Financing Arm of Idealab to Open Office in Bay Area

Idealab Capital Partners, the venture capital arm of Pasadena incubator Idealab, said Monday it will open an office in Silicon Valley.

Erik Lassila, who joins ICP as a managing director from Charter Venture Capital, will run the new office.

The move “strengthens our presence in the Bay Area and enables us to better serve our many Northern California companies,” said Bill Elkus, co-founder and senior managing director of ICP. “As Idealab moves into other markets, it makes sense to have an ICP presence in those markets as well.”

Idealab opened a Palo Alto office in September and has said it will move into other cities nationwide.

A leader in early-stage venture financing of Internet companies, ICP’s $350-million second fund, which closed in August, and $100-million first fund, have invested in more than 30 Internet start-ups since 1998.