New Enterprise Associates

History

NEA was founded in 1977 by C. Richard (Dick) Kramlich, Charles (Chuck) Newhall III, and Frank Bonsal, Jr. Kramlich had worked with noted venture capitalist Arthur Rock beginning in 1969 and Frank Bosnal had been an investment banker at Alex. Brown & Sons where he focused on initial public offerings (IPOs) for startup companies.

The first NEA investment fund had only $16 million of capital. The firm's second fund raised $45 million and the third fund collected $125 million of commitments from investors in 1984. The firm continued to grow steadily throughout the 1980s and early 1990s raising $900 million from 1987 through 1996 across NEA's next four funds. Beginning with NEA-8 in 1998, the firm greatly increased the size of its investment funds. NEA's tenth fund had $2.3 billion of investor commitments in 2000. After raising a more modest $1.1 billion in 2004 for the firm's eleventh fund, NEA raised $2.3 billion and $2.5 billion for its next two funds, respectively.Curtland, Laura (July 20, 2006) New Enterprise Associates closes new $2.5 billion fund, Silicon Valley Business Journal https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2006/07/24/story14.html?from_rss=1

In 2010, NEA launched its thirteenth investment fund with $2.5 billion of investor capital, the largest since the 2008 financial crisis. In 2012, NEA closed its fourteenth investment fund with $2.6 billion of investor capital.

In April 2015, NEA closed its fifteenth investment fund with $3.1 billion in investor capital - the largest venture capital fund ever raised. In June 2017, NEA closed its sixteenth investment fund with $3.3 billion in investor capital - again the largest venture capital fund ever raised.

Co-founder Chuck Newhall's 2022 book, Dare Disturb The Universe: A Memoir of Venture Capital, was chosen as a Smithsonian Scholars pick of the year.

In 2025, some of NEA's investments included Acadia Pharmaceuticals, Adaptimmune, Alimera Sciences, Amicus Therapeutics, Clovis Oncology, Databricks, Prosensa, and Tesaro.

Operations

The firm is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, with offices in Timonium, London and New York City, and affiliates in Mumbai, Bangalore, Beijing, and Shanghai.

Since its founding, NEA has invested in nearly 1,000 companies, largely in technology and healthcare industries, realizing over 650 liquidity events (with over 250 portfolio company IPOs and over 300 portfolio company acquisitions). In 2012, its over $14 billion VC capital was invested in nearly 50 biopharma companies, through 14 funds.

In 2018, former CEO of General Electric, Jeff Immelt, joined the firm as a venture partner.

References

References

1. Bergman, Ben. "Richard Kramlich, a godfather of modern venture capital and cofounder of New Enterprise Associates, dies at 89".
2. Studio, Morning Brew. "Going public in 2025".
3. Parker, Kevin. (2021-06-22). "NEA Elevates Tony Florence and Mohamad Makhzoumi to Managing General Partner".
4. (17 April 2024). "Prominent venture capital firm bids D.C.-area office goodbye as focus shifts". bizjournals.com.
5. Marshall, Matt. (2007-01-04). "Gutsy venture firm New Enterprise Associates brings home results".
6. "NEA / About NEA / History".
7. Dan Primack. (November 7, 2011). "NEA: The VC World's best-kept secret". Fortune.
8. Taylor, Colleen. (2012-05-10). "NEA Raising $2.5 Billion For What Could Become The Largest VC Fund In History".
9. Geron, Tomio. "New Enterprise Associates Closes $2.6 Billion In One Of Largest Venture Funds Ever".
10. Newhall, III, Charles W.. (2022-07-16). "Dare Disturb The Universe: A Memoir of Venture Capital". Koehler Books.
11. (2003-10-01). "Power 50".
12. Udayan Gupta. (2000). "Done Deals: Venture Capitalists Tell Their Stories". Harvard Business Press.
13. "7.11 Robert Metcalfe and the Founding of 3Com".
14. Tim Mullaney. (January 21, 2010). "Venture Capitalist Dick Kramlich's Last Stand". Bloomberg Business Week.
15. Alex Konrad. (April 15, 2015). "VC Firm NEA Raises A Record $3.1 Billion For Fifteenth Fund". Forbes.
16. Tomio Geron. (June 19, 2017). "NEA Raises Massive $3.3 Billion Fund". WSJ.
17. Moran, Nick. (2022-05-02). "331. The Founding Story of NEA, The True History of Venture Capital, the Keys to an Enduring Firm Legacy, and Why the Best VC's Dare Disturb the Universe (Chuck Newhall) {{!}} The Full Ratchet".
18. Py-Lieberman, Beth. "Smithsonian Scholars Pick Their Favorite Books of 2022".
19. "Contact NEA". New Enterprise Associates.
20. [http://www.pehub.com/2013/11/new-enterprise-associates-sets-boston-office/ New Enterprise Associates sets up Boston office]. PE Hub, November 14, 2013
21. (2024-07-02). "16 Top Biotech VC Firms 2025 {{!}} TRUiC".
22. Philippidis, Alex. (2014-11-28). "30 Top VC Firms for Biotechs".
23. O'Brien, Kelly J.. (2018-02-01). "Jeff Immelt joins venture capital firm with growing Boston presence". [[Boston Business Journal]].