Posts Tagged ‘venture capital’
Friday, May 3rd, 2013
 SJF Ventures, which has offices in Durham, NC as well as in New York and San Francisco, conducted the final closing on its third fund with more than $90MM in capital commitments, tripling the size of the previous $28MM second fund.
The target for SJF Ventures III was $75MM and the fund was substantially oversubscribed at its final April closing. “We are honored that so many investors choose to join our partnership,” said David Kirkpatrick, SJF Managing Director and Co-Founder.
“We are particularly excited that a wide variety of bank, insurance, foundation, family office, pension, mutual fund, and individual investors have recognized that SJF’s impact investing strategy can yield above market financial and mission results.” SJF’s current, second fund is performing in the top quartile all US venture capital funds of its vintage year.
Invests in high growth companies
SJF Ventures invests in high growth, positive impact companies seeking expansion capital rounds of $1 million to $10 million.
SJF has invested in 36 portfolio companies over the last decade. “We realize SJF’s success is due to the exceptional results achieved by our portfolio companies such as Aseptia, BioSurplus, CleanScapes, Community Energy, eRecyclingCorps, Fieldview, Optoro, MediaMath, MedPage Today, and ServiceChannel,” said David Griest, SJF Managing Director. “We are eager to find the next set of great entrepreneurs for our third fund.”
SJF Ventures has a team of six senior investment professionals, based in offices in Durham, NC, New York and San Francisco, and invests nationwide. SJF has particular expertise and focus on the asset recovery, recycling & reverse logistics, energy & resource efficiency, intelligent infrastructure, sustainable agriculture and food, education, health and wellness sectors.
Tags: Durham, New York, San Francisco, SJF Ventures, third fund, venture capital
Posted in Money, venture capital report | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 30th, 2013
 Although well-established venture capital hubs like California and New England are leaders in venture capital, regional hubs are playing an increasingly critical role as consistent drivers of venture-backed companies. In the Midwest,Michigan is on the rise as an investment hot spot and this infographic details the impact such activity will continue to have on job creation, revenue growth and industry development.
Organizers of the Michigan Growth Capital Symposium (MGCS) unveiled a new infographic that demonstrates the factors driving Michigan’s growth as an investment hub.
You can view the infographic here: http://michigan-gcs.com/files/mgcs-infographic-2013.pdf
Tags: hub, infographic, investments, Michigan, venture capital
Posted in infographic, Money, venture capital report | No Comments »
Thursday, February 28th, 2013
 You can make connections with 50 high growth technology companies from the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic as they present to hundreds of executives from the region’s innovation, entrepreneurial and venture communities at the Southeast Venture Conference March 13-14th at the Ritz-Carlton Charlotte, North Carolina.
In addition to presenting companies and hours of executive networking – the conference will feature a speaker line up inlcuding SAP CEO Bill McDermott, dozens of leading venture capital investors from groups like Advanced Technology Ventures, Intel Capital and Edison Ventures; industry insiders like Forbes publisher Rich Karlgaard and policy makers such as North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory.
This year’s confirmed presenting company line-up includes:
- addshoppers - Charlotte, NC
- AirSage - Atlanta, GA
- avidxchange - Charlotte, NC
- Badgy - Atlanta, GA
- blue nano - Charlotte, NC
- BoomTown - Charleston, SC
- BrightContext - Arlington, VA
- Bronto - Charlotte, NC
- Buystand - Durham, NC
- Campaign.io - Charlotte, NC
- CanDiag - Waxhaw, NC
- Clearleap - Duluth, GA
- dealcloud - Charlotte, NC
- deja mi - Raleigh, NC
- Digitalsmiths - Durham, NC
- Distil - Arlington, VA
- Entigral - Raleigh, NC
- Fitsistant - Durham, NC
- flomio - Miami, Florida
- Fotopigeon - Tampa, Florida
- Freebeepay - Atlanta, GA
- gematouch - Raleigh, NC
- Hinge - Washington, DC
- HireIQ - Atlanta, GA
- infina connect - Cary, NC
- Koupon Media - Frisco, TX
- nContact - Morrisville, NC
- Nextinput - Atlanta, GA
- PatientPay - Durham, NC
- PopUp - Raleigh, NC
- Punch Technologies - Charlotte, NC
- Respirion - Winston Salem, NC
- ReverbNation - Durham, NC
- Savveo - Charlotte, NC
- Sensory Analytics - Greensboro, NC
- Smart Sky Networks - Charlotte, NC
- Sweet Relish - Charlotte, NC
- t1 visions - Charlotte, NC
- Tales2Go - Washington, DC
- The Targeted Group - Charlotte, NC
- umatch - Greenville, NC
- Valencell - Raleigh, NC
- veenome - Arlington, VA
- viddlz - Charlotte, NC
- WealthEngine - Bethesda, MD
- Wildfire Connections - Charlotte, NC
- Worthpoint - Atlanta, GA
 The Southeast Venture Conference is headed to Charlotte, NC, in March 2013. The event offers firms a chance to present to top national venture capitalists and angel investors. In addition to the showcase presenters and hours of networking – SEVC 2013 will feature current market relevant panel and presentation topics for investors and executive entrepreneurs. These events sell out, so register now if you plan on going.
