Who Are You? Part 2: Gender and Education Backgrounds of Venture-Backed Internet Startups

As we reported last week, there wasn’t much to surprise the sociologists of innovation in Part 1 of the data CB Insights gleaned about the race, age, and experience of the founders at 165 Internet startups that raised venture capital funding during the first half of 2010. But there are some interesting, and perhaps unexpected, … Continue reading “Who Are You? Part 2: Gender and Education Backgrounds of Venture-Backed Internet Startups”

G5 Secures $15,000,000 Series A Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3e6b4230-30b0-426d-83ed-12b4900bb7ad&Preview=1 Date 8/10/2010 Company Name G5 Mailing Address 550 NW Franklin St. Bend, OR 97701 Company Description G5 is the leading provider of Local Marketing Solutions that help mid-market companies get found online, generate more qualified leads, convert more leads into new customers, analyze marketing performance – including offline, and optimize to … Continue reading “G5 Secures $15,000,000 Series A Financing Round”

Talari Networks Obtains $10,000,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6cb81e4d-9077-4369-946f-2a5a14cef073&Preview=1 Date 8/10/2010 Company Name Talari Networks Mailing Address 20195 Stevens Creek Blvd. Cupertino, CA 95014 Company Description Talari’s Adaptive Private Networking (APN) does for the Enterprise WAN what RAID did for Storage, bringing Internet economics to corporate WANs by transforming affordable broadband links to deliver business-class reliability at consumer prices. Website … Continue reading “Talari Networks Obtains $10,000,000 New Financing Round”

Nanosys Lands $25,000,000 Series E Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=55f08461-cadb-4df8-aca6-d13952fa676e&Preview=1 Date 8/10/2010 Company Name Nanosys Mailing Address 2625 Hanover Street Palo Alto, CA 94304 Company Description Nanosys Inc. is a leader in the development of nanotechnology-based products utilizing high performance inorganic nanostructures. Website http://www.nanosysinc.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $25,000,000 Transaction Round Series E Proceeds Purposes The company will use … Continue reading “Nanosys Lands $25,000,000 Series E Financing”

WebTrends Acquires Transpond for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ff675cea-374e-449d-ab5e-f1deb0a92791&Preview=1 Date 8/10/2010 Company Name Transpond Mailing Address Undisclosed San Francisco, CA 94105 Company Description The company makes social media and mobile publishing tools. Website http://www.transpond.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Proceeds Purposes M&A Terms Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Telekenex Lands $5,500,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=26d04a33-bd4a-4c40-b66d-4360939b6271&Preview=1 Date 8/10/2010 Company Name Telekenex Mailing Address 3221 20th St. San Francisco, CA 94110 Company Description Telekenex is a business-grade IP service provider with a robust private international network and innovative managed solutions, including Hosted VoIP, MPLS + Internet, Managed Ethernet and Data Center. Website http://www.Telekenex.com Transaction Type Debt Transaction Amount … Continue reading “Telekenex Lands $5,500,000 New Financing”

Traffiq Obtains $4,000,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=51bd6cb1-dbc2-4272-aeef-578a07cf293b&Preview=1 Date 8/10/2010 Company Name Traffiq Mailing Address 390 Park Avenue South 7th Floor New York, NY 10016 Company Description The current media planning, buying, and management process is disjointed and siloed, increasing management costs and lowering both client satisfaction and ROAS. Audience fragmentation renders planning tools less useful as there are … Continue reading “Traffiq Obtains $4,000,000 New Financing”

Medialets Receives $6,000,000 Series B Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3443ac16-99de-41f0-98b1-6682176a10a6&Preview=1 Date 8/10/2010 Company Name Medialets Mailing Address 450 W. 15th Street New York, NY 10011 Company Description Medialets is a New York City-based rich media advertising and analytics platform for native applications on devices such as iPhone and Android. Medialets works with agencies and brands to define and deploy innovative ad … Continue reading “Medialets Receives $6,000,000 Series B Financing Round”

CallVine Obtains $4,000,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d899c728-d0fe-4817-a26e-e0dc92b546dd&Preview=1 Date 8/10/2010 Company Name CallVine Mailing Address 701 Brazos St. Austin, TX 78701 Company Description The iPhone app lets users call up to 20 people simultaneously, or text 100 in a group conversation. Website http://www.callvine.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $4,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes The company is preparing … Continue reading “CallVine Obtains $4,000,000 New Funding Round”

