One of the worst kept secrets in the Triangle is finally coming out into the open today.
Nearly 18 months after disclosing in a securities filing that that they were forming a new venture capital fund, former Southern Capitol Ventures partners David Jones and Jason Caplain are formally disclosing their new venture today.
But insiders have known for more than a year who some investors were and the amount to be raised.
Caplain and Jones just chose not to talk about it.
The more than year-old startup-focused Bull City Venture Partners venture capital fund finally closed on a $26 million fund and chose to make the news official today.
But followers of startups knew well before last January 2013 that Caplain and Jones were moving on from Southern Capitol Ventures.
While saying they would continue to support Southern Capitol investments, Caplain and Jones have been fully committed to their new venture while rejecting opportunities to talk about it with the media.
Among the investors is Capitol Broadcasting, the parent company of WRAL Tech Wire.
News surfaced of Bull City Ventures in the January 2013 filing that disclosed plans to raise funding. The initial target was $25 million.
Caplain and Jones split away from Ben Brooks, one of Southern Capitol’s founders, who has focused on business outside of that firm.
Other investors in the new fund include Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Cisco, venture capitalist Brad Feld, Grosvenor Capital Management, Industry Ventures and Red Hat.
In the formal announcement, Cisco and Red Hat executives spoke out about the investment.
“Cisco has a tradition of cultivating innovation in North Carolina. BCVP is one of the top funds providing strong access and visibility to leading entrepreneurs, talent and deal opportunities in technology in our region. We are excited to be a part of the BCVP Fund III and look forward to supporting the local start-up and entrepreneurial community as part of this effort,” said Bill McCarthy, Cisco vice president of US Sales and a member of Cisco RTP’s Executive Committee.
“Red Hat is a company born and bred in North Carolina. We’ve experienced tremendous success here and have found the area to be rich with talent,” said DeLisa Alexander, executive vice president and chief people officer, Red Hat. “We feel a keen responsibility to foster innovation in this region and to help entrepreneurs have an opportunity to bring compelling new products and technologies to market. We are thrilled to be partners with Bull City Venture Partners in this effort.”