Panel & Presentation topics include:
- State of Venture Capital
- Early Stage Fundraising
- Value Creation: Company/Investor Relationship
- Growth Stage Funding
- M&A Outlook and Strategies
- LP Viewpoint
- SaaS Investment Trends
- Getting to Market
- IPO & Secondary Market Outlook
- Entrepreneur’s Roundtable
- International Health Care Trends
Tags: 2013, Arlington, Atlanta, Bethesda, Charlotte, DC, Duluth, Durham, GA, Greensboro, Greenville, high growth companies, March, MD, Miami, NC, Raleigh, SEVC, venture capital, Washington
Posted in entrepreneurship, Events, Startups, Tech life/Culture | No Comments »
Friday, January 4th, 2013
 In today’s Net-go-round: consumers are using connected TV apps and second screens in changing patterns of media consumpion.
Hotel meta-search firm Room 77 books a $30 million round, bringing its total capital raised to $43.8 million.
Cisco and NXP invest in a car-to-car wireless firm that could vastly increase traffic safety.
And CES promises a number of top musicians, Hollywood stars and TV personalities will attend its annual January event.
Consumers are using the built-in features on their HDTV at a high rate, with an increasing number gaining access to Web-enabled content directly through their televisions, according to new research from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)
More than one in five U.S. adults owns a smart app-enabled HDTV and almost all (90 percent) use the apps available on their displays in some capacity.
In addition, more than four in ten HDTV owners connect their primary displays to the Internet, with 76 percent connecting at least one external device with smart app capabilities to their primary displays.
Half of all HDTV owners connect a video game console or a DVD/Blu-ray player to their primary displays.
Smart app users are most likely to stream video content from the Internet (61 percent), browse the Internet (56 percent) and view pictures (54 percent) using smart apps on their televisions.
Consumers are also looking for displays with built-in Wi-Fi and Internet browsing when purchasing a new HDTV, which trail only high-quality audio and video as the most important purchase factors of HDTVs. Approximately one in three consumers plans to purchase a new HDTV within the next 12 months.
Social networking common on second screens
 Another way many consumers are experiencing Web-enabled content for HDTV is through a second screen on a portable connected device. Social networking is the most common activity on the second screen.
Among HDTV owners who also own a tablet, two-thirds (67 percent) use their tablets for social networking while watching TV. Among HDTV owners who also own a smartphone, more than half (58 percent) are using a social network on that device while watching TV.
“We are living in an app-dominated world, whether it’s on your smartphone, tablet or television,” said Kevin Tillmann, senior research analyst at CEA. “Consumers want access to their apps at all times and they will use whatever device, TVs included, that offer the best and most convenient user experience.”
Popular musicians, Hollywood starts, TV personalities attending International CES
Popular musicians, movie stars and television personalities will promote the latest innovations shaping the consumer electronics industry during the 2013 International CES. Owned and produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the 2013 CES, the world’s largest annual innovation event, is scheduled for January 8-11, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
 Felicia Day. Actress Felicia Day will serve as the Entertainment Matters Ambassador for the Entertainment Matters at CES program. Entering its third year, Entertainment Matters at CES is designed by and for Hollywood’s film, television and digital communities.
For more see: Celebrity Guests Promote Latest Technologies
Cisco, NXP Invest in Cohda wireless to enable connected cars
 Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) and NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) have each made an investment in Cohda Wireless to advance intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and car-to-X communications.
Cohda Wireless is a leading specialist in wireless communication for automotive safety applications.
The companies say that this brings together the expertise of the three organizations to make the Internet of Everything a reality for the automotive industry, creating a safer and more enjoyable driving experience while improving the traffic flow.
Car-to-Car (C2C) and Car-to-Infrastructure (C2I) communications enable active safety systems that can affect 81 percent of all crash scenarios, as a result helping to reduce fatalities and injuries on the roads.
In addition to improving safety, car-to-infrastructure (C2I) communication holds great potential for intelligent transport system (ITS) management and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.
For more see: Cisco, NXP invest in Cohda Wireless
Hotel mega search engine Room 77 keys in $30.3M round
Hotel metasearch engine Room 77 today announced it has closed $30.3 million in Series C financing with participation from new investor Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE).
The company’s existing investors also participated, including Sutter Hill Ventures, General Catalyst Partners, Concur Technologies, Felicis Ventures as well as Expedia’s founder Rich Barton, former Expedia CEO Erik Blachford and Spencer Rascoff, CEO of Zillow.
This brings Room 77′s total capital raised to $43.8 million.
Room 77 instantly searches hundreds of travel sites at once to find hotels at the best price.
