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Rustic Canyon was established in September 1999 to invest a portion of the funds created by a recapitalization of The Times Mirror Company (since acquired by the Tribune Company). Our Managing Partner, Tom Unterman, previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Times Mirror, where he supervised its investments, including an active venture capital investment program that included companies such as Netscape, City Search, and WebTV.
Since then, we have built Rustic Canyon into one of the leaders of a new generation of private equity firms. Within our team, each member adds a specific body of experience and expertise beyond the core discipline of financial and business analysis. As a result, we have a unique pool of talent that enables us to provide real value to the companies in which we invest. Hands-on operating and technical experience is resident in our partnership, as well as deep expertise in corporate finance and M&A, strategic management consulting, and corporate law.
At $550 million, our first fund, Rustic Canyon Ventures, remains the largest venture capital fund based in Southern California. Our second fund, Rustic Canyon Ventures SBIC, was launched in mid-2003. At $180 million, our SBIC fund is the largest ever created under the current guidelines. More importantly, with the establishment of this fund, we have extended our resources beyond Southern California and Silicon Valley to include the Pacific Northwest.
To date, we have invested more than $360 million in approximately 50 companies, creating a network of businesses and management teams that can draw on each other for advice and as strategic partners. Our partners work to facilitate such relationships whenever possible to accelerate a company's growth prospects. We have built a track record of success by investing wisely, working diligently on behalf of our entrepreneurs, and aggressively harvesting returns on behalf of our limited partners.