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Play Hard Sports Inc., a Foxboro, Mass.-based provider of sports-focused MMO games, has raised $8 million in Series B funding led by return backer New Enterprise Associates, according to a regulatory filing. The company is run by former Turbine CEO Jeffrey Anderson, and had previously raised a $5 million Series A round. www.playhard.net
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Intermolecular Inc., a San Jose, Calif.-based provider of technology that enables customers to better manufacture semiconductor components, has secured $20 million of a $30 million Series D round, according to a regulatory filing. Listed shareholders include return backers CMEA Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Symyx Technologies Inc. and U.S. Venture Partners. The company had previously raised around $38.5 million since 2004. Read more » |
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SpectraLinear Inc., a Santa Clara, Calif.-based provider of integrated timing solutions for the consumer, computer and communications markets, has raised $9.84 million in Series C funding, according to a regulatory filing. Listed shareholders include Horizon Ventures and past backers Cypress Semiconductor Corp., InterWest Partners, Norwest Venture Partners and Velocity Interactive Group.
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Sun Microsystems has acquired Q-layer, a Belgian cloud computing that that automates the deployment and management of both public and private clouds. No financial terms were disclosed. Q-layer has raised around $10.7 million in VC funding since 2006, from firms like Big Bang Ventures, Partech International and Wellington Partners. Read more » |
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Jodi Sherman Jahic has left venture firm Voyager Capital, after a seven-year run that saw her run the firm’s wireless sector practice. She now will serve as a fulltime managing director with Sherman Capital Group, which she says is focused on “bootstrapped and cash-flow opportunities that need less capital than the typical venture capital model requires.” It’s a family business in that Jodi’s partner and firm co-founder is her father Steven Sherman, but the group’s money comes from outside investors. Read more » |
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Jon Staenberg on the Advantages, and Pitfalls, of Merging Your Firm
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 In mid-December, Dick Strayer — a Los Gatos, Calif., psychologist who’s been helping venture capital firms and their startups sort out their emotional and structural kinks for the last 26 years — told me to expect a consolidation wave in 2009. Strayer is seeing the wave form firsthand. With 20 venture firms clients right now, he told me he knows of “at least four or five firms that are having [consolidation] discussions right now.” The discussions haven’t hit the media yet, said Strayer, “but what other alternative do you have? Either you drop out and do somet... |
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Stacy Feld has joined Physic Ventures as a director. She previously was an associate director of business development with Genetech Inc. www.physicventures.com Read more » |
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SolarWinds, an Austin, Texas-based provider of network management software for the SMB/SME market, has acquired the tech products and development team of New Zealand-based Kiwi Enterprises. No financial terms were disclosed. SolarWinds is in registration for a $250 million IPO, and has raised around $48.5 million in VC funding from Bain Capital Ventures (31.6% pre-IPO stake), Insight Venture Partners (31.6%) and Austin Ventures (3.4%). Read more » |
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CA Inc. (Nasdaq: CA) has agreed to acquire Orchestria Corp., a New York-based provider of data loss prevention technology. No financial terms were disclosed. Orchestria has raised around $50 million in VC funding since 2002, from firms like Doughty Hanson & Co., Benchmark Capital, Constellation Ventures, CrossBridge Venture Partners, Goldman Sachs, New York City Investment Fund and Paladin Capital Management. Read more » |
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TheInfoPro, a New York-based provider of market intelligence for the IT industry, has raised $7.25 million from Edison Venture Fund. Read more » |
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Qwell Pharmaceuticals, a Seattle-based drug developer focused on tumors and excess inflammation of skin cells, has raised $7 million in Series A funding, according to Xconomy. Arch Venture Partners and the Wellcome Trust co-led the round. Read more » |
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FirstDocs Inc., a Westwood, Mass.-based legal process automation company, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Foundry Group. Read more » |
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Sentilla Corp., a Redwood City, Calif.-based provider of demand-side energy management solutions for commercial and industrial facilities, has raised $7.5 million in Series B funding. Onset Ventures and Claremont Creek Ventures co-led the round. Read more » |
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RatePoint Inc., a Needham, Mass.-based provider of a quality-assurance certification and customer feedback platform, has raised $10 million in Series B funding. Castile Ventures led the round, and was joined by return backers .406 Ventures and Prism VentureWorks. The company had previously raised $6.5 million. Read more » |
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ClickSquared Inc., a Waltham, Mass.-based interactive relationship marketing firm, has raised $11 million in Series B funding. Backers include JMI Equity, ABS Ventures and Flybridge Venture Capital. Read more » |
