Atlas Venture is an early-stage

venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...

firm that creates and invests in

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

startup companies A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an Entrepreneurship, entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship includes all new businesses including self-employment and businesses tha ...

in the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

Atlas is headquartered in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

, where the majority of its investments are located. Atlas raised its fourteenth fund totaling $450 million in December 2024, and raised its Opportunity Fund II totaling $300 million in September 2021.

History

Originally formed in 1980 in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

as a subsidiary of NMB Bank, now part of

ING Group ING Group N.V. () is a Dutch multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Amsterdam. Its primary businesses are retail banking, direct banking, commercial banking, investment banking, whol ...

, Atlas historically invested in both life sciences and

information technology Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...

startup companies. In October 2014, Atlas announced its shift to a

biotech Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists in the field are kn ...

-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 Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, in addition to the Boston-area headquarters. Today, the firm operates from a single office in

. In 2015 Atlas Venture raised its first biotech-dedicated fund, Fund X, at $280 million to invest in early stage biotech companies in the U.S. and around the world. In 2017 Atlas Venture raised Fund XI at $350 million. In January 2019 Atlas Venture raised $250 million for its Opportunity Fund I, a complementary strategy focusing investment in growth financings of companies in Atlas' main fund portfolios. In June 2020 Atlas Venture raised its Fund XII $400 million. In March 2022 Atlas Venture raised Fund XIII at $450 million. Atlas Venture raised Fund XIV in December 2024 at $450 million.

References

{{Authority control Dutch companies established in 1980 Private equity firms of the United States Venture capital firms of the United States Companies based in Cambridge, Massachusetts Financial services companies established in 1980