ITV Founders Split, Form New VC Firms –

MENLO PARK/PALO ALTO, Calif. – Two of the three founders of Sand Hill’s Road’s Information Technology Ventures have relocated to Palo Alto to open a new firm, Infinity Capital, taking with them the firm’s principals and office staff.

Meanwhile, the third founder was preparing a new venture fund of his own.

ITV founders Sam Lee and Virginia Turezyn are raising a $150 million-targeted, early-stage, information technology fund dubbed Infinity Capital Fund 1999, L.P. Former ITV Principals Eric Chin and Atul Kapadia will join the new effort.

ITV Founder Mark Dubovoy, who will maintain ITV’s old Menlo Park office, declined to reveal much about his future plans, other than to say he intends to raise an information technology fund with new partners. He would not name his new colleagues or the vehicle’s strategy, but he described the latter as “really unique.”

He did, however, say he could foresee possibly co-investing with Infinity Capital – or alternately competing with the firm.

All three ITV founders described the break-up of the firm as a matter of differing philosophies on how the organization should proceed.

“People should not think the worst because it’s not there,” Dubovoy said. “People should not think about dirty laundry because it’s not there.”

Turezyn, Dubovoy and Lee will continue to manage ITV’s two funds, both of which have completed making new investments, Lee said. Turezyn added that Information Technology Ventures I is in “harvest mode.” ITV’s funds will be managed in Infinity’s Palo Alto office, she added.

The firm has $213 million under management: the $131 million Information Technology Ventures II, plus a $5 million affiliate fund, which wrapped in early 1998, and Information Technology Ventures, L.P., a $75 million fund that closed in 1996, along with a $2 million side fund.

Turezyn and Lee began fund raising in August and expected a first close in early October. Infinity plans to back 20 to 25 companies with its first fund, Turezyn said.

ITV limited partners include: the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the University of Texas system, FLAG Venture Management, the Hewlett Packard pension, the Commonfund Inc., PacifiCorp, the Los Angeles County Employees’ Retirement Association, BankAmerica Capital Corp., Glenmede Trust Co., Amherst College, Vulcan Ventures, CoreStates Investment Advisors and Penn Janney Advisory.