Teachers Explore How to Integrate Computer Science into K-12 Curriculum at UW Conference

Although computer science may be one of the most applicable academic tracks to pursue today, teachers are having a hard time convincing students—and administrators—that the subject is worthy of a place in K-12 curriculum. Figuring out how to entice student, parents, and school districts to embrace and support computer science curricula in public education was … Continue reading “Teachers Explore How to Integrate Computer Science into K-12 Curriculum at UW Conference”

Tektronix Acquires Arbor Networks

Arbor Networks, a Chelmsford, MA-based developer of security and network management software, has agreed to be acquired by Tektronix Communications, the Texas-based firm now owned by tech conglomerate Danaher (NYSE: [[ticker:DHR]]). Terms of the deal weren’t announced, but it is expected to close next month. Arbor Networks was founded in 2000 by University of Michigan … Continue reading “Tektronix Acquires Arbor Networks”

Mark Hurd’s Real Legacy at Hewlett-Packard: Reverticalization

The somewhat lurid circumstances surrounding Mark Hurd’s resignation Friday as chief executive of Palo Alto, CA-based Hewlett-Packard have left plenty of room for gossip. Hurd stepped aside after a board investigation into a sexual harassment claim by a former marketing contractor; the board cleared Hurd of the harassment allegation, but found that he’d fudged expense … Continue reading “Mark Hurd’s Real Legacy at Hewlett-Packard: Reverticalization”

Syndax Pharma Snags $6M Debt Deal

Syndax Pharmaceuticals, a Waltham, MA-based developer of treatments for cancer, has raised $6 million of a planned $7 million in a round of convertible debt financing, Joanna Horobin, the company’s CEO, confirmed. The information first appeared online in an SEC filing. The round included investments from all of the firm’s previous backers, which include San … Continue reading “Syndax Pharma Snags $6M Debt Deal”

MedNetworks Connects with $5M from Excel Venture Management

Social networks have been growing in popularity among patients and doctors in recent years as a means to share and gather important information from their peers. Now MedNetworks, a Newton, MA-based startup, has nailed down $5 million in a Series A funding round from Excel Venture Management to commercialize technology that makes data generated from … Continue reading “MedNetworks Connects with $5M from Excel Venture Management”

Kaleetan Seeks to Stand on Dendreon’s Shoulders, With Immune Therapy for Cancer

Lots of biotech companies around the country are grasping for the title of “the next Dendreon,” including one fledgling startup here in Seattle, Kaleetan Pharmaceuticals. Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) has become one of the nation’s hottest biotech stories of the year, after it made history in April, winning the first FDA approval for a prostate cancer … Continue reading “Kaleetan Seeks to Stand on Dendreon’s Shoulders, With Immune Therapy for Cancer”

Angels Launch New Seed Capital Fund, DoCoMo Acquires PacketVideo, St. Bernard Gets Red Condor, & More San Diego BizTech News

A couple of deals topped the tech news last week, but the development most worth watching might be the formation of a new type of fund by Southern California’s Tech Coast Angels. Find out why, and catch up on the rest of San Diego’s tech news here. —The angel investor group Tech Coast Angels is … Continue reading “Angels Launch New Seed Capital Fund, DoCoMo Acquires PacketVideo, St. Bernard Gets Red Condor, & More San Diego BizTech News”

Travel App Developer Mobiata Finds the Correct Culture for Startup Innovation in Ann Arbor

Minneapolis, like other Midwestern cities, is used to losing technology startups to Silicon Valley. But when Ben Kazez packed up Mobiata, his company that develops mobile software apps for travelers, and made a kind of lateral move to Ann Arbor, MI, it made some in the Minnesota media do a double-take. Now, a year after … Continue reading “Travel App Developer Mobiata Finds the Correct Culture for Startup Innovation in Ann Arbor”

Affymax Lives to Fight Another Day, In Bid to Challenge Amgen’s Monopoly

Affymax, as one analyst put it last week, is “not dead yet.” That may not sound like a ringing endorsement, but given what has happened to the Palo Alto, CA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AFFY]]) this summer, it has to count as some kind of progress. Affymax spent years of concentrated effort, and hundreds of millions … Continue reading “Affymax Lives to Fight Another Day, In Bid to Challenge Amgen’s Monopoly”

