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Richard W. Horton
Partner
Richard Horton is an experienced, dual-qualified US and Australian corporate and technology lawyer, advising clients in both the US (in particular Silicon Valley) and Australia.
Richard works primarily with emerging growth and later stage tech companies in a variety of industries, including robotics, digital media, consumer products, software, semiconductors, manufacturing, medical devices biotechnology and clean energy technologies. Richard concentrates on:
- Tech-sector venture capital and strategic financings (including pre-IPO funding rounds)
- Private equity and family office transactions
- Tech-sector M&A transactions
- Strategic IPO advice
- Strategic intellectual property advice (including complex IP and technology development and licensing transactions)
- International manufacturing and distribution transactions
Richard has deep experience helping Australian venture funds and technology companies doing business in Australia and the US, and regularly works with US and offshore multinationals doing deals in Australia. He has been involved in some of Silicon Valley’s largest M&A transactions and has negotiated numerous venture financing transactions in both the US and Australia. He has also negotiated a broad range of complex intellectual property and technology development and licensing and manufacturing transactions.
Richard speaks regularly to incubators, research institutes, universities, industry bodies and government groups on US and Australian venture financing, tech sector M&A transactions, IP strategy and licensing, and general corporate and commercial law topics. He is also regularly engaged by the media to discuss issues relating to the Australian and Silicon Valley tech scene.
Before joining the firm, Richard was a senior associate in the Sydney office of a global law firm (spending 12 months on secondment at Telstra Corporation). In late 1999, he moved to the US where he spent five years in the Silicon Valley office of a US-based global law firm, three years as a partner in the San Francisco office of a large Australia-based international corporate law firm and six years as a partner in the Silicon Valley (Palo Alto) office of a large multinational law firm.
REPRESENTATIVE CLIENTS
- Blackbird Ventures
- Boeing Energy Inc. (renewable energy technologies)
- Cake Equity
- CSIRO
- Disputify
- Edrolo
- Fitbit Inc.
- Foodbomb
- Good Software
- Harrison AI
- Inventia
- I-care World
- 1ICT
- LanzaTech Limited (biofuels)
- Morse Micro
- Qualtrics Inc.
- Salesforce.com
- SEEK
- Sezzle Inc.
- Sine Technologies
- Spaceship Financial
- Square Peg Capital
- Startmate
- Telstra Ventures
- Together AI
- UpGuard Inc.
- UNSW Innovations
REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE
- AQT Solar: Series A-C venture financings, and numerous bridge and convertible note financings; clean energy technology development and licensing transactions.
- Blackbird Ventures: Series A venture investment in Shoes of Prey.
- Biarri: Acquisition by Navis.
- Brisbane Materials: Venture financing with renewable energy venture capital fund; manufacturing and licensing transactions.
- Grabble: Acquisition by Walmart.
- Good Software: Acquisition by Atlassian.
- Edrolo: Series B venture financing.
- Harrison AI: Series A venture financing.
- Intalock Technologies: Acquisition by Spirit Technologies.
- Inventia: Series A venture financing.
- Morse Micro: AU$170 million Series B venture financing.
- Moser Baer PhotoVoltaic Limited: negotiate various rounds of venture investments in SolFocus, Stion, Skyline Solar, Solaria.
- Moser Baer India Limited: Acquisition of Kodak Digital Media Group.
- Oculo (now i-Care World): acquisition by Revenio Group Oyj.
- Playboy Enterprises: International broadcast management platform licensing deal with Pilat Media for Playboy TV and video.
- Precise Light Surgical: Series A investment from Southern Cross Venture Partners and Softbank China (IIF).
- Scatec Solar: Sale of various solar project and renewable energy assets in California, Utah and Hawaii.
- Sezzle Inc.: IPO and ASX listing, and pre-IPO venture financing.
- Sine Technologies: Acquisition by Honeywell Inc.
- Southern Cross Venture Partners and Softbank China (IIF) venture investment in Big Tin Can Pty Ltd.
- SunEdison: Acquisition of numerous solar projects in California.
- SwarmFarm Robotics: Series Seed and Series A venture financings
- Telstra Ventures:
- Series D investment in Kony Solutions Inc. (US$18.3 million)
- Series E investment in Ooyala Inc. (US$35 million)
- Series F investment in Ooyala Inc. (US$43 million)
- Series E-1 investment in Box Inc. (co-investment in US$100 million total round).
- UpGuard: Series A venture financing.
- Yahoo!: Acquisition of MusicMatch Inc. and Hotjobs Inc.
- Startmate: Numerous Series Seed financings with portfolio companies.
Education
- The University of Sydney, LL.M.
- University of New South Wales, B.Comm.
- University of New South Wales, LL.B.
Admissions
- California
- New South Wales
Memberships & Affiliations
- Mentor, StartMate, UNSW Founders Program, Commercialisation Australia
- US National Venture Capital Association
- AVCAL (Australian Venture Capital Association Limited)
- Licensing Executives Society (Australia, US and Canada)
- Recommended as a leading Information Technology lawyer in Best Lawyers in Australia 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
- Recommended as a leading Mergers and Acquisitions lawyer in Best Lawyers in Australia 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
- Recommended in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2018 and 2019 in Corporate and M&A, Australia.
- Finalist for Lawyers Weekly Australia Partner of the Year Awards 2016, Technology, Media & Communications category.
- Recommended in the edition of The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2014.
VENTURE LAW MEETUP SERIES
- Richard has led our Australian Venture Law Meetup tech sector law and business seminar series since 2017. During that time, he has presented on topics, including:
- Negotiating venture financing transactions
- Tech Sector M&A transactions
- Convertible note and SAFE financings (Australia and US)
- ASX listings and IPOs for tech companies
- Private equity in Australia
- Tax incentives in the tech sector
- Richard has also presented at Squire Patton Boggs Venture Capital Seminar Series on:
- “Convertible Note Financings”
- “Incentivizing Employees – Understanding Options for Options and Other Forms of Equity-based Compensation”
- “Making the Move to Silicon Valley: When to Flip, and Why”
- “Intellectual Property Issues for Startups and Later Stage Technology Companies”
- “Negotiating Venture Financing Transactions”
- “Founders, Financings and IP Strategy”, NICTA, Sydney, Australia, August 2013.
- “Making the Pilgrimage to Silicon Valley: To Flip or Not to Flip”, River City Labs, Brisbane, Australia, March 7, 2013.
- “Financings, Founders and IP Strategy for Australian Startups Moving to Silicon Valley”, River City Labs, Brisbane, Australia, June 2012.
- “Meet the Founders Series” (US and Australian Venture Financings), NICTA, Melbourne University, May 31, 2012.
- “US Venture Financings, Founders and IP Strategy”, Fishburners/Pushstart, May 2012.
- “Venture Financing Transactions in Silicon Valley”, Santa Clara Law School, Santa Clara, California, April 13, 2009.
- “The Future of the Solar Industry – What is Next?”, Licensing Executives Society of Silicon Valley, June 19, 2008.
OTHER SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS