Atlas Venture, an early-stage international venture capital firm announced JAnuary 29 that it has closed its eighth fund at $283 million.  Atlas Venture VIII will continue the firm’s  strategy of funding early-stage technology and life sciences start-ups in the U.S. and Europe.  Investors in Atlas Venture VIII include existing limited partners, such as Kisco Management, The Kresge Foundation and Paul Capital. New limited partners include Franklin Park, Industriens Pensionsforsikring A/S and Meketa Investment Group.
 
The first investment in Atlas Venture VIII was made in CloudSwitch, a technology start-up currently in stealth mode.  The company is focusing on enabling enterprises to take advantage of cloud computing.  CloudSwitch was founded by entrepreneurs Ellen Rubin, formerly of Netezza, and John Considine, formerly of Pirus Networks (acquired by Sun Microsystems). Atlas Venture co-led the $7.4M investment.
 
Since its inception in 1980 Atlas Ventures have helped build over 350 companies in more than 16 different countries. In the past decade, 44 portfolio companies have been acquired and 47 are now public companies with an aggregate market capitalization of over $15 billion. Atlas Venture manages over $2.5 billion in capital through offices in Boston and London. For more information, visit www.atlasventure.com <http://www.atlasventure.com> .