ThingMagic’s Rollercoaster Journey—From the Internet of Things to the Calculus of Reality

ThingMagic is a 10-year-old technology company whose core idea seems as fresh today as when it first started. The bad news: that means it may have been too far ahead of its time. The good news: times are changing. The Cambridge, MA-based firm was founded by five MIT Media Lab alums, who had the goal … Continue reading “ThingMagic’s Rollercoaster Journey—From the Internet of Things to the Calculus of Reality”

Angel Investing: The Most Satisfying Experience You’ll Ever Have

[Editor’s Note: On July 29, leading Silicon Valley angel investor Ron Conway, the founder of SV Angel, gave the opening talk at AngelConf, an afternoon conference for budding angel investors sponsored by the Y Combinator startup incubator program in Mountain View, CA. The following is an edited transcript of Conway’s talk, published by permission.] I’m … Continue reading “Angel Investing: The Most Satisfying Experience You’ll Ever Have”

IPOs Go Up, LinkedIn Finds a Nice Fit, Google Goes for a Slide, & More Bay Area BizTech News

Last week was another busy one for venture fundraising and acquisitions in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. Fortunately, I got a lot of help this week from my San Diego colleague Bruce Bigelow, who reported on several stories affecting the Bay Area. —On Friday, Google confirmed earlier press reports that it had acquired San Francisco-based … Continue reading “IPOs Go Up, LinkedIn Finds a Nice Fit, Google Goes for a Slide, & More Bay Area BizTech News”

Managing Design: Talking with Jim Heppelmann, Parametric Technology’s Incoming CEO

Parametric Technology Corporation, better known as PTC (NASDAQ: [[ticker:PMTC]]), is one of the leading companies in Boston’s “3D design cluster”—the group of companies focusing on computer-aided design (CAD) software for the construction, engineering, architecture, and manufacturing sectors. Back in May, Needham, MA-based PTC announced that its current president and CEO, Dick Harrison, will become the … Continue reading “Managing Design: Talking with Jim Heppelmann, Parametric Technology’s Incoming CEO”

Zeo Garners $1,000,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d252d733-c2c9-42e6-873c-1e52fb451c37&Preview=1 Date 8/9/2010 Company Name Zeo Mailing Address 320 Nevada Street Floor 4 Newton, MA 02460 Company Description Our mission is to help people to discover new, scientifically-based ways to improve the quality of their lives through the power of sleep. We will accomplish this by combining breakthrough educational sleep technology and … Continue reading “Zeo Garners $1,000,000 New Financing”

Basho Technologies Secures $2,000,000 Series C Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=cec88ed6-c443-45f8-ae6e-2cff92f03c97&Preview=1 Date 8/9/2010 Company Name Basho Technologies Mailing Address 196 Broadway Cambridge, MA 02139 Company Description Basho Technologies delivers sales software and services that drive more deals more efficiently to generate more revenue. Sales professionals no longer need to guess what works and what doesn’t as they navigate the sales process. With … Continue reading “Basho Technologies Secures $2,000,000 Series C Funding Round”

MedNetworks Obtains $5,000,000 Series A Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c61bd406-bb8b-4d01-9554-bc4cbe3228b2&Preview=1 Date 8/9/2010 Company Name MedNetworks Mailing Address 3 Newton Executive Park Newton, MA 02462 Company Description MedNetworks applies unique, highly validated, and fully functional technology to map, analyze and activate social networks across a broad range of constituencies: consumers, patients, health plan members, physicians, hospitals, etc. Website http://www.MedNetworks.com Transaction Type Venture … Continue reading “MedNetworks Obtains $5,000,000 Series A Financing Round”

Solazyme Lands $52,000,000 Series D Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9a65ff7b-2239-4f1b-8c94-5eb447c3df76&Preview=1 Date 8/9/2010 Company Name Solazyme Mailing Address 225 Gateway Blvd. South San Francisco, CA 94080 Company Description Solazyme is a biotechnology company devoted to harnessing the energy-harvesting machinery of photosynthetic microbes to produce valuable products. Exploiting microbial photosynthesis, a biochemical system benefiting from 2.5 billion years of evolutionary optimization yet brought … Continue reading “Solazyme Lands $52,000,000 Series D Financing”

