Category: San Francisco

Exits for Two More Y Combinator Startups, Movity and Etacts

It’s been a busy month for young startups backed by the Mountain View, CA-based venture incubator Y Combinator. Salesforce.com revealed a couple of weeks ago that it had acquired Heroku, which runs a hosting platform for Ruby on Rails websites, for an eye-popping $212 million. Then Rackspace bought Cloudkick, a San Francisco cloud management startup … Continue reading “Exits for Two More Y Combinator Startups, Movity and Etacts”

Motorola Acquires Zecter for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=23ffd06e-720b-4857-9b04-5de0cafd65c3&Preview=1 Date 12/22/2010 Company Name Zecter Mailing Address 1633 Bayshore Hwy Burlingame, CA 94010 Company Description Zecter makes ZumoDrive, which is a simple service that lets people sync, share and store files in the cloud. Content stored in ZumoDrive are accessible from anywhere and anytime. Website http://www.zumodrive.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount … Continue reading “Motorola Acquires Zecter for Undisclosed Sum”

California Biotech CEO Conference

The California Biotech CEO Conference will be held March 30, bringing together past, present and future leaders in the California life sciences community to network, exchange ideas and share insights into the industry’s challenges and opportunities. The number of participants will be limited to allow for one-on-one interactions with the most influential leaders in the … Continue reading “California Biotech CEO Conference”

BayBio Annual Conference 2011: Powering Global Innovation

BayBio, the trade group for Northern California’s life sciences industry, is hosting its annual conference on April 20-21. This event will draw more than 1,000 life sciences professionals from around the world for company presentations, partnering forums, and networking opportunities. For more information on how to register, click here.

Meebo Collects $27.5M

Mountain View, CA-based Meebo, which builds browser plugins and other software for instant messaging and social sharing on the Web, said yesterday that it had closed a $27.5 million Series C financing round, bringing its total venture funding to $70 million. Khosla Ventures led the new round, which was joined by existing investors Sequoia Capital, … Continue reading “Meebo Collects $27.5M”

AOL Acquires About.me

AOL (NYSE: [[ticker:AOL]]) said yesterday that it will acquire About.me, a Mountain View, CA, startup that helps consumers build personal Web pages aggregating their blogs and social media feeds. The news came just four days after About.me’s public launch. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Founded one year ago, the startup had raised $425,000 … Continue reading “AOL Acquires About.me”

How SunRun Applies Financial and Software Muscle to Home Solar Installation

Sometimes we tech reporters get so wrapped up in writing about cool new technologies that we overlook other, equally important forms of innovation. Recently I visited SunRun, a San Francisco startup that installs photovoltaic panels on residential buildings and charges homeowners for the electricity they generate. I was expecting to hear a lot about the … Continue reading “How SunRun Applies Financial and Software Muscle to Home Solar Installation”

XDx, After a Long Slog in Molecular Diagnostics, Predicts First Profit in 2011

The numbers tell a sobering story at Brisbane, CA-based XDx. Ten years in business. Five years with a diagnostic product on the market. About $140 million of capital invested. And after all that, projections are that the company might start running in the black for the first time next year, its 11th year in business, … Continue reading “XDx, After a Long Slog in Molecular Diagnostics, Predicts First Profit in 2011”

Survey Shows Venture Industry’s Outlook Brightening for 2011

Venture capitalists and venture-backed CEOs are feeling more optimistic about 2011, according to the fifth annual outlook survey being released today by the National Venture Capital Association and Dow Jones VentureSource. The most recent “Venture View” survey is based on responses from more than 330 VCs and 180 executives that were collected nationwide at the … Continue reading “Survey Shows Venture Industry’s Outlook Brightening for 2011”

Bleacher Report Secures $10,500,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ea4d8cd7-84b2-4d45-b0ed-8b14a1ac224f&Preview=1 Date 12/21/2010 Company Name Bleacher Report Mailing Address 609 Mission St., Fourth Floor San Francisco, CA 94105 Company Description Bleacher Report is where the sports bar meets the press box, the place where fan-journalists create and critique high-quality sports analysis. Website http://www.bleacherreport.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $10,500,000 Transaction Round … Continue reading “Bleacher Report Secures $10,500,000 New Financing Round”

