Vapore adds $500K to venture round for medical vaporizing device
Vapore, maker of a device that quickly and efficiently turns liquid medications into vapors for easier administration, has brought in $500,000 to add to its already $2 million first round of venture funding, reports Dow Jones VentureWire. The Alameda, Calif. company says it will now seek $2 million more in a second round of funding, slated to close in the first half of 2010. It is backed by RSH Ventures, Band of Angels, Kereitsu Forum… Continue Reading
ShotSpotter refines gunshot sensors with QinetiQ buy
ShotSpotter, maker of sensory systems used to detect gunshots, has acquired technology from British defense firm QinetiQ for an undisclosed amount. The deal will extend ShotSpotter’s reach into new markets, including law enforcement and military combat.
The Mountain View, Calif., company provides equipment used to pinpoint the exact location of gunshots, allowing authorities to properly respond. Unsurprisingly, its roster of 40 customers includes city governments, police departments and military groups. Its sensors are currently active in… Continue Reading
Symantec snaps up Mi5 to grow its small business protections
Symantec announced that it has bought web security firm Mi5 Networks to expand its portfolio of security software tailored to small businesses. With the Sunnyvale, Calif. company’s technology, the corporation plans to strengthen its abilities to analyze all of the web traffic entering and exiting business web sites. No further details were disclosed about the all-cash deal.
In addition to the acquisition, Symantec also announced it will be rolling out a new suite of security software… Continue Reading
Kid-oriented online video game firm Fluid Entertainment gets $3.2M
Video games are becoming an addiction for venture capitalists.
Fluid Entertainment, a kid-oriented online video game company, is near a test launch of its massively multiplayer online game and it is the latest to benefit from a round of VC money. The company’s game has relatively simple Flash-based graphics for children ages six to 11 and has an environmentally conscious theme, said Greg Jones, CEO of the Mill Valley, Calif.-based company.
The company has raised $3.2 million… Continue Reading
Fyreball raises $1M for alternative email
A Seattle-area startup headed by former members of the Halo development team says it is planning on bringing a gaming element to email.
The Fyreball team has deliberately remained hazy on details, but did say that its email alternative “allows users to track messages and discussions as they circulate around the Web,” according to the Seattle P-I. Fyreball’s founder, Peter Parsons, was formerly a general manager at Bungie Studios.
The $1 million funding came from a combined… Continue Reading
Quorum, cellphone chip maker, sold to Spreadtrum for $70M
Spreadtrum Communications, a Shanghai maker of wireless chips, has acquired Quorum Systems, a San Diego, Calif., CMOS RF transceiver maker, and its unclear whether Quorum’s Silicon Valley investors were able to make a significant return.
The deal is valued at $70 million including $55 million in cash and $15 million in stock. It also includes a $6 million cash earn-out over two years, based on performance.
Quorum had raised almost $40 million in funding from firms like… Continue Reading
Pluggd raises $6M for audio-video word search
Pluggd, a Seattle company that lets you search audio and video files for words or themes, has raised just under $6 million in financing.
Pluggd is a hot company because it does something well that few others have been able to match. You can search for “iPhone,” and Pluggd will give you a heat map showing all the places in the video file where iPhone is mentioned or even themes related to the iPhone. Click on… Continue Reading
Roundup: Digg’s deal, Facebook, Stage6, AideRSS, Toyota’s plug-in, Google & more
Here’s the latest action:
Digg, the news-ranking site, signs big advertising deal with Microsoft — It is similar to the one signed by Facebook with Microsoft, says co-founder Kevin Rose.
Divx to spin off its Stage6 video-sharing site: Stage6, a site featuring user-created videos that uses technology from its publicly traded parent company Divx, has been growing so fast that Divx has experienced a sharp up-tick in operating expenses, lowering its overall operating income. So San Diego’s DivX… Continue Reading
Therative raises $9M for pimple-device ads
Therative, a Livermore, Calif., medical-device maker, raised $9 million in a third round of financing, largely to fund television ads for its consumer-oriented acne product.
Therative makes and markets a pimple-clearing device called ThermaClear, which received FDA “clearance” for direct consumer sales last year. The device releases pulses of heat designed to kill bacteria inside pimples, supposedly in a manner similar to laser treatments offered by dermatologists. The company sells ThermaClear over the Internet for $149.95.
Bessemer… Continue Reading
Taleo buys job applicant management company, JobFlash
Taleo, a Dublin, Calif. company that provides software that helps businesses align their workforce to improve peformance, has agreed to acquire the assets of privately-held JobFlash, for $3 million in cash.
JobFlash is based in Fremont, Calif.
Here is the statement:
Founded in 2002, JobFlash enables employers to interact with the broadest pool of job seekers by providing multilingual telephone interactive voice response (IVR) and interview scheduling. With more than 60 customers and over 1,000 hiring locations,… Continue Reading
Therative, acne treatment co., raises more cash
Therative, a Livermore, Calif. company that makes a medical device to treat acne, said it has raised a second round of financing, and received approval from the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to market the device.
The hand-held device is called ThermaClear. The additional cash amount wasn’t disclosed, however the company said (see press release) that total amount raised is $5 million.
Leading the round were Foundation Capital, RWI Ventures and Band of Angels.
The company also… Continue Reading
Roundup: Slim Devices, ChaCha, Digg, eBay ibank of Web 2.0, more
SlimDevices to release latest Squeezebox — The come-out-of-nowhere Mountain View start-up sells a device that lets you play your music anywhere in the house, and hooks up with all kinds of services, from Pandora to Rhapsody. Its latest one will sell for $2,000 device; the NYT has the scoop. This scrappy company is run by 20-somthing Sean Adams, and to our knowledge he has made do with a mere $330,000 from angels (though he may have… Continue Reading