Tektronix Acquires Arbor Networks for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0cc202cc-5dc6-4b5b-8942-9c0cfebae97f&Preview=1 Date 8/9/2010 Company Name Arbor Networks Mailing Address 6 Omni Way Chelmsford, MA 01824 Company Description Arbor Networks delivers network security and operational performance for global business networks. From the service provider cloud to the enterprise core, the Arbor Peakflow network behavior analysis and anomaly detection solution delivers unmatched network-wide visibility … Continue reading “Tektronix Acquires Arbor Networks for Undisclosed Sum”

My Damn Channel Obtains $4,400,000 Series B Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9738be14-4356-46ec-9d87-02f65718e695&Preview=1 Date 8/9/2010 Company Name My Damn Channel Mailing Address 202 W. 40th St., 16th Floor New York, NY 10018 Company Description My Damn Channel is an entertainment studio and new media platform created to empower artists to co-produce, distribute and monetize original, episodic video content. Programming is created by artists for … Continue reading “My Damn Channel Obtains $4,400,000 Series B Financing”

Clear Vascular Lands $5,400,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=403f4f9d-a852-492c-8653-b21afe084009&Preview=1 Date 8/9/2010 Company Name Clear Vascular Mailing Address 21 Waterway Ave. The Woodlands, TX 77380 Company Description The company is developing cardiovascular products. Website http://www.ClearVascular.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $5,400,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor Undisclosed

Preparing for M&A Deals

Despite high unemployment, debt overhang, and potential regulatory and fiscal changes, opportunities for mergers and acquisitions still exist. To navigate an M&A transaction in this challenging economy, both buyers and sellers need to understand how to optimize results and adequately prepare for questions and issues throughout the transaction. More information and online registration is here.

Frontiers in Science & Technology: Targeting Genes That Shield Cancer Cells

Certain genes in the human body inadvertently protect cancer cells against necessary chemotherapy treatments. Through the identification of small-molecule lead compounds, scientists at Sanford-Burnham have been able to stop these “anti-death” genes from shielding cancer cells, making anti-cancer therapeutics more effective. Sanford-Burnham’s cancer research efforts also have enabled researchers to selectively target drugs to specific … Continue reading “Frontiers in Science & Technology: Targeting Genes That Shield Cancer Cells”

The San Diego Venture Group Summer Social

Join the San Diego Venture Group at the seaside forum of UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, a beautiful LEED certified venue with stunning views of the oceanfront. Park at the Birch Aquarium parking lot; shuttle buses will run continuously between the parking lot and Scripps Seaside Forum.

CEO Eric Meier Out at Calypso Medical; Layoffs Reported

At least three people were laid off from Seattle-based Calypso Medical Technologies on Wednesday, and former CEO Eric Meier has left the firm, according to a source close to the company. Director of marketing David Gusdorf declined to comment on the layoffs. A request for comment from Eric Meier was not immediately answered. Vice president … Continue reading “CEO Eric Meier Out at Calypso Medical; Layoffs Reported”

Apredica Acquired by Cyprotex

Watertown, MA-based Apredica, a company that does preclinical toxicology assessments of drug candidates, is being acquired by U.K.-based contract research firm Cyprotex for £2.68 million in cash and stock. Katya Tsaioun, the co-founder and CEO of Apredica, will become chief scientific officer of the merged company. Cyprotex says all of Apredica’s employees will remain with … Continue reading “Apredica Acquired by Cyprotex”

Cypress Bio Rejects Buyout Offer, Shutting Down Commercial Business

Here’s one solution to a suitor’s unsolicited buyout offer: Make yourself ugly, at least to that suitor. San Diego’s Cypress Bioscience (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CYPB]]) got a $160 million cash buyout offer last month from Ramius Value and Opportunity Advisors, part of the New York-based, $7.8-billion Ramius hedge fund group. Ramius, which had accumulated a 10 percent … Continue reading “Cypress Bio Rejects Buyout Offer, Shutting Down Commercial Business”

Why Micro-VCs Are So Damn Friendly, and More Insights from Rob Go’s and David Beisel’s Blogs

