.S. Atlas is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts where the majority of its investments are located. Atlas rolled out its eleventh biotech fund totaling $350 million in June 2017, after closing its tenth fund in April 2015 with $280 million in commitments. The team is led by five investment partners: Kevin Bitterman, Bruce Booth, Jean-Francois Formela, David Grayzel, and Jason Rhodes.
Atlas has been investing in biotech since 1993, but the firm invested in both life sciences and IT until 2014, when it separated those businesses, with the Atlas Venture brand remaining associated with its biotech bets. The IT side became the seed-stage firm Accomplice.
Originally formed in 1980, Atlas historically invested in both life sciences and information technology startup companies. In October 2014, Atlas announced its shift to a biotech-only venture capital firm, with the technology-focused investment team forming a new firm, Accomplice, to continue investing in information technology startups.
Previously as a diversified firm, Atlas had raised over $3.0 billion of investor commitments across nine venture capital funds. The firm raised $705 million for its 2000-vintage fifth fund, $600 million for its 2001-vintage sixth fund, $385 million for its 2006-vintage seventh fund, $283 million for its 2009-vintage eighth fund, and $265 million for its 2013-vintage ninth fund.
At its largest, the firm held European offices in London, Paris, and Munich, and a West Coast office based in Seattle, Washington, in addition to the Boston-area headquarters. Today, the firm operates from a single office in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Atlas Venture has made 492 investments. The firm has had 127 exits, including PillPack, Integral Ad Science, and Carbon Black. Atlas Venture has raised a total of $2.4B across 7 funds, one of them being Atlas Venture Opportunity Fund I. This fund was announced on Jan 2, 2019, and raised a total of $250M.
Atlas has invested in over 150 life sciences startups since it began investing in the sector in 1990. Atlas invests in a range of therapeutic areas, including immuno-oncology, autoimmunity/inflammation, neuroscience, gene/cell therapy and editing, and anti-infectives. The current portfolio includes gene/cell editing/therapy companies AVROBIO, Generation Bio, Intellia Therapeutics, Obsidian Therapeutics, and Unum Therapeutics; oncology companies Bicycle Therapeutics, Kyn Therapeutics, Replimune, Surface Oncology, and Unum Therapeutics; autoimmunity companies Nimbus Therapeutics and Padlock Therapeutics; anti-infectives company Spero Therapeutics; synthetic biology company Synlogic; RNA companies miRagen Therapeutics and Translate Bio; and CNS companies Cadent Therapeutics, Disarm Therapeutics, Navitor, and Rodin Therapeutics; and novel platform companies Accent Therapeutics, Kymera Therapeutics, Gemini Therapeutics, HotSpot Therapeutics, and Akero. Notable prior exits from Atlas’ life sciences portfolio include Actelion, Adnexus Therapeutics, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Annovation Biopharma, Annovation Biopharma, ArQule, Arrow Therapeutics, Arteaus Therapeutics, Avila Therapeutics, CoStim Pharmaceuticals, Crucell, deCODE genetics, Delinia, Exelixis, IFM Therapeutics Inc., Micromet, Momenta Pharmaceuticals, MorphoSys, Nimbus Apollo, Novexel, Padlock Therapeutics, Stromedix, and U3 Pharma.
- Within technology, the firm focuses on payments, SMB, consumer-facing innovation, advances in biology, next-generation infrastructure, security, consumer services, small business infrastructure, fintech, emerging web service companies, next-generation media, gaming, and social technologies, enterprise and internet infrastructure, big data and mobile infrastructure, internet-related businesses and communications.
- Within life sciences, it focuses on biopharmaceuticals.
- It also invests in silicones, consumer discretionary, and internet and direct marketing retail, internet software and services, IT services, security software, memory chips, and broadband telecommunication services.
The firm prefers to invest in companies based in the Europe and United States with a focus on New England, Boston, Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, California, and San Francisco Bay Area. Its initial investment ranges from $0.25 million to $15 million per transaction. The firm prefers to be a lead investor and seeks board representation in its portfolio companies. Massachusetts.
Timeline
$250M
Atlas Venture raised a $250m to support early stage biotech companies.
$350M
$280M
$265M
$283M
$385M
$600M
Funded Companies
AngelList is a U.S. website for startups, angel investors, and job-seekers looking to work at startups.
Intellia Therapeutics is a biotechnology company founded in 2014, based in Cambridge, MA that develops biopharmaceuticals using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology.
Egalet Corporation is a pharmaceutical company that focuses on abuse resistance opioids
miRagen is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative microRNA-targeting therapies to improve human health.
DataRobot sells a machine learning platform that helps users build and deploy accurate predictive models. The Boston-based company was founded in 2012 by Jeremy Achin.
Veracode Dynamic Analysis provides context around how an application responded to an attack and how it was exploited.