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Anaphore Inc., a developer of protein therapeutics to address cancer and immune-mediated diseases, has raised $25 million in Series A funding, according to VentureWire. The round includes an $8 million seed funding that closed last March, while the remainder closed in December. Read more » |
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FORMA Therapeutics, a Cambridge, Mass.-based small molecule drug developer with an initial focus on cancer, has raised $25 million in non-dilutive Series A funding. Backers include Novartis Option Fund and Bio*One Capital. Read more » |
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Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Palo Alto, Calif.-based developer of topical therapeuticals, has raised $50 million in Series E funding. GlaxoSmithKline and Schering Corp. were joined by return backers Rho Capital Partners, Venrock Associates, Care Capital and Aberdare Ventures. The company raised around $37 million, and had filed for a $57.5 million IPO in August 2007. Read more » |
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Synosia Therapeutics, a Swiss drug developer focused on psychiatry and neurology, has raised CHF 32 million ($29m) in Series B funding. Aravis Venture and Investor Growth Capital co-led the round, and was joined by Swiss Helvetia Fund and return backers Versant Ventures, Abingworth, Novo A/S and 5am Ventures. Read more » |
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Intradigm Corp., a Palo Alto, Calif.-based developer of RNAi therapeutics, has raised $2.9 million in additional Series B funding, bringing the round total to $21.4 million. Astellas Venture Management led the tranche, with existing backer Lilly Ventures also participating. Other participants on the first tranche included Roche Venture Fund, MP Healthcare Venture Management, Frazier Healthcare Ventures, Alta Partners, MediBic Alliance Technology Fund and Novartis Venture Fund. Read more » |
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TACODA Founder Dave Morgan on What’s Next in Online Advertising
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 Dave Morgan knows a thing or two about the online advertising market. In 2001, Morgan founded TACODA Systems, whose behavioral marketing technology not only attracted $32 million in venture financing but eventually the attention of America Online, which paid $275 million for it in 2007. Meanwhile, though Morgan’s first online ad company, Real Media, was acquired in 2000 for the $30 million it had raised from investors, the company it helped create, 24/7 Real Media, was acquired by WPP Group for $650 million in 2007. Morgan, who’s based in New York, isn’t discussing his new... |
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Grant Jackson has joined Council Ventures as a general partner. He previously was a partner with The Aurora Funds, where he focused on healthcare services and healthcare IT opportunities. Read more » |
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Refined VCs Invest in Cash4Gold
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 I’ve received over 80 replies so far, including a small handful that answered correctly. So it’s time to spill the beans: The investors are General Catalyst Partners and Highland Capital Partners. If you’re like me, your initial reaction is to spit out your mouthful of Dunkin Donuts iced coffee and then wipe off your Kevin Garnett bobble-head. Ok, maybe that’s a bit too specific. Let’s just assume you’ve having a good chuckle. Still going? Think of something sad, so that we can collectively continue… For those who don’t watch too much television (here’s a test: do you know what a ShamWow is?), Cash4Gold is not some sort of national pawnshop chain. Instead, it’s better described as a C2B precious metals refiner. It pays consumers to send it jewelry Read more » |
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Dow Jones has acquired the database assets of The Library House Ltd., a UK-based provider of data on emerging private companies in Europe. No financial terms were disclosed for the acquisition, which was made out of administration. Read more » |
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SundaySky Ltd., an Israel-based provider of digital video generation solutions, has raised $8 million in Series A funding co-led by Carmel Ventures and Globespan Capital Partners. Read more » |
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Eclipsys Corp. (Nasdaq: ECLP) has acquired Premise Corp., a Farmington, Conn.-based provider of patient flow solutions, for $38.5 million cash. Premise had raised VC funding from firms like Milestone Venture Partners, Aetna Ventures, Connecticut Innovations and Inflection Point Ventures. Read more » |
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Mirics Semiconductor, a UK-based developer of solutions for the mobile broadcast receiver market, has raised $7 million in an expansion of a $12 million Series B round originally announced in August 2007. Return backers include Acacia Capital Partners, Intel Capital and Pond Venture Partners. Read more » |
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Ctera Networks Ltd., an Israel-based bundler of network attached storage and cloud computing into a single appliance, has raised an undisclosed amount of first-round funding from Benchmark Capital. Read more » |
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Blue Tulip Inc., a New York-based retailer of personalized gifts, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It lists $7.3 million in debt, and plans to hold store liquidation sales at its 24 locations later this month. Blue Tulip had raised over $13 million in VC funding, and lists Highland Capital Partners as holding a 44% ownership stake (it invested out of HCP VI and Highland Consumer Fund). The company’s website is no longer working.
