Category: San Francisco

TEDxSoMa

The PariSoMa Innovation Loft in San Francisco hosts the second annual TED spinoff conference in the South of Market neighborhood. From the event website. “Join us for TEDxSoMa, a unique experience bringing together innovative ideas and people to grow the collective conscience. Created in the spirit of TED’s mission, “ideas worth spreading,” the TEDx program … Continue reading “TEDxSoMa”

$3.7M for Revel Systems

San Francisco startup Revel Systems, which has developed an iPad-based point-of-sale system to help restaurants track sales, said today that it has raised $3.7 million in a funding round led by DCM, an early-stage venture firm with offices in Menlo Park, CA, Beijing, and Tokyo. DCM general partner Jason Krikorian has joined Revel’s board. The … Continue reading “$3.7M for Revel Systems”

Intel Capital Unveils $24.5M in Investments

Intel Capital, the venture investing wing of the giant Santa Clara, CA-based chipmaker Intel (NASDAQ: [[ticker:INTC]]), announced yesterday at an event in New York that it has invested $24.5 million in four information technology startups. The new Intel portfolio companies include Burlingame, CA-based CrowdStar, which makes social games for Facebook and mobile devices; Las Vegas-based … Continue reading “Intel Capital Unveils $24.5M in Investments”

Adam Wiggins on Heroku’s Pivot, Building a “Washing Machine” for Web Developers, and Joining Salesforce.com

If you had to name a single company whose storyline weaves through most of the big trends defining Internet startup life in Silicon Valley over the last few years—cloud computing, agile software development, the rise of venture incubators, and the software-as-a-service and platform-as-a-service phenomena—you couldn’t find a much better example than Heroku. From its humble … Continue reading “Adam Wiggins on Heroku’s Pivot, Building a “Washing Machine” for Web Developers, and Joining Salesforce.com”

23andMe Brings Down the Price of Consumer Genetic Tests, Builds Up Relations With Big Pharma

23andMe is used to lots of eye-rolling from scientists. One geneticist, quoted a year ago in the New York Times, ridiculed the Mountain View, CA-based maker of consumer genetic tests for providing little more than “a really wonderful form of recreation.” One year later, 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki stood in front of a room of … Continue reading “23andMe Brings Down the Price of Consumer Genetic Tests, Builds Up Relations With Big Pharma”

Cell Biosciences Obtains $13,000,866 Series F Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b752e116-71c9-433e-8ea8-4c420e76d728&Preview=1 Date 5/24/2011 Company Name Cell Biosciences Mailing Address 3040 Oakmead Village Dr. Santa Clara, CA 95051 Company Description Cell Biosciences is a private life sciences company focused on defining the future of protein analysis. Our company develops instrumentation systems, software and assay products that drive discoveries in fields ranging from fundamental … Continue reading “Cell Biosciences Obtains $13,000,866 Series F Funding Round”

CrowdStar Obtains $23,000,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b57c2ece-506f-444b-97a9-787e12c27b23&Preview=1 Date 5/24/2011 Company Name CrowdStar Mailing Address Undisclosed Burlingame, CA 94010 Company Description Crowdstar was founded in 2008 and is one of the top Social Gaming companies in the world. Website http://www.crowdstar.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $23,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes The company said it would use the … Continue reading “CrowdStar Obtains $23,000,000 New Financing”

Impact Dialing Garners New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1378b635-1f5f-4b32-b94e-a866bec20f3e&Preview=1 Date 5/24/2011 Company Name Impact Dialing Mailing Address Undisclosed San Francisco, CA 94105 Company Description Impact Dialing provisions servers and phone lines on-demand, so you get the resources you need without paying a premium. Website http://www.impactdialing.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were … Continue reading “Impact Dialing Garners New Round”

