Today, Atlas Venture is focused exclusively on building breakthrough biotechnology companies alongside exceptional entrepreneurs. Atlas Venture was founded by Michiel de Haan in 1980 as a subsidiary of NMB Bank in the Netherlands. The firm opened its US operations in 1986 and spun out of NMB Bank in 1987, taking on the name Atlas Venture. In 1990 the firm added life sciences to its strategy. Through 2013, Atlas raised nine diversified venture capital funds that invested in both life sciences and technology. In 2014 the life science and technology sectors decided to split into two separate firms, with the life science team raising Atlas Venture Fund X.