Green investing bounces back from recession
Venture Capital investment in green technology companies has jumped to tie pre-recessionary levels, according to a new report out of Greentech Media. With $1.9 billion spread over 112 deals, this year’s third quarter trounced figures from earlier this year, signaling a stronger than anticipated comeback for the sector, which took a beating during the economic downturn last fall.
To put the recent numbers in context: the second quarter this year saw $1.2 billion distributed across 85… Continue Reading
Serious Materials puts together $60M for green building supplies
Serious Materials, a developer and manufacturer of green building materials like windows and drywall, announced today that it has brought in $60 million in a third round of venture funding. The Sunnyvale, Calif. company didn’t say how it plans to use the money, though it has been building up its sales staff in recent months.
One of the highest-profile green buildings companies in the Silicon Valley, Serious Materials has now raised $120 million in financing…. Continue Reading
Simply Hired hits profitability with new $4.6M
Simply Hired, a job listing search engine based in the Silicon Valley, announced today that it has crossed into profitability with a new $4.6 million in fourth-round capital from IDG Ventures and Foundation Capital. The company is also marking four consecutive quarters of positive cash flow.
Simply Hired says it plans to use the funds to expand its global presence, making it one of the top job databanks in the business. It will also grow its… Continue Reading
EnerNOC raises $78.1M with secondary offering
EnerNOC (ENOC.O) has sold off 3.75 million shares of common stock, with each share priced at $27. The sale would raise $101.3 million total for the demand response leader. About 625,000 of these shares (worth $17 million) are coming out of Foundation Capital’s stake in the company.
After investors take their returns from the sale, EnerNOC should reap a net $78.1 million, which it plans to use for working capital and to fuel a potential acquisition… Continue Reading
EnerNOC files for secondary offering, scales down Foundation stake
Public demand response company EnerNOC has filed to sell an additional 3.75 million shares of common stock — including shares currently owned by investor Foundation Capital, which is attempting to dial down its ownership. The Boston-based company says it plans to use the money raised as working capital.
Right now, the firm owns about 14 percent of the company, according to VentureWire. After the sale, it will only own 9.4 percent. About 660,000 of the shares… Continue Reading
SunRun takes $18M, advice from Accel to make solar consumer-friendly
SunRun, a company that sells rooftop-generated solar power to residential consumers for flat monthly fees (and a one-time startup cost), announced today that it raised $18 million in a second round of funding to market its services even more broadly.
Backed primarily by Accel Partners, SunRun is also implementing an aggressive web-based strategy to boost its profile and attract interest. It says Accel gave it helpful tips to grow traffic on its web site, now at… Continue Reading
ONStor sells for $25M, taking $105M in capital down with it
ONStor, the ill-fated maker of data storage equipment for enterprises, has sold to software provider LSI Corporation for about $25 million, a paltry sum compared to the $130 million in venture capital it raised since its founding in 2001.
The big losers in the deal are ONStor’s fairly prestigious investors, including Foundation Capital, Velocity Interactive Group, Mayfield Fund and Worldview Technology Partners, among others.
Signs of trouble arose in April 2008 when the Campbell, Calif., company yanked… Continue Reading
eMeter takes $32M to help utilities switch to smart meters
eMeter, maker of software that helps utilities integrate data channeled from new smart meters in residential and commercial areas, has brought in $32 million in a third round of funding to meet rising demand.
While this financing, provided by Sequoia Capital and Foundation Capital, will help the San Mateo, Calif., company expand its marketing efforts and deliver more product, it says it’s still waiting for utilities to receive their chunks of the $4.5 billion in stimulus… Continue Reading
Report: Yahoo acquires Xoopit; will Yahoo Mail get even more social?
Yahoo is about to acquire Xoopit, a startup that brings social tools into email programs like Yahoo Mail and Gmail, for $20 million, according to multiple press reports.
The Wall Street Journal and BoomTown (both owned by Dow Jones, incidentally) have reported on the deal — the WSJ says talks are in their final stages, but BoomTown says the deal is done. I’ve emailed Yahoo, Xoopit, and Xoopit investor Accel Partners; Yahoo and Accel say they’re… Continue Reading
AdWhirl raises $1M for ad platform
One problem iPhone app developers wrestle with is which ad network to sign up with. It can take a couple of weeks to switch ad providers because the app needs to be re-approved by Apple.
