Harvard-Linked VC Fund Faces Messy Breakup

From Xfund to ex-fund?

A venture capital fund with a pedigree that stretches back five years and to Harvard Square may be teetering on the edge of extinction, as an unusual degree of hostile, and now public, disputes between its two partners continue to rage.

The two founders, Patrick Chung and Hugo Van Vuuren, have been at odds over business activities as diverse as personnel and strategy, The New York Times reported on Thursday (May 5). The pair are enmeshed in legal action against one another. NYT said that the duo dueled over whether to fire or maintain ties with one of Xfund’s executive assistants.

There have even been restraining orders. Chung filed for one earlier this year, stating that his partner had been resorting to verbal threats and showing behavior that could be termed unusual or erratic.

In terms of Xfund’s efforts, the investment vehicle raised a $100 million fund two years ago but traces its genesis to 2011. The original commitment that took shape to help build the company came from a Harvard partnership to the tune of $10 million.