Cloud Engines Receives $15,000,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7a584a46-3a20-4a84-8c9b-aafa4d5a18ef&Preview=1 Date 12/21/2010 Company Name Cloud Engines Mailing Address 480 Pacific Avenue San Francisco, CA 94133 Company Description Founded in 2007 by experienced entrepreneurs from the digital media and security industries, Cloud Engines is located in San Francisco, California. The company was formed with a mission to change the way personal content … Continue reading “Cloud Engines Receives $15,000,000 New Funding”

NeoEdge Networks Obtains $3,000,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=22f9272f-c72a-425a-978a-e3f9d77fac57&Preview=1 Date 12/21/2010 Company Name NeoEdge Networks Mailing Address 45 Broadway Street San Francisco, CA 94111 Company Description NeoEdge is setting out to supercharge the video gaming industry by helping game developers and consumer services offer ad-supported video gaming to consumers. NeoEdge believes in providing consumers choice – to either purchase games … Continue reading “NeoEdge Networks Obtains $3,000,000 New Financing”

3VR Security Lands $17,000,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9b24f467-2709-4416-8d98-673452e49ff8&Preview=1 Date 12/21/2010 Company Name 3VR Security Mailing Address 475 Brannan Street San Francisco, CA 94107 Company Description 3VR Security, Inc. was founded to address the most pressing issue in the security industry today: overwhelming data stores. Website http://www.3vr.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $17,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes The … Continue reading “3VR Security Lands $17,000,000 New Financing Round”

Twitter Acquires Fluther for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1e69a663-0b79-4566-90fd-d4731effa1fa&Preview=1 Date 12/21/2010 Company Name Fluther Mailing Address 2431 Mission Street San Francisco, CA 94101 Company Description Fluther, an online, user-generated questions and answers site. Website http://www.fluther.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Proceeds Purposes M&A Terms Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

LS9 Pockets $30M for Renewable Fuels, in Deal Led by BlackRock

LS9 got itself a new CEO earlier this month, and now it’s got a lot more cash in the bank, too. The South San Francisco-based developer of renewable fuels—whose technology is based on synthetic biology research at UC Berkeley and Harvard University—has pulled in $30 million in equity financing, according to a regulatory filing today. … Continue reading “LS9 Pockets $30M for Renewable Fuels, in Deal Led by BlackRock”

Babson’s MBA Program Plants a Flag in San Francisco’s SoMa

Cementing the expansion of its entrepreneurship-focused Fast Track MBA program to the Bay Area, Babson College announced today that it has signed a seven-year lease on 7,000 square feet of space at 135 Main Street in San Francisco’s startup-saturated South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood. As we wrote in a September profile, the Massachusetts-based school is … Continue reading “Babson’s MBA Program Plants a Flag in San Francisco’s SoMa”

TechShop Opens Up Shop, mSpot Puts iTunes in the Cloud, Twitter Collects $200M, & More Bay Area BizTech News

As the holidays (you know, that breather right before CES) approached, Bay Area entrepreneurs and investors rushed to announce a series of product rollouts, openings, deliveries, and deals last week. —Palo Alto, CA-based mSpot rolled out a cloud music service catering to iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch owners, beating Apple to the punch. —Nissan delivered … Continue reading “TechShop Opens Up Shop, mSpot Puts iTunes in the Cloud, Twitter Collects $200M, & More Bay Area BizTech News”

Raytheon Buys Applied Signal for $490M

A pretty big merger in defense tech this morning. Waltham, MA-based Raytheon (NYSE: [[ticker:RTN]]) announced it has agreed to acquire Sunnyvale, CA-based Applied Signal Technology (NASDAQ: [[ticker:APSG]]) for $38 per share—about $490 million in cash. The deal is slated to close in the first quarter of 2011, and is not expected to have a material … Continue reading “Raytheon Buys Applied Signal for $490M”

Gilead Buys Arresto for $225M

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GILD]]), the Foster City, CA-based biotech company, said today it has agreed to acquire Palo Alto, CA-based Arresto Biosciences for $225 million plus future milestone payments based on product sale levels. Arresto’s lead drug candidate is an antibody for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a lung disease that Gilead has been studying with its … Continue reading “Gilead Buys Arresto for $225M”

iStocking Stuffers: The Best Apps for That iPad Under the Tree

So you know someone who’s lucky enough to be getting an Apple iPad as a Christmas present. Well, that’s just the beginning of the adventure. The next step is to get their device loaded up with great apps—and naturally, they’ll want a few that show off the iPad’s remarkable capabilities. Today I’m sharing my ideas … Continue reading “iStocking Stuffers: The Best Apps for That iPad Under the Tree”

