Navy taps Solazyme to make jet fuel out of algae

Navy taps Solazyme to make jet fuel out of algae

The Pentagon announced today that it has chosen San Francisco-based biofuel company Solazyme to supply the Navy with jet fuel made entirely of algae derivatives. This isn’t the first time it has worked with the military, having already had its research and development funded by the Navy in exchange for 20,000 gallons of fuel for its ships.

The oils produced by Solazyme’s algae act as a full replacement for petroleum-based fuel, not simply an additive. Some… Continue Reading

Tween mobile provider Kajeet bags $1M

Tween mobile provider Kajeet bags $1M

Kajeet, the cell phone service provider for kids and tweens, closed a $1.05 million second-round of venture backing to continue product and market development. The Bethesda, Md.-based company is coming off a big win last week, striking a deal with Amazon to sell its phones through the site’s wireless store (it also landed a coveted spot on Amazon’s holiday toy list).

It’s currently selling four different youthful models on the site — built by Samsung, LG… Continue Reading

ManageSoft brings in $2M for compliance software

ManageSoft Holdings, developer of software that manages the transfer of information between desktop computers and datacenters, has nabbed $2 million in debt financing from BlueCrest Capital Finance, reports VentureWire.

The Boston-based company’s top product is called Enterprise Compliance Manager, a software platform that allows its clients to check the software it currently runs against a full inventory of the software it owns. That way they can determine if a piece of software is properly licensed across… Continue Reading

Electronics warranty company SquareTrade raises $4M in debt financing

SquareTrade, a company that offers extended warranties for consumer electronics and appliances, has raised another $4 million in debt financing, according to VentureWire.

The San Francisco company says its warranties cost, on average, 40 percent less than a normal retail deal. It raised more than $14 million previously, most recently in 2001. The new funding comes from BlueCrest Capital Finance.

Solicore, maker of flexible, rechargeable batteries, raises $5M in debt

Solicore, maker of flexible, rechargeable batteries, raises $5M in debt

Solicore, the Lakeland, FL owner of the Flexion brand of batteries, has raised an additional $5 million in venture debt from BlueCrest Capital FInance, according to VentureWire.

Flexion batteries are made from lithium polymer, an environmentally safe mix that also allows for a thickness of less than half a millimeter. That width, in turn, allows for a great deal of flexibility, so that the battery can be… Continue Reading

Corporate social networking site Mzinga buys Prospero

Corporate social networking site Mzinga buys Prospero

Workplace social networking company Mzinga has raised a hefty $32.5 million, and used some of that money to purchase a similar company called Prospero Technologies. Until now, Mzinga has focused on in-company social networks, but the acquisition should allow it to create similar offerings on the customer side, which is Prospero’s specialty.

The big gain for Mzinga appears to be Prospero’s social media technology, which allows companies to interact with their customers through social networking, advertising,… Continue Reading

Life sciences briefing: Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2007

Life sciences briefing: Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2007

Featured companies: NeurAxon, TechniScan Medical Systems, ViewRay, Advion BioSystems, NanoTek, Cerionx, Ionscope, EncorePath

NeurAxon to raise $25M for pain treatment – Waltham, Mass.-based NeurAxon, which just named Lawrence Bloch as its new CEO last week, now plans to raise $25 million in a second funding round this quarter, VentureWire reports (subscription required). The round is slated to wrap up when — and if — the company’s lead drug, a migraine treatment that targets an enzyme called neuronal nitric… Continue Reading

Packet Design raises $4M in debt financing for network management equipment

Packet Design, a provider of network management equipment, has raised $4 million in debt financing from BlueCrest Capital Finance, according to VentureWire (subscription required).

Previously, the company raised $32.5 million in venture capital from Advanced Technology Ventures, Mayfield Fund, Allegis Capital, Masthead Venture Partners.

Google-jilted Olive Software gets $5 million for XML software

Google-jilted Olive Software gets $5 million for XML software

Olive Software appears to have survived a tough rejection by Google last year.

The Santa Clara, Calif. company helps transfer off-line content into a format which Google can search. It converts PDF documents, microfilm and any other files to XML. Google courted the company aggressively, and did so much analysis of the company’s technology that some at the company felt violated when Google abandoned it at the altar.

However, Olive has just gotten new funding, $5 million… Continue Reading