Franklin Venture Partners
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Franklin Venture Partners is what happens when a $1.6 trillion asset manager decides to play VC - they've got the checkbook but not necessarily the startup DNA. As the private investing arm of a leading global asset manager and the only one based in Silicon Valley, our value proposition is unique. When assessing potential investments, we leverage both public and private market perspectives, which can make us an especially attractive strategic partner to founders who have an ambition to pursue an IPO - translation: they're the crossover fund for founders who want to go public but need someone who actually understands how public markets work. James Cross knows defense tech cold and founded the Silicon Valley Defense Group, so if you're building anything for the Pentagon, he's your guy. The Ralph Lauren partnership shows they're willing to get creative with strategic LPs. But here's the thing - they're corporate VC at heart, which means they move slower than pure-play funds and probably won't lead your Series A. They're best for later-stage rounds where their public market expertise actually matters.
- —Best for: Late-stage companies preparing for IPO with strong public market guidance
- —Watch out for: Corporate VC pace and decision-making bureaucracy
- —Known for: Defense tech expertise and crossover fund capabilities
The strategy aims to provide returns through investments in companies with disruptive technological applications. Furthermore, the firm seeks companies and founders that value its strategic corporate partnership ability, long-term life-cycle investment philosophy, expert ability to unlock international opportunities through global relationships and presence and accessibility in Silicon Valley.
Franklin Venture Partners invests in late-stage private companies on a trajectory to IPO. They focus on industrial, enterprise, space and defense technologies with more than $3 billion deployed across 95 companies since 2014 and 125 total investments.
Co-Head of Private Investing for Franklin Equity and Managing Director of Franklin Venture Partners. He joined Franklin Templeton in 1998, focusing on quantitative research, risk analysis and performance attribution, before assuming industry coverage in 2000. He then led Franklin Equity Group's industrial sector team and held research responsibilities for the aerospace and defense industries. He is the founder of the Silicon Valley Defense Group, a non-profit focused on National Security and Innovation.
Ryan Biggs is the Co-Head of Private Investments and Managing Director of Franklin Venture Partners at Franklin Templeton. Additionally, Ryan contributed to the Private Equity Group at CalPERS Alternative Investment Management from 2008 to 2010. Ryan holds a degree from the University of California, Davis.
Franklin Venture Partners, led by Biggs, James Cross and Robert Stevenson, invests in private companies it believes are poised to have a transformative impact across multiple industries. Limited public background information available, but serves as a key leader of the fund's investment activities.
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