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Alexander Haislip

New Book Demystifies the Cloud

Posted on: March 19th, 2010
I have avoided that whole “cloud” computing thing as a topic of research, reporting and reading, writing it off as little more than yet-another hyped-up Silicon Valley meme.

But a new book out in May by Charles Babcock pokes through the fuzziness of “the cloud” to bring back some real actionable intelligence.

No book about databases and computer processing is going to be fun, yet Babcock, an editor at InformationWeek, does an admirable job of making the thing readable. How well I relate to the hypothetical executive he describes:

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NEWS

2:21pm 03.19.10

Sam Pullara is leaving Yahoo Inc. in order to become an entrepreneur-in-residence with VC firm Benchmark Capital, as first reported by All Things D. He had been the Internet company’s chief technologist. The move becomes official on April 1.

UPDATE: We’ve also been told that current Benchmark EIR Marten Mickos is leaving the firm to become CEO of Benchmark portfolio company Eucalyptus Systems, which is developing an open-source private cloud platform. Expect a formal announcement later today. In the meantime, Benchmark has now issued the following press release on Sam Pullara:


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Connie Loizos

Facebook Addiction Up for the Young and Blasé

Posted on: March 19th, 2010

Yesterday, an Italian mobster was apprehended while he surfed around Facebook, but he’s far from the only Facebook user-turned-Facebook addict. In a survey of a thousand Internet users by Retrevo, a consumer electronics site, researchers made the following observations:

* 55% of the survey’s respondents over the age of 25 check Facebook at least once a day.
* 11% check Facebook every few hours, a figure that jumps to 18% for users under 25
* 50% look at Twitter or Facebook in before they go to sleep and as soon as they wake up

Apparently, email inspires similar fee...

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NEWS

11:30am 03.19.10

Emerald Technology Ventures, a Zurich-based VC firm focused on cleantech investments, is nearing a first close on its third fund, according to Green Energy Reporter. The fund is being marketed with a €150 million target, after having raised 135 million for its second vehicle. www.emerald-ventures.com



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Dan Primack

One Partner Down: The Future of FA Technology Ventures

Posted on: March 19th, 2010

Last month, I wrote about how venture capitalist Giri Sekhar had been indicted for trying to blackmail a New York public pension official. The alleged story is that Sekhar threatened to disclose an extra-marital affair, unless the official helped secure a $25 million LP commitment to a new fund being raised by Sekhar’s fund.

Sekhar’s case hasn’t progressed much since then, with the only available paperwork being the original three-page indictment. A rep from the Albany County DA’s office would only say that the case is “ongoing,” while Sekhar didn’t reply to email requests for comment.

But I was curious as to what all this scumdrudgery means for FA Technology Ventures, the firm at which Sekhar had been a partner (he officially left in late December, just as the fan began to stink). A firm spokesman declined to comment, so let’s move onto anonymous sourcing:

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Connie Loizos

Keeping Score with Quantcast

Posted on: March 19th, 2010

It’s not easy to waltz into an established, crowded market and convince investors that you can lead it. Yet the San Francisco-based Web analytics and advertising firm Quantcast has managed that trick, already collecting $53.9 million over three rounds, including a $27.5 million round in January led by Cisco Systems -- with more funding to come, possibly soon.

“We’re well capitalized but are always open-minded to ways we might accelerate our business and better serve the market,” said co-founder and CEO, Konrad Feldman, when we chatted briefly yesterday.

How Quantcast is accelerating its growth is a well-guarded secret from a technical perspective, although its large-scale analysis models seem to be working. The four-year-old company is reluctant to share details about how it creates its rich data sets about Web users and their online behavior. But it claims that millions of Web destinations use its service, including two-thirds of Online Publishers Association members, and that it is measuring millions more Websites, games, and widgets. Last week, Quantcast began a push for much stronger customer adoption abroad, too.

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NEWS

8:51am 03.19.10

UPDATE: We goofed on this one. Ankeena’s filing of a $16 million raise refers to its total funding to date, not a new round.

