Globalization and private equity are the inescapable recurring themes here at the IBF annual venture investing conference.
And it didn't take long for New Enterprise Associates' graybeard Dick Kramlich to note that in the first quarter of this year, the trend in the vast amount of private capital raised was that for the first time, more money was raised outside the U.S. than in.
Declaring flatly that London is clearly now the financial capital of the world, Kramlich said that attention has shifted away from venture capital and technology.
But while he managed to get a gentle dig in, he performed a deft twist in logic to present the current balance of power as a positive for the venture industry.
"PE is where the real action is, and it truly is amazing, I just hope there are enough inefficient companies," he said. "I don't like to see excesses, but bring back the bubble."
Kramlich declared that venture capital has become "quaint," and not in a bad way. Acknowledging that NEA's "NewVC" program of putting more resources into late stage deals is going after the same opportunities PE players are pursuing, he nevertheless said VCs can succeed quietly by doing what they have always done in fostering innovation while PE firms chase deals based on leverage and inefficiencies.
This is simple stuff," he said. "We don't need to get headlines, just keep doing what we do, creating new jobs and new technology." - Clifford Carlsen
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