Edina's Vensana Capital nets $325 million for second venture fund

Two years after launching with $225 million for its inaugural venture capital fund, Edina's Vensana Capital has secured $325 million in committed capital for a second fund.

Kirk Nielsen and Justin Klein, two longtime investors in medical technology, joined to launch the venture capital and growth equity investment firm in 2019. The firm also is operated from the Washington, D.C., metro.

Nielsen, a native Minnesotan who previously worked at Medtronic, said previously the firm would commit between $10 million and $30 million to each portfolio company.

The firm has made 10 investments since its creation. Those deals include Brooklyn Park-based medical device maker CVRx, which in June raised $126 million through its initial public offering, and Bloomington-based Relievant Medsystems.

Vensana was one of 10 equity investors to participate in Relievant's $70 million round of funding in 2020. That capital is being applied to the commercialization of the company's treatment for chronic back pain that involves destroying select nerve cells in the spine.

"We are proud of the progress that Vensana has made since launch, especially our growing investment team and our portfolio of companies tackling important unmet needs," Nielsen said in a statement.

The firm is generally focused on medical technology companies, but subsectors within the med tech field include medical device makers, diagnostic and data-based companies, and digital health and life science companies.

"We believe Vensana has both a tremendous opportunity and a responsibility to support our entrepreneurs in their pursuit of technologies and businesses that will transform health care for the future," Klein said in a statement.

The firm's second fund was oversubscribed and is supported by existing and new investors, according to a release from the firm.