Based on internal analysis of more than five million hotel searches, Room 77 uncovered at least one lower price for travelers in two out of three searches, averaging $72 per stay.
Room 77 offers free Room Concierge service, which leverages the company’s proprietary room data, such as blueprints and simulated RoomView(SM) technology, to help travelers get in a great room when they book through Room 77.
Tags: car-to-car wireless, CES, Cisco, Cohda, connected TVs, Felicia Day, financing, investment, NXP, Room 77, venture capital
Posted in Digital Devices, Events, Internet/New Media, IT, Money | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 12th, 2012
Private software companies are experiencing the largest revenue growth since 2008 and expect strong job growth, according to 2012 Software Benchmarking Industry Report from the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA).
This is good news for the economy, since many startups – often the engine of job growth in America – are private software firms.
East Coast firms in particular are moving away from conservative cost containment strategies and plan to do more hiring, the report says. Often lacking access to as much venture capital as those on the West Coast, they have been running lean ships since the recession, but now they’re ready to hoist the sails.
It notes that while West Coast private software firms of similar size had higher revenue growth than their East Coast counterparts, they took nearly twice as much venture funding to get there.
The report surveyed private and public U.S. firms with up to $350 million in revenues.
According to the report, participating private software firms achieved an average revenue growth rate of 37 percent in 2011 – 10 percent beyond the growth rate achieved in 2010 – and they anticipate further gains in 2012.
Importantly, companies say they plan to increase employee headcount in 2012 by an average of 27 percent – the highest hiring expectation since the recession.
Moving away from cost containment
“The small and mid-sized software industry in the U.S. is seeing strong growth and contributing to the economy in ways we haven’t seen since before the recession,” said Rhianna Collier, Vice President of SIIA’s Software Division.
“With signs of more hiring and greater optimism, the 2012 report signals an exciting turning point in this industry’s efforts to weather the economic storm. The 2012 study clearly demonstrates that job creation is catching up with revenue growth.”
Collier continued, “Companies are hiring again and moving away from the cost-containment strategies they have favored since 2008. This segment of the American economy has not only weathered the recession – it has emerged as a key job creator and an engine for recovery.”
East Coast firms investing for growth
It also found that despite generally more conservative fiscal management, East Coast companies are currently investing for better revenue growth and job creation in 2012 to catch up to their West Coast counterparts.
“East Coast and West Coast firms of similar revenue size exhibited comparatively different spending patterns,” said Lauren Kelley, CEO and founder of OPEXEngine.
“Revenue growth was higher for West Coast companies, yet they dipped further into the red to achieve that growth.
In addition, on average, West Coast firms took almost twice as much venture funding to get to the same revenue size.
East Coast firms have taken a leaner approach with higher employee productivity, but we found that they expect to increase headcount at a greater rate in 2012.”
Key findings from the 2012 Software Benchmarking Industry Report include:
- Private firms expect to increase headcount by an average of 27 percent. Firms with revenue under $10 million and between $10 and $20 million anticipate the biggest hiring gains at 38 percent and 36.5 percent, respectively.
- Private software firms achieved an average revenue growth rate of 37 percent in 2011, compared to 28 percent in 2010.
- Private companies in the $20-$40 million range had the highest revenue growth rate (46 percent).
- 80 percent of private software companies surveyed expect 20 percent or greater revenue growth in 2012, while 30 percent expect higher than 50 percent.
- Revenue growth rates were higher for the West Coast companies – almost 50 percent versus 36 percent for the East Coast companies.
- In terms of operating expenses, East Coast companies spent 66 percent of what West Coast companies spent.
- Employee productivity on the East Coast was 5 percent higher than on the West Coast.
- East Coast companies anticipate a 35 percent growth in headcount during 2012, compared to 26 percent for West Coast companies.
The 2012 Software Benchmarking Industry Report is available for purchase at www.opexengine.com/reports. SIIA member companies receive a significant discount on benchmarking.
Tags: 2012 benchmarking report, East Coast, hiring plans, private software firms, SIIA, venture capital, West Coast
Posted in Economy/Jobs, IT, Money, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 14th, 2012
 Tennessee-based Meritus Ventures, a venture capital fund and Rural Business Investment Company, announced the promotion of Chris Miller to Associate.
Meritus Ventures, is currently the only Rural Business Investment Company (RBIC) in the United States.
The $36.5M venture capital fund invests to realize attractive returns for the fund’s investors while creating wealth and jobs in rural areas of central and southern Appalachia and Arkansas. In addition to providing equity investment, the fund may provide operational assistance to its portfolio companies.
“Chris is an exceptional member of our staff, making measureable contributions to the operation of our fund,” said Meritus Ventures Fund Manager Grady Vanderhoofven.
“In addition to his previous responsibilities as an analyst, we increasingly rely on Chris to participate in identifying and sourcing investment opportunities. He has become progressively more engaged in our due diligence process and will be more directly involved with our portfolio companies in the future.”
