O’Reilly Media has decided to segment its financing activities and has carved out a new early-stage fund called O’Reilly’s AlphaTech Ventures, VC Ratings reports. The unit held its first closing at $51 million and raised money from Jeff Bezos, Omidyar Network and others. Bryce Roberts, previously at Wasatch Venture Fund, and Mark Jacobson, an O’Reilly Media executive, will lead AlphaTech.
The fund has already made its first three investments: Instructables, an online DIY community; Chumby, an interactive clock radio; and Wesabe, an online financial advice community.
Tim O’Reilly via company’s blog, O’Reilly’s Radar”: “We’re focused on the same kinds of opportunities we’ve always seen at O’Reilly: potentially disruptive technologies coming from outside the mainstream, often from enthusiasts who only later realize that they’ve created a new industry.”