Purfresh Secures $3,000,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=dadc76e6-ebf0-4b18-918e-7cada3d42cbd&Preview=1 Date 12/20/2010 Company Name Purfresh Mailing Address 47211 Bayside Parkway Fremont, CA 94538 Company Description Purfresh is a leader in clean solutions for food and water. Its chemical-free, ozone-based family of products has been approved by the FDA, EPA and USDA to kill deadly, food-borne pathogens such as E. coli and … Continue reading “Purfresh Secures $3,000,000 New Financing Round”

Wortal Secures $500,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=bc4bb11b-a952-46b2-ab3d-c6e6f55fac7b&Preview=1 Date 12/20/2010 Company Name Wortal Mailing Address 1137 Fife Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94301 Company Description Wortal Inc is a technology company focused on empowering individual consumers to make well informed decisions in their daily lives, using help from local communities on Web and Mobile Platforms. Website http://www.wortalinc.com Transaction Type Venture … Continue reading “Wortal Secures $500,000 New Funding”

Gilead Sciences Acquires Arresto Biosciences for $225,000,000

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=718e54ad-59f8-473b-8058-ed212e98753f&Preview=1 Date 12/20/2010 Company Name Arresto Biosciences Mailing Address 3183 Porter Drive Palo Alto, CA 94304 Company Description Arresto BiosciencesTM is a biotech company that develops medicines to treat cancer and fibrotic diseases by targeting extracellular matrix proteins. Website http://www.arresto.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount $225,000,000 Transaction Round Proceeds Purposes M&A Terms … Continue reading “Gilead Sciences Acquires Arresto Biosciences for $225,000,000”

LS9 Receives $30,000,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c9cf2177-f7a3-4ea0-9473-f69a880db224&Preview=1 Date 12/20/2010 Company Name LS9 Mailing Address 600 Gateway Blvd South San Francisco, CA 94080 Company Description The company develops solutions for industrial biotechnology and energy applications. Website http://www.ls9.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $30,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes With this new round of funding, LS9 will be able … Continue reading “LS9 Receives $30,000,000 New Financing Round”

Intermune Gets EU Advisory Nod; Shares Boom

Intermune (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ITMN]]), the Brisbane, CA-based maker of a drug for a deadly lung disease called pulmonary fibrosis, said today that it has won a positive recommendation for its treatment from a panel of expert advisors to European Union regulators. The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency recommended that … Continue reading “Intermune Gets EU Advisory Nod; Shares Boom”

Tribune Acquires CastTV

CastTV, a four-year-old video search site in San Francisco backed by investors Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Ron Conway, and Marc Andreessen, has been acquired by Tribune Media Services of Chicago, according to an announcement yesterday. Tribune sells access to a database of TV and movie information that’s used in media guides published by Microsoft, Google, TiVo, Comcast, Time … Continue reading “Tribune Acquires CastTV”

For Startups, Is Friction Always Bad?

There’s probably nary a Web entrepreneur who hasn’t had a forehead-slapping “Why didn’t I build Groupon?” moment at some point in 2010. Well, I had an experience like that this week, reading Devin Friedman’s superb article “The Viral Me” in the December issue of GQ. It’s all about the Y Combinator venture incubator in Mountain … Continue reading “For Startups, Is Friction Always Bad?”

Genentech Loses Avastin Battle, Fluidigm’s Second Chance at an IPO, Ion Torrent’s Debut, & More Bay Area Life Sciences News

Genentech dominated the Bay Area life sciences headlines this week. Some of the news was good, some not so good. —The FDA said it plans to revoke its approval of South San Francisco-based Genentech‘s blockbuster antibody drug, bevacizumab (Avastin), for women with breast cancer. The drug, the first of its kind shown to cut off … Continue reading “Genentech Loses Avastin Battle, Fluidigm’s Second Chance at an IPO, Ion Torrent’s Debut, & More Bay Area Life Sciences News”

Neoconix Lands $8,652,984 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=17f238a1-35f4-47b2-8f1a-2a320f1a13cc&Preview=1 Date 12/17/2010 Company Name Neoconix Mailing Address 639 North Pastoria Ave Sunnyvale, CA 94085 Company Description Neoconix is dedicated to interconnect design, development, integration, manufacturing, and support. We dramatically improve the performance, reliability and cost across a broad range of electronic systems, from consumer products to high performance computing and networking … Continue reading “Neoconix Lands $8,652,984 New Funding”