The company had reported back in 2008 that it had secured $8.5 million of a $9.4 million Series A round, and this new filing is actually an amendment. The company later announced a $6.5m extension in the summer of 2009, although did not submit an SEC filing.

The new report says that the securities were first sold in 2008, and we should have caught it. Our er

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8:47am 03.19.10

Easton Capital is raising a pair of new funds, according to VentureWire. One will be a traditional biotech VC fund with a target of between $100 million and $200 million. The other will be focused on biotech companies that can produce returns within three-to-five years, and comes with a $50 million to $75 million target. www.eastoncapital.com



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8:42am 03.19.10
Chomp, a San Francisco-based provider of iPhone app reviews and recommendations, has raised $2 million in VC funding. Backers include Bluerun Ventures, Ron Conway, Brian Pokorny and David Lee. www.chomp.com

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8:40am 03.19.10
Plastic Jungle, a Mountain View, Calif.-based operator of an online gift card marketplace, has raised $7.4 million in Series B funding. Redpoint Ventures led the round, and was joined by return backers Shasta Ventures, First Round Capital and Bay Partners. The company previously raised $4.8 million.

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8:37am 03.19.10
Aureon Laboratories, a New York-based developer of analytics focused on predictive cancer treatment options, has called down $7 million of an $18 million funding round, according to a regulatory filing. Return backers include Atlas Venture, New Leaf Venture Partners and Pfizer Inc. The company previously raised around $62 million. www.aureon.com

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8:33am 03.19.10
Panvidea, a New York-based provider of on-demand video preparation and distribution solutions, has raised around $2 million in Series A funding. DFJ Gotham Ventures led the round, and was joined by Contour Venture Partners, eValue, NYCSeed and Wider Wake Network. Panvidea previously raised $1 million in seed funding.

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8:31am 03.19.10
Avvo Inc., a Seattle-based online provider of legal information for consumers, has raised $10 million in Series C funding. DAG Ventures led the round, and was joined by return backers Benchmark Capital and Ignition Partners. Avvo previously raised $12.5 million.

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Dan Primack

peHUB First Read

Posted on: March 19th, 2010

* Big Buyout sticks to the script: What, me error?

* Why there will never be a standard set of seed financing documents.

* Data Marketplace launches as an Amazon for structured financial information.

* Morning Call: U.S. futures are mixed, London rises early, European shares hit 17-month high, the Nikkei rebounds and Hong Kong shares gain.

* Ireland's boom and bust

* Rolfe WInkler: Would a Harley-Davidson buyout make sense?

* Liz Tay: Employers should look to gaming to motivate employees.

* Larry Summers objects to being called a "punk staffer" ("sleepy staffer" would have been okay, though)

* Wal-Mart puts another category of small business on the ropes. But these are check-cashiers, so it's ok.

* We've now sold nearly 800 tickets to our upcoming shindigs in Boston (3/31) and San Francisco (4/15). They cost just $10 each, with ticket proceeds going to a local charity that will be selected by event attendees. Get Boston tickets here, and get San Francisco tickets here.

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NEWS

7:07am 03.19.10
(Reuters) - Ironplanet Inc filed with U.S. regulators on Thursday to raise up to $92 million in an initial public offering.

The Pleasanton, California-based company told the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission in a preliminary prospectus that J.P. Morgan, Deutsche Bank Securities, Cowen and Co, Piper Jaffray and Needham & Co LLC were underwriting the IPO.

“If the opportunity arises, we may use a portion of the net proceeds from this offering to acquire or invest in businesses, products or technologies that are complementary to our own,” the company said.

Ironplanet provides online marketplace for used heavy equipment. It posted revenue of $54.7 mill

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Dan Primack

Viacom Discloses YouTube Investor Payouts

Posted on: March 18th, 2010

When Google bought YouTube in 2006 for $1.65 billion, we knew that the video sharing site's investors had hit a home run. Now we know exactly how far it went, thanks to documents released today as part of Viacom's copyright infringment suit against Google.