“We put an emphasis on mentoring and developing our investment professionals into assets for Meritus, our limited partners, our portfolio companies, and the region in which we invest. Sustainability of our enterprise requires depth of resources and the expansion of capacity, and this action is another step in that direction for Meritus,” Vanderhoofven concluded.
Miller has more than ten years of operating and investment experience with small and venture companies. Prior to joining Meritus Ventures in 2007 as an analyst, Miller received an MBA from the University of Tennessee and worked in operations and business development roles for a start-up. Miller is an active part of the regional entrepreneurial business community, and he is a point of access and information for regional venture development groups and for companies seeking to approach Meritus for investment.
Tags: Chris Miller, Meritus Ventures, Oak Ridge, RBIC, Rural Business Investment Company, TN, venture capital
Posted in People, Tennessee | No Comments »
Monday, February 13th, 2012
 Online advertising has been growing rapidly as dollars shift from traditional ad channels to digital ones. According to eMarketer, by 2015 advertisers will spend $132.1 billion annually for online advertising. Advertisers are increasing their investment in online advertising across multiple channels to drive greater lead generation, customer acquisition, and revenue.
One sign of that is how well companies in the digital ad industry are doing, both in terms of revenue and in fund raising.
For instance, this activity is fueling the expanding adoption of San Francisco-based Marin Software’s ad management and optimization platform.
In the wake of Marin’s success, Asia investment company Temasek led a $30 million round of funding along with SAP Ventures.
Joining the new investors in this oversubscribed round were existing Marin venture investors Benchmark Capital, Crosslink Capital, DAG Ventures, and Triangle Peak Partners.
The company sells online advertising management solutions, offering an integrated platform for managing search, social, display, and mobile marketing. The company provides solutions for advertisers and agencies. Marin’s technology powers marketing campaigns for over 1,500 customers managing more than $3.5 billion of annualized ad spend in more than 160 countries.
During the last year, Marin nearly doubled its customer base to 1,500 as well as the amount of annual spend managed on its platform to $3.5 billion.
Following Marin Software’s year of rapid international expansion, customer growth, and product innovation, and the closing of the recent financing, Frank van Veenendaal, President of Worldwide Sales and Services at salesforce.com, has joined Marin Software’s Board.
 Marin Software’s Dramatic Growth:
- Since its inception in 2006, Marin Software has grown into the premier provider of advertising management solutions worldwide. Marin currently serves clients in 160 countries with 25 currencies, increasing its international footprint in the last year with the opening of offices in Singapore, France, Australia, and Germany.
- More than 1,500 of the world’s leading advertisers and agencies manage $3.5 billion in annualized online ad spend through Marin Software. Within the last few months, Hotels.com, Brookstone, Coupons Inc., Rosetta, and Reprise Media have selected Marin’s platform to manage their search, display and social advertising campaigns. Longstanding Marin customers include iProspect, Neo@Ogilvy, Razorfish, Macy’s, Experian, and University of Phoenix.
- Spurred by increasing demand for its products worldwide, Marin Software hired more than 100 new employees during 2011.
Marin Software Funding:
- To date, Marin Software has raised more than $80 million in venture funding. Marin plans to invest this new capital to bolster product development, customer support, and service delivery worldwide.
- Temasek is an Asia investment company headquartered in Singapore, with a diversified S$193 billion portfolio as of March 31, 2011, concentrated principally in Singapore, Asia and growth markets. Through its partnership with Temasek, Marin Software will be able to accelerate its growth across Asia and other emerging markets.
Tags: Benchmark Capital, Crosslink Cpaital, DAG Ventures, digital ad management & optimization, eMarketer, Marin Software, online advertising, San Francisco, SAP Ventures, Temasek Holdings, Triangle Peak Partners, venture capital
Posted in Internet/New Media, IT, Money | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 25th, 2011
 ALEXANDRIA, VA – Insite Wireless Group, a wireless tower owner/operator, has closed on a $6.5 million raise, according to a regulatory filing. Investors in the company include New York-based Catalyst Investors.
InSite Wireless Group owns InSite Wireless,, which specializes in the design, installation, operation, and maintenance of distributed antenna system (DAS) infrastructure solutions in convention centers, hotels and casinos, airports, sports stadiums, and transit systems, and InSite Towers, a privately owned wireless communication tower company headquartered in Alexandria, VA.
InSite Towers owns and operates approximately 400 wireless communication tower sites in the United States and Puerto Rico.
The company disclosed the raise in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:
SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org
Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com
Digital East: www.digitaleast.com
Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com
Tags: Alexandria, Insite Towers, Insite Wireless Group, SEC filings, VA, venture capital, wireless towers
Posted in Internet/New Media, Money, Potomac, Virginia | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 10th, 2011
 McLEAN, VA - Clearspring Technologies Inc., provider of the AddThis social content sharing platform, has closed on a $20 million Series D round of funding led by Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) with participation from the company’s existing investors. The funding will be used to accelerate Clearspring’s next-generation publisher products and continued growth of its advertising offerings, as well as to help fuel strategic acquisitions.
