Networking technology company Cyan posted flat first-day performance in its Thursday IPO. But the offering still stands to deliver moderately positive returns for venture backers, including Norwest Venture Partners and Azure Capital.

Azure Capital Partners said it opened a Canadian office in Calgary, Alberta. The San Francisco venture capital firm said it would use the office to evaluate not only local deal flow, but companies in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montréal. Azure’s current fund, Azure Capital Partners III, L.P., has received commitments from funds-of-funds Alberta Enterprise and B.C. Renaissance Capital Fund, a crown corporation that is wholly owned by the B.C. Immigrant Investment Fund.

SilkRoad, a Chicago-based company focused on online human resources and “social talent management,” has raised a $35 million Series C financing round. Investors in the round include new investors Keating Capital and NTT Finance. Existing investors including Intel Capital, Crosslink Capital, Foundation Capital, Azure Capital and Tenaya Capital also joined in the round. Since 2003, [...]

Open Road Integrated Media said it received $8 million in Series B equity financing in a round led by Azure Capital and joined by Golden Seeds and current investor Kohlberg Ventures. Open Road, a digital published based in New York, will use the financing to expand.

Led by Intel Capital and Tenaya Capital, the Chicago-based software-as-a-service startup SilkRoad technology – which focuses on helping companies mine personnel talent within their enterprises – has raised a $40 million round of funding. The round was joined by existing investors Azure Capital and SilkRoad Equity. PRESS RELEASE: Silkroad technology, inc., the creator of the popular [...]

“I’ve thought about writing a blog. I’ve thought a lot about it, but that’s not really me,” said Mike Kwatinetz, dipping into an omelet yesterday at Bob’s Steak & Chop House, an old-school San Francisco eatery. “I can’t help but feel there are better uses of my time.”

The sentiment wasn’t surprising coming from Kwatinetz, who co-founded the tech-focused venture firm Azure Capital Partners in 2000 with several other former investment bankers, all of whom once reported to star banker Frank Quattrone.

Azure does much the old-fashioned way. You’d never find Kwatinetz in a hoodie, for example. He uses a Blackberry. And though Azure’s deal size varies considerably

In the more than three years since the term “cloud computing” was coined at the first Cloud Expo, VCs have backed a range of companies that have developed virtualized computing resources to deliver software and information on-demand. And it appears to be an investment opportunity that is growing. The Sand Hill Group, a software consulting [...]

Today, at the first PaidContent conference taking place in New York, stakeholders in the content industry have gathered to debate the latest business models for digital content.

Of course, many of these new media models will get launched thanks to venture backing, so I thought I’d ask four veteran investors the question: In today’s volatile media environment, which models are working, and why?

Ammar Hanafi, general partner of Alloy Ventures:

When we look back, 2009 will be seen as a watershed year for the U.S. media industry. The economic downturn created enormous pressure for traditional media models, and the increase in online audiences pushed every type of media organization to the Web. What was “new media” is now simply “the media.”

Greylock Partners this week invested $4 million in HealthHiway, which was launched two years ago by Apollo Hospitals Group and IBM to provide Web-based software for hospitals, doctors and insurance companies to store and maintain patient records, radio images, insurance claims and similar items. HealthHiway is part of a plan to build a National Health Data Network in India and is looking for more funds.

Last week, in California, MedSphere Systems said it raised $12 million to push adoption of its open source electronic health records (which are based on the VA’s system) from several venture firms, including Azure Capital, Epic Ventures, Thomas Weisel and others. Hospitals in the U.S. have to adopt electronic health records by 2011 if they want to be eligible for federal stimulus money.

National Public Radio this week had a fascinating story on a doctor who’s been computerizing her office. It hasn’t been quite what she expected –

SlideRocket, a San Francisco-based provider of an online presentation solution, has raised $5 million in Series B funding. Azure Capital Partners led the round, and was joined by return backer Hummer Winblad Venture Partners. In other company news, SlideRocket has named former SalesForce.com executive Chuck Dietrich as its new CEO.