Revel Systems Secures $3,700,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=58407ec4-40b9-4a77-b69b-f7a0f3d760b7&Preview=1 Date 5/24/2011 Company Name Revel Systems Mailing Address 88 1st St. Second Floor San Francisco, CA 94105 Company Description Revel Systems is an iPad-based Point of Sale system for restaurants and retail establishments. Revel Systems’ cloud-based POS system is quick, intuitive and powerful. Website http://www.RevelSystems.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount … Continue reading “Revel Systems Secures $3,700,000 New Financing Round”

IPO Pipeline Pumps Up the Volume in First Quarter

A recent study of IPO filings by the Ernst & Young accounting firm shows that 47 companies filed for initial public offerings during the quarter that ended March 31, and a total of 125 companies are waiting to go public on U.S. markets. Of the 125 companies in the pipeline, 25 are based in California, … Continue reading “IPO Pipeline Pumps Up the Volume in First Quarter”

Google Buys Sparkbuy, Less Than Two Months After Seattle Startup’s Product Launch

Sparkbuy, a consumer electronics shopping site based in Seattle, has been purchased by Google (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GOOG]]), the startup announced today on its website. The company, which has been around for less than a year, had raised about $1 million, led by Benaroya Ventures and angel investor Geoff Entress. Terms of the acquisition weren’t disclosed, but … Continue reading “Google Buys Sparkbuy, Less Than Two Months After Seattle Startup’s Product Launch”

LinkedIn, Eventbrite, Optimizely, Garageband: The 1-Minute Version of Last Week’s Bay Area BizTech News

Last week’s Xconomy event Beyond Mobile: Computing in 2021 (nicely summarized by freelancer David Needle) kept me pretty busy, but the news rolled on: —The biggest buzz of the week, of course, was over the initial public offering by Mountain View, CA-based LinkedIn (NYSE: [[ticker:LNKD]]), which brought the company some $352 million in new funds. … Continue reading “LinkedIn, Eventbrite, Optimizely, Garageband: The 1-Minute Version of Last Week’s Bay Area BizTech News”

VuClip Sees $8M

Milpitas, CA-based VuClip announced in a blog post that it has raised $8 million in Series C financing from New Enterprise Associates and Jafco Ventures. The company makes software that transcodes video clips for delivery to more than 5,000 types of mobile devices used around the world. The company said it will use the funds … Continue reading “VuClip Sees $8M”

GainSpan Gains $10.2M

GainSpan, a San Jose, CA-based maker of Wi-Fi modules embedded in a range of devices, has increased the size of a recent round of equity-based funding to $10.15 million, according to an amended regulatory document filed last week. The company reported in November 2010 that it had raised $5.1 million in the round, with part … Continue reading “GainSpan Gains $10.2M”

$3.3M for Everloop

Everloop, a Danville, CA-based startup offering a protected online social network for “tweens” aged 8 to 13, has raised $3.27 million in equity-based financing in a round that could go as high as $3.58 million, according to a regulatory filing last week. The investors in the round have not been identified, but a report from … Continue reading “$3.3M for Everloop”

Sangamo Shows Early Promise Against HIV, Hemophilia at Gene Therapy Revival Meeting

Word on the street in Seattle last week was that Big Pharma was sniffing around quite a bit at the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy annual meeting being held downtown. There was a lot more optimism at this confab than in years past, and Richmond, CA-based Sangamo Biosciences was one of the companies … Continue reading “Sangamo Shows Early Promise Against HIV, Hemophilia at Gene Therapy Revival Meeting”

How to Make Money in Biotech With No Hope of Going Public, Slim Odds of Getting Acquired

Most biotech entrepreneurs I’ve met have a dream that ends one of two ways. They will either take their company public, or sell their startup to a giant drugmaker. Those are the paths to making money, making venture investors happy, and getting the resources needed to take a new drug all the way to the … Continue reading “How to Make Money in Biotech With No Hope of Going Public, Slim Odds of Getting Acquired”

