Founded in 1979, Advanced Technology Ventures (ATV) focuses on early-stage investment opportunities in the healthcare and information technology markets. ATV has invested in over 100 companies, taking them from inception to a public offering and beyond. ATV has offices in Palo Alto and in Waltham, Massachusetts. Currently, ATV has over $750 million in capital under management. In a recent statement to Red Herring, general partner Steve Baloff said "[ATV's] goal is to have 15 to 20% of our portfolio invested overseas in Western Europe and Israel."

Industry Focus

ATV categorizes its investments into two broad segments: information technology and health care. In the information techology sector, ATV has focused on application software and services, computer hardware, communications, and electronics. Companies in ATV's information technology area include Annuncio, Datasage, Garage.com and Epigram. According to ATV general partner Michael Frank, "The Internet has become the primary driving force [of ATV's] investment activity, thanks, in large part to the rapid acceptance of the Web as a primary commerce, communications and information vehicle for both businesses and consumers." The focus of the health care investment portfolio has been in diagnostics, information systems and services, medical devices and pharmaceuticals. Portfolio companies in ATV's health care area include Optobionics, Anthra Pharmaceuticals and Novoste.

Unique investing strategy

With 20 years of experience, ATV has developed a somewhat unique approach to investing in startups. ATV employs respected information technology and health care experts as "special limited partners" to work with the portolio companies. Steve Baloff, general partner at ATV, told Red Herring: "By employing world-class technologists as limited partners, ATV can personally nurture the companies it funds."