IVP has funded online companies such as Twitter and Zynga.
The AddThis sharing tool, with its widely recognized orange box with white plus sign icon, is a familiar sight on more than 9M websites globally enabling users to share content easily with their friends through more than 300 different social networks in 70 languages. Armed with collective insight into what over 1 billion unique Internet users choose to read and share monthly through AddThis, Clearspring says it enables advertisers to reach the right audiences at the right time via ad exchanges and demand-side platforms.
Hiring an employee a week
“Clearspring processes 10TB of data per day. This as much data per week as the entire digital Library of Congress has stored online,” said Sandy Miller, General Partner at IVP. “This massive data set, coupled with their scalable and differentiated real-time data processing capabilities, puts Clearspring in a unique position to not only take advantage of the rising demand for audience data in advertising, but also enables them to disrupt a number of other markets. We’re excited about the investment and the growing opportunities associated with big data online.”
The AddThis platform has grown from reaching 200M users in 2008 to being one of the ten largest audiences online today. AddThis is also one of twenty web tools world-wide with a Google Page Rank of 10. With revenue on track to triple this year, the company is hiring a new employee almost every week, which will result in it almost doubling its staff this year.
Hooman Radfar, co-founder and CEO of Clearspring said, “With this investment, we can now bring the power of that reach back to the individual publisher via our next generation tools and services, which will focus on providing publishers actionable data, not just from the social web, but the entire web. Imagine the challenges we can help a publisher solve- -it’s a staggering opportunity.”
The company’s investors, in addition to IVP, include: New Enterprise Associates, Novak Biddle Venture Partners, former AOL vice chair and president Ted Leonsis, AOL founder Steve Case, Capital One co-founder Nigel Morris, and Silicon Valley super-angel Ron Conway.
Tags: AddOn, AOL founder Steve Case, Capital One co-founder Nigel Morris, Clearspring Technologies, financing, former AOL vice chair and president Ted Leonsis, Hooman Radfar, Institutional Venture Partners, McLean, New Enterprise Associates, Novak Biddle Venture Partners, online content sharing platform, Ron Conway, Sandy Miller, social media, Steve Case, Ted Leonsis, twitter, VA, venture capital, Zynga
Posted in Internet/New Media, IT, Marketing, Money, Potomac, social media, Virginia | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 13th, 2011
ROCKVILLE, MD – Hilcrest Laboratories, which sells motion control interactive TV applications, has raised $5.54 million, according to a regulatory filing.
The company raised a $25 million D round led by AllicanceBernstein with previous investors New Enterprise Associates, Columbia Capital, and Grotech Captal participating in 2008.
Peter Barris, director of NEA, Frank Adams, director of Grotech, and R. Philip Herget, of Columbia Capital, are all listed as principals in the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission disclosing the current raise.
Founded in 2001, the company previously raised a total of $50 million in venture backing, a spokesperson told TechJournal South.
Hillcrest Labs’ patented Freespace motion control technology senses motion in three dimensions and precisely translates human motions into on–screen cursor movement. When embedded in a handheld input device, Freespace allows consumers to simply point and click to navigate content and application choices on televisions, set–top boxes, PCs and a range of other digital media devices. Freespace can also be adapted for use in game controllers.
Hillcrest sells an application creation platform called HoME, which enables consumer electronics
manufacturers and service providers to create unique interactive digital media products for TV and other digital media devices.
Applications made with HoME are controlled by pointing and provide consumers an intuitive way to browse, discover, and interact with large volumes of digital media. It can be used in a wide range of consumer devices including remote controls, PC mice, and game controllers.
The first hardware implementation of Hillcrest’s Freespace motion control technology was The Loop pointer. The Loop pointer is the in-air mouse that moves your cursor with natural hand motion.
Its patented technologies have been adopted by industry leaders such as LG Electronics, Logitech, Broadcom, SMK and Universal Electronics.
TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:
SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org
Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com
Digital East: www.digitaleast.com
Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com
Tags: Columbia Capital, financing, Frank Adams, Grotech, Hillcrest Labs, MD, motion control interactive TV technology, NEA, Peter Barris, R. Philip Herget, Rockville, The Loop, venture capital
Posted in Internet/New Media, IT, Maryland, Money, Potomac | No Comments »
Friday, April 8th, 2011
 SAN FRANCISCO- Investments in cleantech, particularly solar, rose by 13 percent over last year’s numbers to $2.57 billion in the first quarter 2011. That’s a trend continuing into the second quarter, if the number of cleantech financings we report is any guide. The first quarter numbers represent the most money invested in cleantech since the third quarter in 2008.
So says a report from San Francisco-based Cleantech Group, a consulting company.
Although the amount invested in cleantech was larger, it went to fewer firms, so venture capitalists are doing fewer but larger deals.