Sequoia Capital invested a total of $9 million over two funding rounds in 2005 and 2006, and ultimately received $516 million worth of Google stock. This is higher than prior reports of a $442 million payout. If Sequoia held onto its shares, they would now be worth an additional $68 million.

Artis Capital, a hedge fund with ties to Sequoia, invested around $3 million in YouTube's Series B round and received $85 million in Google stock. It would be worth another $11 million or so on today's market.

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Connie Loizos

Adam Dell *Is* Padma’s Baby Daddy, and He Wants to See His Daughter

Posted on: March 18th, 2010

Since last fall, the New York Post and other interested parties have been trying to suss out who had fathered a child with glamazon Padma Lakshmi. Lakshmi, 39, host of the Bravo show “Top Chef,” had been involved for years with buyout giant Teddy Forstmann. She is also famously the ex-wife of novelist Salman Rushdie.

Recently, the New York Post and other outlets began speculating that it might be venture capitalist Adam Dell, you-know-who’s brother. Turns out they were right, and he may want to spend more time with one-month-old Krishna than her mom would like. So says the Post, which reported yesterday:

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Dan Primack

How Should We Judge VC-Backed IPOs?

Posted on: March 18th, 2010

When Financial Engines shot up 44% Tuesday in its first day of trading, media reports termed it a "home run" and lauded the "best IPO performance in months."

In response, Benchmark Capital’s Bill Gurley wondered via Twitter if a better characterization would have been that the Financial Engines IPO was “poorly executed/priced.”

Leaving aside the fact that Gurley portfolio company OpenTable jumped nearly 60% on its first day of trading, the comment reminded me that we still don’t have a near-perfect way of judging IPO success.

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Dan Primack

Last Chance To Join peHUB’s March Madness Extravaganza

Posted on: March 18th, 2010

The NCAA tourney begins in just a couple of hours, and more than 450 peHUB readers have already filled out their brackets for our annual pool.

The top finisher to receive three prizes: (1) Premium Membership to peHUB, which includes one year of complimentary access to our editorial archive; (2) A complementary one-year online subscription to Buyouts or Venture Capital Journal; and (3) The opportunity to write a lead column for peHUB Wire, which could mean anything from an essay to a company advertisement to a plea for work.

Oh, and bragging rights. Just ask last year's winner, Dan Doman. Get details on how to play after the jump...

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NEWS

9:13am 03.18.10

Smartling, a New York-based provider of real-time transalation via the Web, has raised $4 million in Series A funding. Venrock led the round, and was joined by First Round Capital, U.S. Venture Partners and individual angels. www.smartling.com



Read more »
9:10am 03.18.10

Videoplaza, a Swedish provider of video ad serving solutions for publishers, has raised €3.5 million in VC funding from Creandum and Northzone Ventures. www.videoplaza.com



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9:04am 03.18.10
Rob Solomon has joined Chicago-based social commerce website Groupon as president and chief operating officer. He previously was a venture partner with Technology Crossover Ventures and, before that, was president and CEO of travel search site SideStep. Groupon has raised nearly $35 million in VC funding from firms like Accel Partners and New Enterprise Associates.

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8:57am 03.18.10
Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (Nasdaq: GILT) has agreed to acquire Raysat Antenna Systems, a Vienna, Va.-based. The deal is valued at around $25 million in cash, and is expected to close within the next six months. Raysat has raised around $37 million in VC funding from Benchmark Capital, Apax Partners and Israel Seed Partners.

Read more »
8:54am 03.18.10
Prometheus Laboratories Inc., a San Diego-based drug and diagnostics company, has signed an oncology research collaboration and license agreement with Bayer Schering Pharma AG. The deal could be worth upwards of $160 million in up-front and milestone payments.

Prometheus is in registration for a $100 million IPO, and has raised around $73 million in VC funding from DLJ Merchant Banking Partners (21.4% stake), Split Rock Partners (17.4%), New Leaf Ventures (12.5%), Apax Partners (11%) , Wachovia Capital Partners (11%) and Brentwood Venture Capital (7.5%).

