Hatteras closes on two new venture funds totaling over $200M
Durham-based Hatteras Venture Partners, a prime investor in North Carolina life sciences companies for the last quarter century, has raised over $200 million for two new venture capital funds.
The two healthcare-focused funds, Hatteras Venture Partners VII and Hatteras Opportunity Fund I, closed with capital commitments from limited partners.
The investments come as Hatteras celebrates 25 years in business, 100 portfolio companies funded and $900 million under management across seven venture capital funds. 
The firm also scored one of its largest company exits last week when portfolio company HistoSonics, a medical device company with operations in the Midwest, was acquired for about $2.25 billion. Hatteras co-led the company’s Series A financing in 2009.
“Across 100 portfolio companies and 25 years, we’ve had our share of exhilarating wins like this, along with heartbreaking disappointments,” said Clay Thorp, general partner at Hatteras. “What has been most gratifying in this journey is the relationships we have made with scholarly innovators, committed entrepreneurs and resilient co-investors. We look forward to continuing to invest in transformative life sciences companies disrupting the status quo in healthcare and accelerating the pace of innovation.”
Mike Carnes, vice president of emerging company development at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, applauded Hatteras for continuing to raise and deploy new funds.
“These funds build on Hatteras’ successful legacy of supporting life sciences innovation and commercialization in North Carolina and beyond,” Carnes said. “This is good news for our entrepreneurial community and for patients who will ultimately benefit from new healthcare products that will be developed with funding and guidance from Hatteras.”
Two promotions
Hatteras also announced two promotions within its team. Ben Scruggs, Ph.D., and Lauren Flickinger were promoted from principal to partner.
Scruggs has concurrently been leading portfolio company Altis Biosystems of Durham as chief executive officer. Flickinger, formerly an investment banker with Morgan Stanley, is the fund manager of the Hatteras-managed Pisgah Fund, an Asheville-based fund that invests in healthcare businesses in Western North Carolina.
“Ben and Laura possess the values, instincts and tenacity we need to lead Hatteras into the future,” said John Crumpler, co-founder and general partner of Hatteras. “The opportunity for them to lead new deals and harvest existing investments in Hatteras Venture Partners VII is tremendous, and I look forward to continuing our work together as they step into these expanded leadership roles.”
Hatteras was founded in 2000 with the closing of Hatteras Venture Partners I, a seed-stage venture fund with $2.93 million in capital. Today, the firm is focused on seed- and early stage companies in the health innovation sectors of biotechnology, medtech and healthtech.