Highland Capital Partners is a global venture capital firm with offices in Boston, Silicon Valley, and San Francisco. Highland has raised over $4 billion in committed capital and invested in more than 280 companies, with 47 IPOs and 134 acquisitions.

History

Investments and investment funds

Highland is typically the first institutional investor in the companies they back. From inception in 1988 to today, the firm has raised eleven venture capital funds with aggregate investor commitments of approximately $4 billion:

Notable investments

The company has invested some $4 billion in more than 280 companies since its founding, including 2U, Auris Health, Bromium, Clearbanc, Everlywell, Gigamon, Imprivata LevelUp, Lululemon Athletica, Malwarebytes, Qihoo 360, Quattro Wireless, Rent the Runway, Scopely, ThredUp, Turbonomic and VistaPrint.

Current and former employees

Notable members of the team include Bob Davis, the founder of Lycos; Gaurav Tewari, the founder of Omega Venture Partners, and formerly of Highland Capital Partners; and Wyc Grousbeck, owner of the Boston Celtics. In February 2005, Thomas G. Stemberg, the founder and former CEO of Staples, joined Highland.

Other

Highland Capital Partners is not affiliated with Highland Capital Management, the distressed investment firm, hedge fund sponsor, and mutual fund manager based in Dallas, Texas. In November 2020, several of the senior GPs partnered with Ian Friedman, former co-head of Goldman Sachs Investment Partners (Venture Capital and Growth Equity Team) and formed Highland Transcend Partners I, a SPAC that targets disruptive commerce, digital media, and enterprise software. The founding team consists of Friedman (CEO), Bob Davis (executive chairman), Dan Nova (chief investment officer) and Paul Maeder (CFO).