The aim of this paper is to discuss the competitive effects of the private equity industry in emerging industries, with a focus on the Dutch Life Sciences cluster located in West Holland, a Dutch region. As this analysis shows, the circumstances which favored the early success of this industry include factors such as education, infrastructure, governmental support, the existence of key industrial players, as well as the investment strategies of private actors. What this paper underline is the significant influence of private equity investments for the financial support of innovative products, on one side, and the growing opportunities through, on the other side. The paper is structured in two parts. The first reviews the literature regarding the evolution of emerging industries and the impact of geographic locations on their attractiveness to private investors. The second part highlights the way in which an emerging industry (i.e. life sciences industry in West Holland region) has upgraded its competitive advantage under the influence of private capital.