Tribune Media Services Acquires CastTV for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6f492a20-4def-47e0-91ca-bc41ba045c89&Preview=1 Date 12/17/2010 Company Name CastTV Mailing Address 188 South Park San Francisco, CA 94107 Company Description CastTV is working to build the web’s best video search engine. CastTV lets users find all their favorite online videos, from TV shows to movies to the latest celebrity, sports, news, and viral videos. The … Continue reading “Tribune Media Services Acquires CastTV for Undisclosed Sum”

Miso Media Garners $600,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0082c694-9fe8-4d77-bae0-eaa7a9181420&Preview=1 Date 12/17/2010 Company Name Miso Media Mailing Address Undisclosed Undisclosed, CA 94000 Company Description The company develops musical instruction applications. Website http://www.misomedia.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $600,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes The company will use the funding to expand its library of supported songs and add employees. M&A … Continue reading “Miso Media Garners $600,000 New Financing”

Investors Pour $200M into Twitter

Twitter has collected another $200 million in financing, more than doubling its venture pot, according to a blog post yesterday from CEO Dick Costolo. New investor Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers led the large round, which was joined by existing investors. Costolo also said that Mike McCue, CEO of Kleiner Perkins portfolio company Flipboard, and … Continue reading “Investors Pour $200M into Twitter”

FDA To Yank Avastin Breast Cancer Approval

The FDA said today it is planning to rescind its approval of Genentech’s bevacizumab (Avastin) as a treatment for breast cancer. The drug, a targeted antibody drug that chokes off blood flow to tumors, is also approved for colon and lung cancer, and will remain so. The benefits of using the treatment for breast cancer … Continue reading “FDA To Yank Avastin Breast Cancer Approval”

TechShop’s “Innovation Cathedral” Comes to San Francisco—Serving Craftsmen and Entrepreneurs on the Gold’s Gym Model

As a Web journalist, I don’t need many tools. Give me a laptop, a smartphone, and an Internet connection, and I’m basically a roving newsroom. But don’t ask me to make anything other than words: in my loft, the closest thing to a power tool is the kitchen blender. To build, say, a robot dog, … Continue reading “TechShop’s “Innovation Cathedral” Comes to San Francisco—Serving Craftsmen and Entrepreneurs on the Gold’s Gym Model”

Rackspace Acquires Cloudkick for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9cbae5f9-e3fd-4191-a0df-bc0feaf62316&Preview=1 Date 12/16/2010 Company Name Cloudkick Mailing Address 1499 Potrero Ave Unit 2 San Francisco, CA 94110 Company Description We are a small startup located in San Jose, CA. Our goal is to make the cloud easy to use and accessible to anyone. We’re proudly funded by Y Combinator. Website http://www.cloudkick.com Transaction … Continue reading “Rackspace Acquires Cloudkick for Undisclosed Sum”

iCAD Acquires Xoft for $73,100,000

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=71ba0d77-b561-4ae4-bfa6-aa80e00f77e6&Preview=1 Date 12/16/2010 Company Name Xoft Mailing Address 345 Potrero Avenue Sunnyvale, CA 94085 Company Description Xoft is an innovative technological leader revolutionizing the practice of radiation oncology through electronic brachytherapy with proprietary miniaturized x-ray tube technology. Xoft is dedicated to providing the most intelligent, efficacious, and cost-effective therapy for patients, health-care … Continue reading “iCAD Acquires Xoft for $73,100,000”

EveryScape and Bing Ramp Up 3-D Virtual Tours in Local Search Results

Here’s an interesting snapshot of a small startup working with a tech giant to change how people check out local establishments on the Web—and also how those establishments advertise online. The startup is Newton, MA-based EveryScape, which creates 3-D panoramic tours of restaurants and other businesses from photos of their interiors. The tech giant is … Continue reading “EveryScape and Bing Ramp Up 3-D Virtual Tours in Local Search Results”

Clustrix Collects $12M

San Francisco-based Clustrix said today that it has closed a $12 million Series B financing round, joined by existing investors U.S. Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital, and ATA Ventures. The company makes database appliances that are equally capable of handling SQL, MySQL, and “NoSQL” databases. It was founded by Isilon Systems founder Paul Mikesell and has now … Continue reading “Clustrix Collects $12M”

