Chapel Hill-based TrueBridge Capital raises $310M fund

Chapel Hill, N.C. — TrueBridge Capital Partners , an investment firm founded in 2007, is ready to begin making investments now that it has closed on its first fund.

With backing from some 50 individuals who are part of the Kauffman Fellows Program, TrueBridge said Wednesday that its first round had reached more than $310 million.

The firm had hoped to raise $250 million.

TrueBridge will invest its funds in what it called “high-performing venture capital and growth equity managers.”

TrueBridge also is partnering with the Center for Venture Education, which is based in Palo Alto, Calif. The CVE operates the Kauffman Fellows Program and CVE Capital.

“We are certainly gratified by the market’s positive reception to our offering and are excited about our partnership with CVE Capital and the Kauffman Fellows Program,” said Mel Williams, general partner with TrueBridge.

“We believe the insight and access provided by our unique relationship with CVE Capital will provide TrueBridge Capital with a unique advantage in identifying and investing in the best venture capital firms,” he added in a prepared statement.

The Kauffman Fellows Program includes venture capitalists who spend a two-year apprenticeship designed to develop what it calls “the next generation of global leaders in the venture capital industry.” The program launched in 2004.

Currently, there are more than 160 Kauffman Fellows. In the first 10 years of the program, Kauffman Fellows were part of $3.6 billion in investments made in 417 companies.

"We are excited about the synergy between TrueBridge Capital and the broad network of Kauffman Fellows who are active venture capitalists," said Susan Mason, general partner at Onset Ventures and chairwoman of the Center for Venture Education. "Because of its ties with the program, this new fund can provide access to firms that other limited partners might not have entrée to.”

Williams and Edwin Poston founded TrueBridge.

Williams was a founding member of the UNC Management Company, the manager of the UNC-Chapel Hill endowment.

Poston was one of the two managing directors at The Rockefeller Foundation, where he was head of private equity.