In a conference call, Sheeraz Haji, CEO of the Cleantech Group, said the sector is setting a pace to raise more money this year than at any time since it began tracking the investments in 2002. He said succuessful IPOs by cleantech firms such ast Telsa Motors helps.
Brightsource Energy Inc., which develops solar fields, was the largest single recipient of the $641 million that went to solar firms during the quarter. BrightSource may go for an IPO later this year.
Electric vehicle firms took the next largest slice of the pie: $311 million.
The most active investors in the space were: Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Khosla Ventures, Vantage Point Venture Partners, and the Google and GE venture capital arms.
TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:
SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org
Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com
Digital East: www.digitaleast.com
Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com
Tags: Cleantech Group, Energy, GE, Google, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Q1 2011, Sheeraz Haji, solar power, Vantage Point Venture Partners, venture capital
Posted in Energy, venture capital report | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 5th, 2011
 CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – Hotelicopter, which provides a hotel search platform featuring 160,000 hotels, to websites and apps, has raised $1.5 million from seven investors, according to a regulatory filing.
The company, which presented at the recent 2011 Southeast Venture Conference in Atlanta, says its hotel search solutions are easy to implement and hosted in the cloud.
Founde din 2006, the company provides the platform to websites and apps on shared revenue basis, taking about 8 percent of a gross booking for each transaction facilitated though the system.
It shows rates, availability and content from its hotels.
The filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lists three principals, Adam Healey, co-founder and CEO; Charles Seilheimer, co-founder and president; and Norwood Davis, from Atlanta’s TRX, non-executive chair.
Healey was previously founder and CEO of Samba Digital Media.
Online hotel bookings are a $100 billion market.
TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:
SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org
Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com
Digital East: www.digitaleast.com
Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com
Tags: Adam Healey, Charles Seilheimer, Charlottesville, financing, hotel search platform for websites and apps, Hotelicopter, Norwood Davis, Southeast Venture Conference, VA, venture capital
Posted in Georgia, Internet/New Media, IT, Money, Potomac, Virginia | No Comments »
Thursday, March 31st, 2011
DURHAM, NC –  Appia, which operates the world’s largest open smartphone app store, has received a new $10 million C round invesment from Silicon-Valley-based Venrock. The company, which was listed at number 15 on the Wall Street Journal’s recent list of the top U.S. venture-backed companies, raised $15 million last fall.
According to some reports, Appia’s C round may still be open.
Venrock Vice President Dev Khare, vice president has joined the company’s board of directors.
Appia also has partnered with Opera Software, the top Web browser for smartphones, and will power the Opera Mobile Store for more than 100 million users. It also partners with Telcel, Mexico’s largest operator, on the Ideas Appstore for Telcel’s 64 million subscribers.
“We are extremely impressed with this team’s vision and experience within the Web and mobile ecosystems, as well as Appia’s success powering app stores for mobile operators, device OEMs and mobile software partners around the world,” said Khare. “For established Web and mobile publishers as well as emerging application developers, Appia is fast becoming a key distribution channel to consumers globally.”
“Independent app stores will continue to be a major driver for the global premium mobile content and applications opportunity,” said Vikrant Gandhi of Frost & Sullivan. “An open strategy is important to help support the growth of the smartphone applications industry by providing better choices for consumers, and by giving multiple options to content owners for their distribution strategy.”
Frost & Sullivan predicts that total downloads from smartphone app stores are expected to increase globally from 9.6 billion in 2010 to more than 120 billion by 2015.
TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:
SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org
Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com
Digital East: www.digitaleast.com
Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com
Tags: Appia, Dev Khare, Durham, financing, Frost & Sullivan, NC, smartphone stores, Venrock, venture capital, Vikrant Gandhi
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 29th, 2011
 ATLANTA – Ingenious Med Inc., which sells a practice performance management and charge capture platform, has received $3.25 million in funding from Council Ventures of Nashville, TN. Council Ventures joins existing investor Buckhead Investment Partners of Atlanta.
A portion of the investment will be used to fund Ingenious Med’s continued growth and a portion of the proceeds will be used to re-capitalize existing shareholders. Ingenious Med has nearly doubled in terms of revenue, clients and personnel each of the past two years.
Founded in 1999 by a group of practicing physicians, Ingenious Med is an award-winning mobile platform that automates the activities of physicians when they are away from their office, whether they are rounding at a hospital, an outpatient clinic, a nursing home or even at home.
Ingenious Med automates the revenue and charge capture processes for over 9,000 users in more than 800 healthcare facilities across the United States.
TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:
SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org
Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com
Digital East: www.digitaleast.com
Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com
Tags: Atlanta, Buckhead Investment Partners, Council Ventures, financing, healthcare charge capture platform, Ingenious Med, IT, mobile, Nashville, TN, venture capital
Posted in Georgia, Internet/New Media, IT | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 29th, 2011
 WASHINGTON, DC – LivingSocial, the local discount deals company that some reports say could overtake Chicago-based Groupon in volume if it continues its rapid growth, has raised an additional $2.89 million in equity, according to a regulatory filing by its parent, Hungry Machine.