Streaming Music for Apple iTunes Users, Courtesy of mSpot

When Apple bought streaming music company Lala a year ago, observers thought it might herald a day when Apple customers would be able to stream their iTunes music to their iPhones and iPod Touch players. That hasn’t happened yet, and if it ever does, it won’t be Lala’s engineers who do it—I’m told that what’s … Continue reading “Streaming Music for Apple iTunes Users, Courtesy of mSpot”

Adimab Adds Genentech, Lilly, and Human Genome Sciences to Growing List of Partners

Adimab has made its name for assembling a high-profile roster of Big Pharma partners that use its technology to discover new antibody drugs. Today, the Lebanon, NH-based company is announcing a new batch of partners—Genentech, Eli Lilly (NYSE:[[ticker:LLY]]), and Human Genome Sciences (NASDAQ:[[ticker:HGSI]])—which add greater heft to co-founder and CEO Tillman Gerngross’s argument that his … Continue reading “Adimab Adds Genentech, Lilly, and Human Genome Sciences to Growing List of Partners”

JiWire Launches Ad Network

Going head-to-head with other location-based advertising platforms such as Boston-based Where, San Francisco startup JiWire today unveiled a mobile ad network called Compass that’s designed to serve ads directing consumers to nearby stores where a brand’s products are available. The ads use location data from a consumer’s smartphone, tablet, or laptop to show nearby retail … Continue reading “JiWire Launches Ad Network”

Facebook Has the Nation’s Happiest Employees, Glassdoor’s Employee Survey Says

Facebook, the Palo Alto, CA-based social networking giant with half a billion users worldwide, has won the highest overall rating of any company in a 2010 survey of U.S. employees. Meanwhile, Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg received a 96 percent approval rating from survey respondents, putting him among the top eight CEOs in the … Continue reading “Facebook Has the Nation’s Happiest Employees, Glassdoor’s Employee Survey Says”

Sungevity Collects $15M More

Oakland, CA-based Sungevity, which aims to become the “Amazon of solar electricity” by making it easier for homeowners to install leased solar panels, announced today that it has extended its Series C funding round by $15 million, with existing investors Greener Capital and Firelake Capital in the lead. New investor Brightpath Capital Partners also pitched … Continue reading “Sungevity Collects $15M More”

Sungevity Obtains $15,000,000 Series C Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1d915331-83f9-4b3e-9526-40d9e5586423&Preview=1 Date 12/15/2010 Company Name Sungevity Mailing Address 816 Bancroft Way Berkeley, CA 94710 Company Description Sungevity is a solar sales company, with a mission to take solar to the mainstream market. Our company has a strong team that brings together successful start-up experience, environmental leadership and solar industry knowledge. Sungevity has … Continue reading “Sungevity Obtains $15,000,000 Series C Financing”

DevonWay Secures $7,050,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f379acb9-fe26-495e-928e-73669335e3a3&Preview=1 Date 12/15/2010 Company Name DevonWay Mailing Address 101 California Street San Francisco, CA 94111 Company Description DevonWay On-Demand is a web services offering representing a new generation of solutions designed to improve work processes while supplying budget relief across the enterprise. Our service offerings are designed to be additive to client/server … Continue reading “DevonWay Secures $7,050,000 New Financing Round”

Pocket Gems Receives $5,000,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b5225ff8-53d4-47df-9512-974f0d0f8685&Preview=1 Date 12/15/2010 Company Name Pocket Gems Mailing Address Undisclosed San Francisco, CA 94105 Company Description Pocket Gems, a pioneer of the movement of social games to mobile, developed a series of phenomenally successful free-to-play mobile games that have been downloaded more than 15 million times. Website http://www.pocketgems.com Transaction Type Venture Equity … Continue reading “Pocket Gems Receives $5,000,000 New Financing Round”

RiseSmart Obtains $3,000,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f8531b03-dc16-4999-9bca-c364ed93edba&Preview=1 Date 12/15/2010 Company Name RiseSmart Mailing Address 2055 Gateway Place San Jose, CA 95110 Company Description Based in Dallas, RiseSmart is a human-powered job search service that prescreens online search results for time-starved managers and executives. The RiseSmart team matches opportunities with jobseekers based on each member’s unique profile, freeing senior-level … Continue reading “RiseSmart Obtains $3,000,000 New Financing”