Acquisitions were a big theme in the New England-area deal news this past week. We also saw several funding rounds and an intellectual property deal.
—Providence, RI-based Alektrona, a maker of smart-grid software and hardware, grabbed $250,000 in funding from the Slater Technology Fund, also of Providence. The money comes as part of a $510,000 seed funding round, which also included backing from NStar’s former chief information officer, Gene Zimon.
—Cara Therapeutics, a developer of treatments for pain and inflammation, raised $15 million in a Series D funding led by Rho Ventures. Alta Biopharma, Ascent Biomedical Ventures, CT Innovations, Devon Park BioVentures, Healthcare Private Equity, Mitsubishi International, and MVM Life Science Partners also participated in the financing for Shelton, CT-based Cara, which has now raised a total of around $43 million.
—Boston-based Gazelle, a website that facilitates the selling and recycling of used electronics, raised $12 million in a Series C funding round led by Physic Ventures. The financing also included Gazelle’s existing investors, Venrock Associates and RockPort Capital Partners. Gazelle says it will put the money toward scaling its businesses to meet new customer demand.
—Acton, MA-based Mintera, an optical-switch maker, was acquired by Oclaro, a San Jose, CA-based optical communications and laser technology firm, for $12 million in cash upfront. The deal could total $32 million if Mintera brings in revenues of $70 million over the next year and a half. Its revenue for the most recent fiscal year was in the neighborhood of $20 million.
—Euthymics Bioscience, a Cambridge, MA-based startup working on depression treatments that lack the side effects of many existing drugs, said it pulled in the first tranche of its Series A funding round, led by Novartis Venture Funds and Venture Investors. The financing could total