Some quick observations on the micro VC phenomenon, spurred by running into Rob Go this morning at the Andala Café in Central Square…Go is the co-founder of NextView Ventures, a seed-stage tech investment firm (previously he was with Spark Capital). “Micro VC” refers to the emerging segment of venture capital in which investors put small … Continue reading “Why Micro-VCs Are So Damn Friendly, and More Insights from Rob Go’s and David Beisel’s Blogs”

ThredUP Swaps Boston-Area Office for San Francisco; Leaving New England Has Tradeoffs, CEO Says

News hit yesterday that Cambridge, MA-based thredUP, an online platform for swapping used children’s clothing, will be packing up for San Francisco next month, as first reported on Scott Kirsner’s Innovation Economy blog. The company has signed a lease for a building near the city’s Union Square neighborhood starting in September, CEO James Reinhart says. … Continue reading “ThredUP Swaps Boston-Area Office for San Francisco; Leaving New England Has Tradeoffs, CEO Says”

How to Banish Business Cards: A Ranked List of Digital Options

Business cards are the scourge of anyone trying to go paperless. Sure, the basic concept is brilliant: a business card provides a compact, easily transferable storage location for all of the key data about another person. But it’s a mystery to me why the traditional paper business card, a descendant of the 17th-century visiting card, … Continue reading “How to Banish Business Cards: A Ranked List of Digital Options”

Genentech Inks Antibody Deal, Cytokinetics Sticks With Science First, BioMarin Scraps Drug, & More Bay Area Life Sciences News

A lot of the Bay Area news this week sent ripple effects up and down the West Coast, to our other Xconomy network cities of Seattle and San Diego. —Genentech, the U.S.-based unit of Roche, expanded an alliance with Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) to develop “empowered antibodies” against cancer. Genentech is paying $12 million upfront, … Continue reading “Genentech Inks Antibody Deal, Cytokinetics Sticks With Science First, BioMarin Scraps Drug, & More Bay Area Life Sciences News”

Venture-Backed IPOs Recovering but Weak: We Compare Results for San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, & San Diego

Amid an overall improvement in IPOs, a survey by Menlo Park, CA-based VentureDeal shows 21 venture-capital backed technology or life sciences companies went public in the U.S. during the first six months of 2010, raising a total of $1.9 billion in gross proceeds. VentureDeal’s IPO activity report is focused on a specific subgroup of technology … Continue reading “Venture-Backed IPOs Recovering but Weak: We Compare Results for San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, & San Diego”

How Lilly Let Telaprevir Go to Vertex, SV Focusing on Health IT With Latest Fund, Genzyme Isis Cholesterol Drug Shows Strong in Clinical Trial, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News

The past week brought news of clinical trials and funding from drugmakers, as well as a look at venture investing strategy in health IT, and an update on the Genzyme-Sanofi buyout rumors. Catch up on those stories and more below: —With its recently closed $523 million fund, SV Life Sciences plans to put a greater … Continue reading “How Lilly Let Telaprevir Go to Vertex, SV Focusing on Health IT With Latest Fund, Genzyme Isis Cholesterol Drug Shows Strong in Clinical Trial, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”

Syndax Pharmaceuticals Obtains $6,000,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a57acdfe-2712-4290-b1d8-1da2824eeb54&Preview=1 Date 8/6/2010 Company Name Syndax Pharmaceuticals Mailing Address 460 Totten Pond Road Waltham, MA 02451 Company Description Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a Waltham, MA-based, oncology-focused biotechnology company that is building a portfolio of new oncology products to extend and improve the lives of patients by developing and commercializing novel cancer therapies … Continue reading “Syndax Pharmaceuticals Obtains $6,000,000 New Financing Round”

Scientific Games Acquires GameLogic for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4a9c0a73-2fc2-4e4f-a196-5ec28b5c092e&Preview=1 Date 8/6/2010 Company Name GameLogic Mailing Address 411 Waverley Oaks Road Waltham, MA 02452 Company Description GameLogic innovates Virtual Play gaming entertainment platforms to help legal casinos and government-sponsored lotteries create new revenues, increase return visits and improve player loyalty. Website http://www.gamelogic.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Proceeds … Continue reading “Scientific Games Acquires GameLogic for Undisclosed Sum”