Source - https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication Files/VC_Tech_4b7a1b2a-ef2a-4867-a41e-2ba84cb120f2.pdf
TL;DR - Current American VC exceptionalism should be understood in the context of a long history of “long-tail” investing, which became institutionalized into modern VC with the emergence of the venture firm ARD.
Helpfulness - 5
Tags - risk capital, vc history, notable investors
Questions addressed:
- How, when, and why did VC emerge as an industry in the United States?
- What role did the American Research and Development Corporation play?
Summary:
- The United States has developed a unique environment for high-tech investment finance.
- The origins of VC are not in Silicon Valley but on the East Coast, where the American Research and Development Corporation was created post-WWII.
- “Long-tail” high-tech investing has since been institutionalized in a globally unique way.
- The US has a long history of “long-tail” investing, but ARD’s successful investment in a computer startup in the 1950s was the catalyst for more institutionalized VC.
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