Horizon Technology Finance Corporation has closed a $12.5 million venture loan facility with Avalanche Technology, a developer of next-generation storage class memory products. Horizon is a specialty finance company that provides secured loans to venture capital and private equity backed development-stage companies in the technology, life sciences, healthcare information and services, and cleantech industries. Avalanche [...]

DriveCam, a global driver risk management company, has appointed Drew Martin as chief information officer effective October 3, 2011. DriveCam was recently recognized as #30 in The Wall Street Journal’s listing of Top 50 Venture-Backed Companies. The San Diego-based company has previously secured backing from Leader Ventures, Triangle Peak Partners, Menlo Ventures, JMI Equity, Insight Venture Partners and Integral Capital Partners.

PneumRx Inc., a medical device company focused on treatments for lung disease, has raised $33 million in Series C venture funding. European firms Forbion Capital Partners and Endeavour Vision co-led the round, which included investments from Adams Street Partners, Telegraph Hill Partners, Alta Partners, Spray Venture Partners, Silicon Valley Bank and Leader Ventures. PneumRx is based in Mountain View, Calif.

Leader Ventures, has provided a $4 million term loan to DriveCam, a company which helps driver reduce risky driving habits. The San Diego-based company has previously secured more than $65 million in venture backing from Triangle Peak Partners Menlo Ventures, JMI Equity, Insight Venture Partners and Integral Capital Partners.

When I was first introduced to San Francisco-based social networking startup Tagged.com, it was 2005 and the nascent company was limiting its service to pre-teen and teenage users. The implicit message was that Tagged would protect its young base from the sexual predators trolling around MySpace (which, at the time was generating a slew of negative [...]