Welcome back to Baby Breakerdom! This week's quest to uncover budding Rule Breakers finds Mr. Softy moonlighting and a bumper crop for health-care investors.
First up is Microsoft
Then last year, the program took the further step of working with start-ups to bring Microsoft-developed technology to market. And it was christened with a name: IP Ventures. It's that venture group that has birthed Wallop, along with funding help from Silicon Valley's Bay Ventures.
No doubt, Microsoft is hoping that Wallop will receive a halo effect from the enthusiasm for Friendster, News Corp's
Next up are health care and life sciences funds. According to VentureWire, 2005 was a record-setting year for such investments, which took in $5.6 billion in new capital. Now, it turns out that 2006 could be just as bountiful. For example, VentureWire reports that two different life sciences funds -- OrbiMed Advisors and Alta Partners -- have oversubscribed their newest offerings. Interestingly, both funds and a number of peers plan investments in public and private firms.
Here's why this matters to you: Many public biotechs are still very much in the seed stage, including Rule Breakers portfolio member and cancer specialist Exelixis
That's all for now. See you back here next Friday when we continue the quest to find the next ultimate growth stock.
For more Rule-Breaking Foolishness:
- Check in with last week's infants.
- Take a lesson from John; he's smashing atoms and the market.
- Learn six reasons why fellow Fool Rick Munarriz loves Rule Breakers pick CNET
(NASDAQ:CNET) .
Netflix. Marvel. AOL. Starbucks. Find out how David Gardner landed these and other multibaggers by taking a test-drive of Motley Fool Rule Breakers today. You'll also learn why our analysts are smashing the market by more than 17% as of this writing. All you have to lose is the prospect ofbetter returns.
Microsoft is a Motley Fool Inside Value pick.
Fool contributor Tim Beyers is slowly coming around to the biotech bandwagon. Tim didn't own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story at the time of publication. You can find out what's in his portfolio by checking Tim's Fool profile . The Motley Fool has an ironclad disclosure policy .