Singulex Garners $7,475,513 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=805e87d5-7077-4f90-8381-88bfbbe33991&Preview=1 Date 5/23/2011 Company Name Singulex Mailing Address 1650 Harbor Bay Parkway Alameda, CA 94502 Company Description Singulex is an early stage biotechnology company with research and development laboratories in St. Louis and commercial operations in Hayward, California. Singulex has obtained exclusive license to all intellectual property around its core technology and … Continue reading “Singulex Garners $7,475,513 New Round”

GainSpan Obtains $10,150,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=04fb5af4-b129-4d95-b4ec-518a4d2f8c94&Preview=1 Date 5/23/2011 Company Name GainSpan Mailing Address 125 S. Market Street San Jose, CA 95113-2292 Company Description GainSpan brings Wi-Fi sensor networks to life. The company’s semiconductor and software solutions break new ground in Wi-Fi applications by enabling years of battery life for Wi-Fi sensors and other devices. Website http://www.gainspan.com Transaction … Continue reading “GainSpan Obtains $10,150,000 New Round”

Everloop Secures $3,273,469 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8445cbfb-359c-435b-a892-acd593e4aec5&Preview=1 Date 5/23/2011 Company Name Everloop Mailing Address 9000 Crow Canyon Rd. Danville, CA 94506 Company Description Targeting tween girls and boys ages 8 to 13, Everloop’s mission is to give tweens a protected space where they can connect with friends they know, express themselves, play games, collaborate on projects and discover … Continue reading “Everloop Secures $3,273,469 New Funding”

Software AG Acquires Terracotta for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=26e487db-c83b-4d44-8b72-8a36d91afde9&Preview=1 Date 5/23/2011 Company Name Terracotta Mailing Address 650 Townsend Street San Francisco, CA 94103 Company Description Terracotta, Inc. delivers plug-in capacity and availability for Java applications at runtime with no application code changes. Website http://www.terracottatech.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Proceeds Purposes M&A Terms Financial terms of the … Continue reading “Software AG Acquires Terracotta for Undisclosed Sum”

Mongo SF

A multi-track, one-day conference that brings together 10gen executives, customers, open source aficionados and MongoDB developers. Information and registration here.

Garageband on the iPad Makes Amateur Musicians into Artists

Can you be a composer without being a musician? Thanks to the latest generation of music authoring software, the answer is yes. Take me, for example. I played the trombone in high school, and I can still read music (bass clef anyway), but I would be very hard pressed to strum a guitar chord, keep … Continue reading “Garageband on the iPad Makes Amateur Musicians into Artists”

SQLstream Obtains $6,000,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=418f9157-83a0-4567-bc2c-1424166ca506&Preview=1 Date 5/20/2011 Company Name SQLstream Mailing Address 1540 Market St. San Francisco, CA 94102 Company Description SQLstream was established with a mission to create a simple and affordable way to resolve real-time data and application integration challenges. Website http://www.sqlstream.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $6,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes … Continue reading “SQLstream Obtains $6,000,000 New Funding”

Symantec Pays $390M for Clearwell

Mountain View, CA-based Symantec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SYMD]]), the company best known for the Norton AntiVirus software line for PCs, said today that it has agreed to acquire Clearwell Systems, a maker of archiving and e-discovery software for litigation support. Symantec will pay $390 million in the transaction, net of Clearwell’s $20 million in cash. Clearwell, which … Continue reading “Symantec Pays $390M for Clearwell”

Jennerex Shows Survival Edge for Liver Cancer Patients in Small Study of Anti-Tumor Virus

San Francisco-based Jennerex Biotherapeutics isn’t ready to show results from its tumor-fighting virus at the meeting that attracts all the big boys and girls in the cancer drug business, but today it is unveiling some provocative results that suggest it may help liver cancer patients live longer. Jennerex’s data is still preliminary, and comes from … Continue reading “Jennerex Shows Survival Edge for Liver Cancer Patients in Small Study of Anti-Tumor Virus”

Boston Venture Firms on the Move: A Roundup of Who’s Heading West (to CA), and Who’s Heading East (to Cambridge)