The company has raised a total of $233 million from investors who include Amazon.comNV Investment Holdings, US Venture Partners, Grotech Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Revolution. It disclosed the current raise in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
LivingSocial has expanded its business by acquiring adventure company Urban Escapes, and launching three new verticals including LivingSocial Family Edition, Campus Deals and LivingSocial Escapes, a travel site that offers unbeatable savings on curated adventures.
It also recently acquired Infoether.
Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal have reported that the company may be looking at raising $500 million at a $2 billion valuation. The company has rapidly moved into markets nationally.
The local group buying space remains hot, with new entries still popping up and a slew of smaller players carving niches in regional markets.
Consolidation is inevitable, especially with both LivingSocial and Groupon continuing to successfully raise significant venture backing.
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Tags: Groupon, LivingSocial raises additonal capital, local group buying, venture capital
Posted in Internet/New Media, IT, Marketing, Money | 2 Comments »
Monday, March 28th, 2011
 HOLLYWOOD, FL -Cloud security firm Prolexic Technologies has raised $13.9 million in a growth financing led by Kennet Partners.
Founded in 2003, Prolexic was the first company to establish global scrubbing centers to stop DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attacks in the Cloud. Leveraging unique filtering techniques, high-speed bandwidth and peering, advanced routing and other patent-pending devices, Prolexic says it provides the most advanced and powerful DDoS detection and network protection systems available.
Both the Federal government and private sector have experienced a surge in cyber attacks. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal agencies suffered 41,776 cyber attacks in 2010, an increase of almost 40% over 2009. In the private sector, several Global 2000 companies experienced cyber attacks following the recent Wikileaks ordeal, which highlighted the disruptive power of larger DDoS attacks.
“DDoS attacks have become costly forms of cyber-crime, and they are increasingly being proactively addressed by businesses to avoid the devastating costs of DDoS-related downtime,” said Kennet’s Javier Rojas.
Roger Stone, Prolexic’s board representative from previous investor, IPVG Corp. (PSE: IP), said, “Since Prolexic offers customers the best cyber defense available against DDoS attacks, we have seen demand for our product offerings increase exponentially. Kennet’s expertise in helping technology companies expand throughout the United States & Europe will be a great complement to IPVG’s strong network in Asia-Pacific.”
Kennet’s Gustavo Alberelli added, “As organizations of all sizes increasingly adopt Cloud computing solutions, DDoS and cyber attacks have soared in both frequency and sophistication. Prolexic has quickly emerged as the leader in Cloud Security and demand for its differentiated products has intensified. Kennet looks forward to building Prolexic into an industry leader.”
Javier Rojas, managing director at Kennet, and Kennet director Gustavo Alberelli will join the Prolexic board.
Tags: cloud security, DDoS, Denial of Service attacks, financing, FL, Gustavo Alberelli, Hollywood, Javier Rojas, Prolexic, venture capital
Posted in Florida, Internet/New Media, IT, Money, Security | No Comments »
Monday, March 21st, 2011
 RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – Overture Networks has completed its merger with Hatteras Networks. Known as Overture Networks, the combined company also reported $43.95 million from a financing connected to the merger, according to a regulatory filing, but the money was not new funding.
The company issued this statement in regard to the previous reports regarding the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing:
Overture later issued a statement:
“On March 22, 2011, it was reported that “Overture Networks has closed on a fundraiser of nearly $44 million.” This is inaccurate. On March 18, 2011, a Form D filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, a legally obligated, routine filing followed the recent merger between Overture Networks and Hatteras Networks that was announced March 1, 2011. As the company previously stated, it did not raise any additional cash related to the merger of Overture and Hatteras. As a privately held organization, Overture Networks does not disclose or discuss financial information.”
The merger deal, announced March 1, closed last week. The company revealed in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it raised $43.95 million from 18 investors March 9.
Overture previously raised $17.2 million in April for a total of $62 million from investors who include Morgenthaler Ventures, Intersouth Partners, TDF Fund, Tenaya Capital and QuestMark Partners.
Former Overture CEO Jeff Reedy will head the combined firm as CEO and former Hatteras CEO Kevin Sheehan is president.
The company sells an Ethernet services platform.
Tags: Ethernet services platform, financing, Hatteras Networks, Intersouth Partners, Jeff Reedy, Kevin Sheehan, merger, Morgenthaler Ventures, Overture Networks, QuestMark Partners, TDF Fund, Tenaya Capital, venture capital
Posted in Acquisitions, Carolinas, Internet/New Media, Money, North Carolina | No Comments »
Thursday, March 17th, 2011
 WASHINGTON, DC – The group local buying space just keeps getting hotter – at least for major players. LivingSocial, the DC based company probably second only to Chicago’s Groupon, is talking to investors about raising $500 million on a $2 billion valuation, according to reports by the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.
