LEXINGTON, Mass., Nov. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Highland Capital Partners, a leading venture capital firm with a twenty-year history of helping great people build great companies, today announced the firm's eighth fund, Highland Capital Partners VIII Limited Partnership. The new $400 million fund will continue to fuel the firm's focus on early through growth stage investments in exceptional healthcare, internet & digital media and technology companies. "We are very appreciative for the continued backing of our limited partners," said Bob Higgins, general partner at Highland. "We are pleased to raise a fund in this challenging environment that will allow us to continue to partner with the world's best entrepreneurs and management teams in building high-growth and successful companies." Since its inception, Highland has focused on building early and growth stage companies into world-class leaders. During this period the firm has partnered with over 200 entrepreneurial enterprises, 90 of which have gone public or been acquired to date. Recent Highland-backed companies with valuations in excess of $1 billion include Conor Medsystems (IPO/acquired by Johnson & Johnson), lululemon athletica (NASDAQ:LULU), Starent Networks (NASDAQ:STAR) and VistaPrint (NASDAQ:VPRT). About Highland Capital Partners Highland Capital Partners was founded with the mission of helping great people build great companies. For over twenty years, the firm has taken a sector-focused approach to investing in exceptional healthcare, internet & digital media and technology companies. With 3 billion of committed capital and offices in Boston, Silicon Valley, Shanghai and Geneva, Highland has invested in and worked to create such firms as Ask Jeeves, Avid Technology, CheckFree, Conor Medsystems, Continental Cable, lululemon athletica, Lycos, MapQuest, Navic Networks, Ocular Networks, P.A. Semi, Quigo, Starent Networks, Sybase, Telica and VistaPrint. For more information, visit Highland's web site at http://www.hcp.com/. DATASOURCE: Highland Capital Partners CONTACT: Michael Gaiss, Senior Vice President of Highland Capital Partners, +1-781-861-5517, Web Site: http://www.hcp.com/

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