Updated, see below—The January 2009 announcement by Y Combinator that it was leaving the Boston area and moving full-time to Silicon Valley gave a real jolt to the local innovation community. Then, only a few months later, Greylock Partners dropped a similar bombshell. The storied venture firm, arguably in the elite of the elite alongside … Continue reading “Boston Venture Firms on the Move: A Roundup of Who’s Heading West (to CA), and Who’s Heading East (to Cambridge)”

$3M for MongoLab

San Francisco-based MongoLab, a spinoff of ObjectLabs, has raised $3 million in a funding round led by Boulder, CO-based Foundry Group, according to an announcement yesterday from Foundry. MongoLab offers hosting and support for companies using the MongoDB database system developed by New York- and Redwood Shores, CA-based 10gen. Baseline Ventures, GRP Partners, Freestyle Capital, … Continue reading “$3M for MongoLab”

Saygent Obtains $1,000,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d06b9ebb-7d4f-4d1d-a002-14e6011d7733&Preview=1 Date 5/19/2011 Company Name Saygent Mailing Address Undisclosed Mountain View, CA 94041 Company Description Saygent is the world’s smartest voice response & analysis SaaS for superior customer insights at scale without using the expensive call centers. Our patent-pending platform interviews your target audience over the phone and automatically analyzes open-ended responses … Continue reading “Saygent Obtains $1,000,000 New Financing”

Theron Pharmaceuticals Garners $662,550 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b9f870e9-e501-4a6d-9d0a-99ffe50aecb4&Preview=1 Date 5/19/2011 Company Name Theron Pharmaceuticals Mailing Address 1500 Oak Avenue Los Altos, CA 94024 Company Description The company manufactures pharmaceutical products. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $662,550 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. SEC regulatory filing. M&A Terms Venture Investor Undisclosed

VuClip Receives $8,000,000 Series C Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3db1f52f-e140-4530-98a2-f39b1a835c59&Preview=1 Date 5/19/2011 Company Name VuClip Mailing Address 1551 McCarthy Boulevard Milpitas, CA 95035 Company Description For millions of people around the world, Vuclip is an essential part of their daily lives. We deliver video on-the-fly, on any device, and in any country, providing unparalleled reach for our partners. Website http://www.vuclip.com Transaction … Continue reading “VuClip Receives $8,000,000 Series C Financing Round”

Zaarly Starts Making Deals

After several weeks of hype-building, name-your-price crowd-commerce startup Zaarly began publicly operating today. The company came together when co-founders Bo Fishback, Eric Koester and Ian Hunter won a Startup Weekend competition in Los Angeles. Here’s how it works: A consumer posts an offer to Zaarly, either through its website or a mobile app, naming a … Continue reading “Zaarly Starts Making Deals”

Genentech Gears Up for ASCO, Pushing Data on Personalized Cancer Medicine

It’s the season for playoff-level intensity for a bunch of Big Pharma and biotech companies. They’re all psyched up, over the next two weeks, to show clinical trial results for their drugs at the annual extravaganza for cancer doctors, put on by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Win over those influential doctors, and … Continue reading “Genentech Gears Up for ASCO, Pushing Data on Personalized Cancer Medicine”

Eventbrite Goes On a $50 Million E Ticket Ride

Nobody under 40 would remember this, but until 1982, Disney sold tickets in its theme parks by the ride rather than charging admission by the day. The newest, best rides required an E ticket, which was the most expensive denomination, hence the popular phrase “E Ticket Ride,” referring to “an unusually interesting, thrilling, or expensive … Continue reading “Eventbrite Goes On a $50 Million E Ticket Ride”

Take That, Gmail: San Francisco Goes With Microsoft For Cloud-Based Email Upgrade

Microsoft has scored a bit of a coup in rival Google’s backyard: The Redmond, WA-based software giant has landed a contract to provide cloud-based email for San Francisco’s city and county government, winning out against options from Google (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GOOG]]) and Lotus. San Francisco will pay Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) about $1.2 million per year for … Continue reading “Take That, Gmail: San Francisco Goes With Microsoft For Cloud-Based Email Upgrade”