LivingSocial now offers it daily deals in more than 200 markets and putting people on the ground in most is part of what costs so much money.
The company raised $175 million from Amazon three months ago, following a $950 million raise by Groupon.
In December, LivingSocial said it brings in about $1 million a day.
Although both LivingSocial and Groupon are well-financed and have a huge lead in creating national organizations, both face competition from smaller players, often operating in just a handful of markets. We recently reported on Twongo, one such competitor based in the Research Triangle, which operates in several North Carolina and Canadian markets.
Sooner or later, we expect to see considerable consolidation in the space.
The company did hit a bit of a glitch with a 50-percent off Amazon coupon deal that drew such a large response that it angered some users due to delays in processing, dealing with attempts to cash in more than one coupon, and social media heat on its Facebook page.
See also:
www.techjournalsouth.com/2011/03/dc-based-livingsocial-looks-for-innovation-edge-in-infoether-acquisition/
www.techjournalsouth.com/2010/12/amazon-invests-175m-in-dc-based-livingsocial-lightspeed-adds-8m/
TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:
SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org
Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com
Digital East: www.digitaleast.com
Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com
Tags: Amazon coupon, group local buying, Groupon, LIvingSocial, Twongo, venture capital
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, March 16th, 2011
 DURHAM, NC -Advanced Animal Diagnostics (AAD), a developer of technologies for the rapid diagnosis of farm animal diseases, has closed an $11 million Series B round of equity financing. This investment in AAD represents the largest single investment in research and development to diagnose mastitis, the costliest disease for dairy producers worldwide. The financing was led by Intersouth Partners and included Novartis Venture Funds as well as other private investors.
The company expects this financing to support hiring for key positions, production and manufacturing, and on-farm economic trials of its first product line. The firm is currently seeking cooperators for those on-farm trials.
AAD is a research and development company dedicated to bringing highly accurate, rapid animal diagnostic tests to the farm. The company’s first on-farm product will focus on improving milk production and quality by controlling mastitis, an infection of the milk-producing gland.
Future products will monitor disease states, reproductive, nutritional and overall health status of production animals.
“With this investment, AAD will be able to bring to market a new generation of diagnostics technologies that will revolutionize the way farmers approach animal health, allowing them to detect and diagnose diseases in their animals more quickly and efficiently than ever before,” said Joy Parr Drach, president and CEO of AAD. “We appreciate that our investors recognize the opportunity of investments in agriculture.”
“Food producers are under increasing pressure. The value in AAD’s strong platform of technologies can help them improve animal health and profitability,” said Jimmy Rosen, partner at Intersouth Partners. “We’re excited to support this company and its technology.”
Dr. Simon Wheeler, managing director at Novartis Venture Fund added, “Novartis Venture Fund is confident that with its new technology, AAD will bring significant benefits to the dairy industry and enhance food production worldwide. The investment meets the aim of our fund to provide innovative patient benefit and supports Novartis’s mission to save, prolong and improve animal lives.”
TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:
SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org
Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com
Digital East: www.digitaleast.com
Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com
Tags: Advanced Animal Diagnostics, farm animal disease diagnostics, financing, hiring, Intersouth Partners, jobs, Novartis, venture capital
Posted in Carolinas, Money, North Carolina | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 15th, 2011
 WASHINGTON, DC – Sponto, a mobile platform to help college students find social events and parties, has closed on a $200,000 equity investment from Amplifier Ventures of McLean, VA.
The company says the funding will be used to complete the first commercial release of the Sponto event-sharing platform, to expand to new schools, and to grow its software development team. As part of the investment, Sponto has joined the Amplifier Business Accelerator Program.
Jamey Harvey, Sponto’s CEO and co-founder, said, “College students are looking for a way to manage their social and personal lives on their most used platform – the mobile device. We let them do that without having to worry about being friended by their adult relatives.”
The company intends to commercially launch its next generation offering on Android, iPhone and Blackberry in Washington, DC universities in the second quarter, and extend to other markets in time for the fall.
“Sponto lets students know ‘where the action’ is in real time, join in, publicize and meet up. We like mobile investments that offer users meaningful utility and value,” said Jonathan Aberman, Managing Director, Amplifier Ventures. “As the industry of real-time offers and couponing matures, a check-in free platform like Sponto offers advertisers the best opportunity to provide customers with location-based content at the right time and place.”
Sponto launched the first generation of its Android, iPhone and Blackberry apps exclusively at the University of Maryland late 2010 and has more than doubled its active user base since integrating with Facebook in March 2011.
TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:
SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org
Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com
Digital East: www.digitaleast.com
Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com
Tags: Amplifier Ventures, mobile apps, social event finder for college students, Sponto, Startups, venture capital
Posted in Internet/New Media, IT, Mobile, Money, Telecommunications | No Comments »
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