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8:38am 03.18.10
Second Porch, a Portland, Ore.-based social vacation home marketplace, has raised $1 million in Series A funding led by the Oregon Angel Fund.

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8:37am 03.18.10
CircleControl, a London-based outsourced manager of IT infrastructures, has raised £6 million in VC funding from Scottish Equity Partners.

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8:34am 03.18.10
Energy Micro, an Oslo, Norway-based developer of "energy-friendly" microcontrollers, has raised $13 million in first-round funding from Northzone Ventures and Investinor.

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8:31am 03.18.10
Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) has agreed to acquire Citizen Sports, a San Francisco-based operator of a virtual market for professional athlete futures. No financial terms were disclosed. Citizen Sports had raised over $25 million in VC funding from firms like Northgate Capital and Radar Partners.

Read more »
8:27am 03.18.10
Playdom, a Mountain View, Calif.-based social gaming company, has invested $5 million into Argentina-based social gaming company MetroGames. Playdom last year raised a $43 million Series A round at around a $300 million post-money valuation, from New Enterprise Associates, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Norwest Venture Partners.

Read more »
8:17am 03.18.10
OriGene Technologies, a Rockville, Md.-based developer of monoclonal antibodies, has raised $16 million in Series B funding. New backers included IDG-Accel, SBI & TH Venture Capital Enterprise and Zero2IPO. Return participants were Morningside Venture Investments and President International Development Corp. The company also has operations in China.

Read more »
8:12am 03.18.10
AOL Inc. has launched a venture capital fund focused on "hyper-local" Internet startups, as part of a larger strategic focus on expanding the company's local content. PaidContent reports that the fund size is $10 million.

Read more »


Dan Primack

peHUB First Read

Posted on: March 18th, 2010

* Ben Horowitz: The case for the fat startup

* John Terrill: The moral imperative of investment banking

* Larry Cheng: The tension between an optimistic CEO and a conservative CFO

* Morning Call: U.S. futures point lower, London falls early, European shares slip on banks, the Nikkei loses 1% and tightening fears drop China and Hong Hong shares.

* Micropayments and Subscriptions: How business models for startups are shifting

* The men's NCAA tourney begins in just a few hours, and we've got our own pool going on (with prizes, of course). Get the sign-up info here.

* Speaking of basketball, the hedgies crushed the PE pros in their annual charity game

* Biz Insider goes beyond the NYC vs. Silicon Valley pissing match, and lists the 20 NYC startups you need to watch.

* Scott Shane: America may benefit from policies that make it easier for certain immigrants to start businesses in this country (i.e., Startup Visa Act), but the basis should not be perceived differences in entrepreneurial aptitude between immigrants and the native-born. (as an aside: Has anyone seen a cogent argument against Startup Visa? I haven't)

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Dan Primack

Trada Opens Up To The Crowd, Announces VC Funding

Posted on: March 18th, 2010

Following nearly 15 months of beta testing, Trada today will open to the public and announce that it has raised $2.2 million in VC funding from Foundry Group.

The Boulder, Colo.-based company is focused on the paid search optimization space, and has created a crowd-sourced marketplace in which small and mid-sized businesses can get certified search experts to help improve their keyword campains.

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The ‘86 Mets of Investing By Chris Douvos

I’ve been working on a blog post called the Epistemology of Investing for about the past year. Now, epistemology is a ten-dollar word that those — like me — with five dollar brains rarely sling around, but sometimes I think investing could be called applied epistemology.

As investors — specifically, investors in opaque, illiquid markets — we spend our days asking the epistemological questions: What do we know about our investments, companies, markets, people? How do we come to know what we know? What are the sources and limits of our knowledge? How are our beliefs different from The Truth? 

Said another way: What investing hypotheses do we form? How do we form them? And how do we seek out, analyze, and integrate the data we use to test th...

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Amazon Shrugs in Colorado By Paul Koenig
VC Bookworm By Jeff Bussgang



peHUB First Read Posted on: March 15th, 2010
peHUB First Read Posted on: March 16th, 2010
VCs Stuff More Companies Into IPO Pipeline Posted on: March 16th, 2010






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