Medtronic’s Hawkins and BSX’s Elliott Exit Stage Right As Medical Device Industry Shifts

It’s pretty tough to be a CEO at a major medical device company these days. Just ask Bill Hawkins, who was reportedly pushed out at Medtronic and Ray Elliott, who abruptly left Boston Scientific. I’m not sure if the two men ever knew each other but their departures have a weird type of symmetry. Both … Continue reading “Medtronic’s Hawkins and BSX’s Elliott Exit Stage Right As Medical Device Industry Shifts”

$9.25M for Datameer

San Mateo, CA-based Datameer, which offers data analytics and business intelligence software for companies using the open source Hadoop distributed computing framework, said today it has raised $9.25 million in a Series B financing round led by new investor Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Existing investor Redpoint Ventures also chipped in. “We are impressed with … Continue reading “$9.25M for Datameer”

Amyris Sees Reward in Putting One Foot in Front of the Other in Biofuels

The renewable fuels business has been long on talk and short on action for a few years now. That helps explain how Emeryville, CA-based Amyris could achieve impressive financial results simply by fulfilling its promises—even if that means hitting some fairly incremental goals. The company has seen its stock climb 72 percent, from $16 to … Continue reading “Amyris Sees Reward in Putting One Foot in Front of the Other in Biofuels”

MongoLab Garners $3,000,000 Series A Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e0b95753-6e2e-47b6-bd0f-62b3017a2abd&Preview=1 Date 5/18/2011 Company Name MongoLab Mailing Address Undisclosed San Francisco, CA 94123 Company Description We want to help revolutionize the database world by providing developers with the absolute best tools and platforms for successfully using MongoDB. Website http://www.mongolab.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $3,000,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes … Continue reading “MongoLab Garners $3,000,000 Series A Funding”

GreenRoad Obtains $13,000,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=543b6cbc-9e29-4433-bba8-dc876815b8e5&Preview=1 Date 5/18/2011 Company Name GreenRoad Mailing Address 3 Twin Dolphin Drive Redwood Shores, CA 94065 Company Description GreenRoad develops driver safety and risk management technologies that reduce accident rates and lower costs. Our solutions empower drivers to manage their own safety by giving instantaneous, in-vehicle feedback—without privacy invasions. As a result, … Continue reading “GreenRoad Obtains $13,000,000 New Funding Round”

Eventbrite Receives $50,000,000 Series E Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=470a0855-4b37-4d69-9daf-fc0576206bcc&Preview=1 Date 5/18/2011 Company Name Eventbrite Mailing Address 410 Townsend St San Francisco, CA 94107 Company Description Eventbrite is the leading provider of online event management and ticketing services. Eventbrite makes it easy for anyone to hold a successful event of any type and size. Eventbrite is free if your event is … Continue reading “Eventbrite Receives $50,000,000 Series E Financing”

Zynga Game Network Acquires DNA Games for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=40e14c5b-55a1-4ca4-9142-a2e70bc90b20&Preview=1 Date 5/18/2011 Company Name DNA Games Mailing Address 71 Stevenson Blvd San Francisco, CA 94105 Company Description DNA Games is a technology-driven, casual gaming platform based in the San Francisco Bay Area. We are addressing the biggest problem in a traditionally hits-driven business: a system to repeatedly create hits. Website http://www.dnagamesinc.com … Continue reading “Zynga Game Network Acquires DNA Games for Undisclosed Sum”

WaterSmart Software Lands $900,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=13b871aa-37ec-4477-b238-6efa91a2bd5c&Preview=1 Date 5/18/2011 Company Name WaterSmart Software Mailing Address 1550 G Tiburon Blvd. Tiburon, CA 94920 Company Description The mission of WaterSmart Software is to help water utilities make it easier for their customers to save water and save money. Using our software and services, our utility partners make sure each consumer … Continue reading “WaterSmart Software Lands $900,000 New Round”