Software, tech, and stealth dominated the week’s deals news.
—TechStars Boston, the startup incubator program, raised about a quarter of a planned $2 million funding round. If completed, the round will reportedly support the program through 2014.
—Palo Alto, CA-based Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: [[ticker:HPQ]]) acquired Vertica, the Billerica, MA-based database management and analytics software firm, for an undisclosed sum. Sources told Greg that the price tag for Vertica, which is backed by Highland Capital Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, might exceed $200 million—a testament to big companies’ growing desire to corner the “big data” market.
—Boston-based wireless firm Skyhook inked deals with Intel (NASDAQ: [[ticker:INTC]]) and Citysearch. The former will integrate Skyhook’s location-finding technology into its chips, and the latter will incorporate it into mobile and deals apps for Android devices.
—Massachusetts tech and life sciences startups took in more than 25 percent more equity-based funding in January than they did in December, with 32 startups raising a total of $242.5 million, according to data from our partner CB Insights’ FundingFlash. The healthcare sector was the big winner, accounting for $146.5 million across 13 deals. Erin gave a rundown of other interesting tidbits from the January data.
—Portland, ME-based CashStar, a digital gifting and incentives startup, raised $5 million in a deal led by San Francisco-based Passport Capital and joined by Allen & Company.
—A stealthy Nashua, NH-based startup called Plexxi reported to the SEC that it had raised $8.3 million in an equity offering.
—A similarly stealthy firm, Concord, MA-based VisionScope Technologies, raised $6.3 million in equity-based funding, according to a regulatory filing. Representatives of Mi3 Venture Partners, Bracebridge Capital, and WFD Ventures are members of the VisionScope board of directors.