Rodin Therapeutics is a biotechnology company developing treatments for Alzheimer's disease that is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts and was founded in 2013 by Ankit Mahadevia and Martin Jefson.
A cybersecurity company offering cybersecurity and security rating services.
Magenta Therapeutics is a biotechnology company using stem cells to develop cellular therapies for immune and blood-based diseases.
A clinical-stage mRNA therapeutics company developing medicines to treat diseases caused by protein or gene dysfunction and vaccines against infectious disease pathogens
Secret Escapes is a London-based company founded in 2010 by Tom Valentine, Alex Saint and Troy Collins.
A biotechnology company making advanced bioconversion products.
Currencycloud is a London-based company founded by Nigel Verdon.
InsightSquared is a developer of a business intelligence platform for revenue data.
Carbon Black is a Waltham, Massachusetts-based provider of endpoint security solutions.
Unbounce is a Vancouver, Washington-based company founded by Rick Perreault, Carter Gilchrist, Oli Gardner, Justin Stacey, Carl Schmidt and Jason Murphy.
Internet technology company based in somerville, ma, usa
docTrackr is a company founded by Uli Mittermaier, Clement Cazalot and Alex Negrea.
GrabCAD is a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company founded by Hardi Meybaum.
clypd is a Somerville, Massachusetts-based company founded by Doug Hurd.
Funding rounds
Associated investment funds
People
ADAM ROSENBERG
Advisor
Alex Harding
Associate
ANKIT MAHADEVIA
Advisor
BOB COPELAND
Advisor
Bruce Booth
Founder
Bruce Booth
Partner
CATHERINE STEHMAN-BREEN
Entrepreneur-in-Residence
Cecelia Joliat
Administrative Assistant
CYRUS MOZAYENI
Entrepreneur-in-Residence
David Grayzel
Partner
Diana Francis
Controller
DON NICHOLSON
Advisor
DOUG KERR
Advisor
GARY D. GLICK
Advisor
GEOFF MACKAY
Advisor
GEOFF MCDONOUGH
Advisor
GEORGE VLASUK
Advisor
GERHARD KOENIG
Entrepreneur-in-Residence
GERRALDINE (GERRY) HARRIMAN
Entrepreneur-in-Residence
HOWARD L. KAUFMAN
Advisor
Ian Owens
Executive Assistant
JASON GARDNER
Advisor
Jason Rhodes
Partner
Jean-François Formela
Partner
JEFFREY HATFIELD
Advisor
Further reading
5AM raises nearly $500M in two new biotech venture funds
Alaric DeArment
Web
As market shifts, Atlas Venture closes a $250 million fund to support its breakaway biotech bets
Connie Loizos
Web
Atlas Venture Announces $250 Million Opportunity Fund
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Atlas Venture bags $250 million for its first opportunity fund - Healthcare Opportunity
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Atlas Venture Closes First Opportunity Fund, at $250M | FinSMEs
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Atlas Venture Launches Generation Bio - EEI-BIOTECHFINANCES
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Atlas Venture raises $250m | Private Equity International
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Atlas Venture raises $250M for later-stage investments | FierceBiotech
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Atlas Venture raises $250M for Opportunity Fund
Alaric DeArment
Web
Atlas Venture Rounds Up $250 Million for Later-Stage Biotech Fund
Brian Gormley
Web
Biogen Idec, Atlas Venture Pump $17M into Ataxion
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Exclusive: Atlas Venture is splitting up
Dan Primack
Web
Is JPM Week worth it from a press perspective?
Arundhati Parmar
Web
Kevin Bitterman, Partner, Atlas Venture - Akero Therapeutics
Web
LifeSciVC | Bruce Booth, partner at Atlas Venture, blogs on all facets of early stage biotech.
Web
Moving HQ to Boston, AtScale CEO Chris Lynch Talks VCs, Tech Scene
Web
Our Year In Review: Annual Talk On Macro, Biotech, and Atlas | LifeSciVC
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Plunkett's Investment & Securities Industry Almanac 2008
Web
Predicting The Next Dominoes to Fall in 2019 | LifeSciVC
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See Ya Later, Techies: Atlas Venture Goes It Alone, Scoops Up $280M For Biotech
Luke Timmerman
Web
Startups Weekly: VCs celebrate the new year the only way they know how
Kate Clark
Web
Documentaries, videos and podcasts
Chris Lynch, Atlas Venture // Data Driven #28 // June 2014 (Hosted by FirstMark Capital)
Jun 26, 2014
Our Year In Review: Annual Talk On Macro, Biotech, and Atlas | LifeSciVC
February 12, 2019
Companies
Adnxeus
Akrevia Therapeutics
Annovation Biopharma
Arrow Therapeutics
CoStim Pharmaceuticals
Delinia
Egalet Corporation
F-Star Alpha Limited
Harbour Antibodies