AdWhirl is what computer programmers would call a meta-network. Through AdWhirl, app makers can choose and change ad networks on the fly. They can even let AdWhirl auto-switch among networks, like a load balancer, to maximize the return on their ad… Continue Reading
Horsley Bridge closes $1.5B fund of funds
Horsley Bridge Partners, a San Francisco firm that invests in venture capital and small buyout firms, has closed a new fund of funds at $1.54 billion targeted specifically for Europe and Asia, reports VentureWire. Existing limited partners provided 95 percent of the financing, but the only one that has been disclosed so far is Kentucky Retirement Systems, which gave $50 million.
In the past, Horsley has taken funds from the California Institute of Technology, Eastman Kodak… Continue Reading
Freewheel nabs $12M for online video advertising
FreeWheel, an online video advertising platform that helps broker revenue-share deals between content providers, distributors and publishers, has closed $12 million in a third round of funding provided by Foundation Capital and Battery Ventures.
Based in San Mateo, Calif., the company counts Joost, Next New Networks and car ad network Jumpstart Automotive Media among its clients — which include 15 ad networks and distributon partners and 15 content providers. It also works with CBS and Warner… Continue Reading
Data switch-maker Hammerhead dead in the water
Telecom data-switching company Hammerhead Systems has folded due to the poor economy, reports VentureWire. Specifically, the Mountain View, Calif.-based company failed to recruit enough mobile carriers as customers for its Ethernet aggregation switches, which rout data from mobile users back to operator networks.
The company claims this functionality helped carriers adapt aging equipment to modern traffic demands — but to no avail. It just let go 50 of its 53 employees, and the several that remain… Continue Reading
Silver Spring pumps another $15M into smart grid tech
Silver Spring Networks, a company that wirelessly connects residential smart meters with utilities, has added another $15 million to its now $90 million fourth round of funding, reports VentureWire. Open since October, the round will help the company expand and bring more utilities into its fold.
Silver Spring, which competes with other smart grid meter companies like GridPoint, Ambient and SmartSynch, says it has about 500,000 homes in its network. These homes are outfitted with meters… Continue Reading
Numerate racks up $5.5M for drug engineering technology
Numerate, a San Bruno, Calif.-based biotech company that streamlines pharmaceutical production pipelines and intellectual property protections, brought in $5.5. million in a second round of funding, according to peHUB. Called the Drug Engineering Process, its system helps research teams set and methodically achieve milestones across different areas, the company says. In its two case studies, it refined therapies for diabetes and HIV.
The funds came from Foundation Capital and Lanza TechVentures. Numerate has bagged $4 million… Continue Reading
Pixazza nabs $3.1 to turn web images into e-commerce links
Pixazza, a company that lets web publishers turn their images into links where users can buy whatever is pictured, just brought in $3.1 million of an anticipated $5.22 million first round of funding from CMEA Ventures, August Capital and Foundation Capital, reports VentureWire. The Mountain View, Calif. company used to be called BeMuz.
Pixazza is added to websites as a few lines of Javascript. Other members of the Pixazza community then manually add the links to… Continue Reading
Compliance software maker Autonomic fails to rebrand, shutters
Autonomic Networks, the very recently reinvented version of Vernier Networks, has finally given up the ghost after failing to raise a new round of capital. The Mountain View, Calif.-based maker of software that monitored compliance with network security protocols had just launched a beta of its lead product in October. At that point, it already had five clients enlisted for the trial and expected to bring on seven more.
But even then it was running on… Continue Reading
Jasper Design connects $7M for circuit verification software
Jasper Design Automation just raised $7 million in fourth round funding from ZenShin Capital, Cambrian Ventures, Foundation Capital and Accel Partners, reports VentureWire. The Mountain View, Calif. company makes software that allows chip designers to check that new features or changes they introduce don’t interfere with the functionality of the original products they are working on. It currently counts Qualcomm, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Nvidia and Sony among its clients.
The recent investment round will be… Continue Reading
Pano Logic closes $6M more for virtual desktops
Pano Logic, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based provider of software and computing equipment used to run virtual Windows desktops from data centers, has brought in $6 million more, upping its second round of funding to $18 million. It already has a customer base of 150, including SanDisk and Bank of Montreal, according to VentureWire.
The company says its technology lets several people use the same computer at once, cutting down on the number of computers needed by… Continue Reading
Textbook site Chegg.com raises $25M from Kleiner Perkins
Textbook rental site Chegg.com announced today that it has raised $25 million in a third round of funding led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Foundation Capital.
That’s an impressive amount of cash, especially with the current economy and what some see as Kleiner’s move away from web investments. But Chegg’s co-founder and chief executive Osman Rashid says the Santa Clara, Calif. startup has already proven that its business model is sound. When the company… Continue Reading