EcoSmart Technologies raises $5M for natural pesticides
EcoSmart Technologies wants to dispense with manufactured chemical compounds, and look to nature for ways to discourage unwanted insects. The Alpharetta, GA company has raised $5 million more to help commercialize its insecticides, according to a filing acquired by VentureBeat.
EcoSmart makes a line of pesticides derived from plants that have natural defenses against pests. Among the company’s products are insecticides for commercial and agricultural use, but it also sells aerosol sprays for use by consumers…. Continue Reading
Kleiner Perkins invests in second oil exploration company, GloriOil
Kleiner Perkins, the Silicon Valley venture capital firm that preaches the need to invest in green technologies and reduce global warming, has invested in a second company that seeks to produce more oil.
The firm has joined an Indian research group, TERI, and private equity investor GTI to invest $10 million in Houston’s GloriOil, a company boasting a new technology that helps oil companies get more oil out of existing wells.
This follow news in March that… Continue Reading
Think Global gets $60M more for practical electric car
Norwegian electric car company Think Global AS, aiming to roll out its first electric vehicles this years, said it has raised $60 million in its second round of financing.
Its the latest electric car company to get significant funding, following Silicon Valley’s Tesla Motors, which is building a high-end, all-electric sports car.
The two companies are partnering, with Tesla providing batteries for the Think, a much smaller, more practical car.
Think has now raised $85 million this year…. Continue Reading
Clean technology investments, elaborated
Ok, you’ve heard versions this headline before: “Investments in clean technologies doubled last year, compared to the year before.”
So far, definitions of clean technology have remained vague, and we’ve remained suspicious about the accuracy of industry data on investments in this area.
Today, Dow Jones Venture One has released a more precise definition of what “clean technology.” Earlier, the group also tightened the definition of “Web 2.0″ investments, which greatly improved upon previous efforts.
In 2006,… Continue Reading
Fat Spaniel raises $3.5 million more for solar monitoring technology
Fat Spaniel, the San Jose start-up that helps energy and other companies manage the distribution and billing of energy usage, has raised $3.5 million more from Draper Fisher Jurvetson’s cleantech fund, DFJ Element, and Chrysalix Energy.
Fat Spaniel serves the distributed renewable energy area, including solar.
The funding follows a $3.5 million injection in April (scroll down) by DFJ Element, and so gives the start-up a total of $7 million in venture backing (here is the company’s… Continue Reading