MENLO PARK, Calif. – ATP Capital, manager of JLA Ventures, Clairmont Capital and BlackBerry Partners Fund, has announced that it is re-branding as Relay Ventures.
“This re-branding initiative finally unifies the three brands that we’ve been operating under and the more than $800MM in capital that we’ve raised,” says Kevin Talbot, Co-Managing Partner of Relay Ventures. “Our new brand brings unity and clarity to our mandate as an early stage venture investor.”
The Relay Ventures name epitomizes the idea that creating a sustainable business requires focus, cooperation, persistence and teamwork.
“The Relay Ventures team has a deep understanding of the mobile market and the great opportunity ahead for companies like ours that are enabling growth and innovation in this space,” says Jeff Haynie, Co-founder and CEO of Appcelerator. ”They are highly differentiated investors and we are pleased to be a part of their 100% mobile portfolio.”
Read the Relay Ventures blog post on the re-branding initiative
New $150MM Mobile Fund
Timed with the rebranding initiative is the commencement of the BlackBerry® Partners Fund II, a new $150MM mobile fund. The new fund will continue to be an independently managed, platform agnostic, early stage venture fund with a singular focus on mobile computing.
“We are one of the most active investors in mobile computing, with over 32 investments of which six have already been acquired,” says John Albright, Co-Managing Partner of Relay Ventures. “Our continued specialization and focus on the rapidly growing and advancing mobile industry has been well received by our LPs, almost all of which returned for this new fund.“
“There is more to raising capital than money,” says Todd Greene, repeat entrepreneur and Co-founder and CEO of PubNub. “We specifically chose Relay to lead our Series A because of their commitment to entrepreneurs and their reputation for doing heavy lifting to help their portfolio companies.”
The new fund’s lead investor is Northleaf Capital Partners, one of Canada’s largest institutional investors, along with corporate limited partners including Corus Entertainment, Thomson Reutersand Research In Motion.
Read the Relay Ventures blog post on the new $150MM Mobile Fund
New Silicon Valley Office
In conjunction with the new fund, Relay Ventures has also opened an office in Silicon Valley. While almost half of the Firm’s investments made to date have been in the San Francisco Bay Area, the firm will now be able to better support the entrepreneurs it works with, throughout North America, from a permanent office in Menlo Park. Kevin Talbot, who has been an active investor in Silicon Valley since 2001, recently relocated to the Bay Area from Toronto.
Read the Relay Ventures blog post on the new Silicon Valley office
Growing Relay Ventures Team
Joining Kevin Talbot as a partner in the new office is John Occhipinti. John has worked with hundreds of startups and, having spent his entire career in Silicon Valley, has significant operating experience. John was previously a partner with Woodside Fund, an early stage venture fund, where he focused on mobile and software opportunities. Prior to Woodside Fund, John was an early executive at Netscape and started his career at Oracle.
Read the Relay Ventures blog post on our growing team
About Relay Ventures
Relay Ventures is an early stage venture capital firm that invests in passionate entrepreneurs disrupting and creating new markets through mobile technologies. Unlike other funds, Relay exclusively focuses on software for mobile devices and the connected Internet, creating an unparalleled set of networks and resources that tangibly help founders build world-class companies. With offices in Menlo Park and Toronto, the firm is active throughout North America. For additional information, visit www.relayventures.com.
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Media Contact: Jodi Echakowitz T: +1 905-709-09600 E: jodi@relayventures.com