In Friday’s Term Sheet email, I shot down rumors that VC firm Highland Capital Partners had scotched fundraising for its separately-branded China affiliate. But here are some Highland rumors that are, indeed, true:
(1) The firm has decided to abandon its Lexington, Mass. headquarters, in favor of more urban digs in Cambridge. One Broadway in Kendall Square, to be exact (same building as the Cambridge Innovation Center).
This is part of a larger trend, in which Boston VC firms are abandoning the suburbs — including Waltham’s “Mount Money” — for space closer to MIT and Harvard.
It also is a return of sorts for Highland, which had been located in a downtown office tower until just after the dotcom bubble crashed.
As an aside, my first meeting upon returning to Boston in 2001 was in that office. I was seated in a boardroom overlooking Boston Harbor, when I noticed a plane on fire over at Logan Airport. Horrifying. When the Highland partner arrived and asked what I was staring at, I said: “There’s a plane in flames at Logan.” He replied: “Oh yeah, that happens every month or so.” Turns out it was a practice exercise for firefighters…
Anyway, back to business:
(2) Richard de Silva, a general partner in Highland’s Menlo Park office, soon plans to transition into a venture partner role. He focuses on digital media investments, and sits on the boards of Affine Systems, Digg, FanSnap, Metacafe and NameMedia.
De Silva originally joined Highland in 2003, before which he co-founded channel marketing software company SiteBurst and was part of the original team at IronPlanet, an online marketplace for heavy equipment.