Report: Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia cutting back
The National Venture Capital Association and PricewaterhouseCoopers won’t be releasing their report on fourth quarter venture investments until later tonight, but Private Equity Hub has already published a list of the 10 biggest investors using the same data from Thomson Reuters. Pretty much all of the firms shrank their investments compared to the previous quarter; Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the two biggest names in venture capital, both funded less than half… 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
Life-science briefing: Monday, March 24, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Trius Therapeutics raises $30M for new antibiotics (release)
Genomas gets $1.2M grant for genomic side-effect tests (release)
Provasculon receives $500K, enters Biogen Idec incubator (VentureWire)
Animal diagnostics firm Quadraspec aims for $5M round (VentureWire)
MPM Capital names two executive partners (release)
Trius Therapeutics raises $30M for new antibiotics – Trius Therapeutics, a San Diego startup developing new treatments for antibiotic-resistant infections, raised $30 million in a second funding round. Investors included Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, FinTech Global Capital, Sofinnova… Continue Reading
Navigenics finally offers you a peek at your genome — except not really, and not yet
(UPDATED: See below.)
So at long last, one of the personal-genomics companies we’ve been writing about since May has finally launched its service. Navigenics, the Redwood City, Calif., startup that promises users a “personalized genetics analysis” so they can better manage their health risks, kicked off its business yesterday with a drum-rolling press release and a story clearly handed to the WSJ. (For a non-subscription version, click here.)
Except that, as it turns out, Navigenics hasn’t really launched… Continue Reading
Life sciences briefing: Thursday, Oct. 11, 2007
Featured companies: Ablynx, Bind Biosciences, Maas Biolab, Oriel Therapeutics, ThromboVision, Xcellerex
(UPDATED: See below.)
Contract biomanufacturer Xcellerex pulls in $31M — Marlborough, Mass.-based Xcellerex, a startup that provides contract “bioprocess” development and manufacturing, raised $31 million in a third funding round. Investors included VantagePoint Venture Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, and SCG Investments.
Xcellerex develops modular “turnkey” manufacturing systems for complex biomolecules such as the proteins, peptides, antibodies and nucleic acids used in biotech drugs and vaccines. The… Continue Reading