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Force10 Networks Inc., a San Jose, Calif.-based provider of network routing and switching equipment, has agreed to merge with Turin Networks Inc., a Petaluma, Calif.-based Ethernet services provider. No financial terms have been disclosed.
Force10 has raised over $400 million in total VC funding since 1999, from firms like Advanced Equities, Crosslink Capital, New Enterprise Associates, Meritech Capital Partners, U.S. Venture Partners, Pacesetter Capital and Worldview Technology Partners. Turin Networks has raised over $250 million since 1999, from firms like Bay Partners, Sequoia Capital, Tellabs, Motorola Ventures, Ciena Corp., Millennium Private Equity, DCM, Baker Capital, Tudor Ventures, Advanced Equities and RWI Group. Read more » |
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RipCode Inc., a Dallas-based provider of Internet and mobile video infrastructure solutions, has raised $12.5 million in third-round funding. Granite Ventures led the round, and was joined by return backers Hunt Ventures, El Dorado Ventures, Vesbridge Partners and ATA Ventures. The company has now raised around $38 million in total VC funding since 2006. Read more » |
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peHUB First Read
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 * Harvard Square's Out of Town News might soon become a Starbucks, but Scott Kirsner is intrigued by the former's owner's concept of a 21st Century Newsstand. I second that emotion. * Morning Call: Wall Street futures point higher, European shares rise on autos and Obama package, Nikkei keeps climbing and Hong Kong slips on China telcos. * Heidi thinks that Indymac is an indication that private equity firms are getting "smart about banks." Maybe, but this particular deal strikes me more as a situation where certain private equity firms were willing to settle for hedge-like returns and time horizons. * Kedrosky notices that Fortress Investment Group leads in YTD stock performance, and rightly calls it "surreal." * Ritholtz: Former National Association of Realtors Economist is a Jackass. Read more » |
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GSR Ventures, a China-focused VC fund with offices in Beijing and Silicon Valley, has closed its third fund with $383 million in capital commitments. The firm also announced an investment in iLemon Group Inc., a Shanghai-based gaming company that creates 3D virtual worlds. Read more » |
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Genovation Focuses on Liquidity From The Start
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 This one is called Genovation Capital, a seed- and early-stage shop that is expected to begin formal fundraising later this quarter. It came together last summer, and includes three partners who previously worked together at television on-demand company Broadbus Inc. (bought by Motorola in 2006 for $189m in cash). They are: Jeff Binder, a Broadbus co-founder who later served as senior director of strategy and M&A for Motorola’s on-demand solutions group; Vin Bisceglia, chairman and CEO of Broadbus from 2004 to 2006; and Dave Fellows, a former Broadbus board member via his role at CTO of Comcast, and a onetime principal with Pilot House Ventures. I spoke with Binder and Bisceglia for nearly an hour this afternoon, and touched on just about every topic other than fundraising (apparently they’ve already retained counsel). My main questions, of course, were about how Genovation would Read more » |