Evernote, the startup that boosts your memory, raises $10 million
Evernote, which lets you record almost any type of data and recall it when you need it, just raised $10 million in a second round of venture-backed financing. It was led by Morgenthaler Ventures, with more funding from earlier investors including Troika Dialog. (The startup said it raised $2 million from NTT DoCoMo in October on top of $4.5 million in a venture-backed round in January. They also raised $6 million in angel funding back… Continue Reading
Satiety fills up on $25.3M for obesity treatments
Satiety, maker of a minimally-invasive medical device that reduces obesity, has raised $25.3 million of an anticipated $33 million round of equity and rights, according to a filing with the SEC. The Palo Alto, Calif. company was previously backed by HLM Venture Partners, Morgenthaler Ventures, Pinnacle Ventures, Skyline Ventures, Thomas Fogarty, Three Arch Partners and Venrock. It has raised four rounds of funding to date, not including a $7.5 million bridge loan from its investors… Continue Reading
Force10 lands $30M for networking hardware
Force10 Networks, developer of 10-gigabit networking hardware, has raised $30 million in equity, according to regulatory filings. The San Jose, Calif. company previously raised $125 million in its last, sixth round of funding in 2007. Past backers include Advanced Equities, Crosslink Capital, Meritech Investment Partners, Morgenthaler Ventures, U.S. Venture Partners, Worldview Technology Partners and New Enterprise Associates.
Force10 provides routers and switches to web-based giants like Facebook and eHarmony to help them manage large volumes of… Continue Reading
ForSight startup takes in $6M for advanced eye care
ForSight Vision4, the fourth vision technology startup incubated by ForSight Labs, has brought in $6 million in venture capital, reports VentureWire. While no investors in this recent round were named, the firm’s past companies have been backed by Morgenthaler Ventures, Split Rock Partners and Versant Ventures.
Based in Menlo Park, Calif., ForSight Labs has spun off four companies to date, each focusing on technology and devices used to provide advanced eye care. Its first company, glaucoma… Continue Reading
Relievant Medsystems raises $20M to treat lower back pain
Relievant Medsystems, maker of minimally invasive procedures used to treat chronic lower back pain, has brought in $20 million in private equity from Morgenthaler Ventures, Canaan Partners, Emergent Medical Partners and ONSET Ventures.
Based in Redwood City, Calif., the company has conducted a small pilot study testing out the effectiveness of its lead procedure and has seen positive results. The device used allows spine surgeons to relieve nerve pain in just the lower back without damaging… Continue Reading
Sans IPO, Bayhill secures $350M in Genentech licensing deal
Months after giving up on its IPO hopes last year — when the market was especially brutal for lifescience companies — Bayhill Therapeutics has landed a licensing deal worth $25 million in upfront cash and equity with Genentech. It could bring in as much as $325 million more if it hits certain sales and regulatory milestones, joining the ranks of several biotech firms that ditched public offerings for lucrative equity deals, VentureWire reports (citing Elixir… Continue Reading
Transcend Medical sees $20M for glaucoma device
Transcend Medical, maker of devices used to treat glaucoma, brought in $20 million of an anticipated $40 million round of equity, reports VentureWire. Based in Menlo Park, Calif., the company brought in $9.4 million in a first round of funding in 2006 from Morgenthaler Ventures, Split Rock Partners and Versant Ventures.
Satiety secures $7.5M bridge for tummy tuck shortcut
Satiety, maker of a minimally-invasive device that shrinks stomach capacity via the mouth, has landed a $7.5 million bridge loan from its existing investors — a group that includes Skyline Ventures, HLM Venture Partners, Pinnacle Ventures, Morgenthaler Ventures, Three Arch Partners, Venrock and medical inventor Thomas Fogarty, reports VentureWire.
Based in Palo Alto, Calif., the company is still developing its lead product, called the TOGA System, which makes users feel sufficiently full after eating very little…. Continue Reading
Ardian pumps in $47M for high blood pressure device
Ardian , developer of a device that could help treat high blood pressure, has brought in $47 million in a third round of funding led by Medtronic and including Emergent Medical Partners , Advanced Technology Ventures , Morgenthaler Ventures and Split Rock Partners .
Based in Palo Alto, the company claims that its technology relieves hypertension and risk of coronary disease or stroke to a greater degree than drug treatments like ACE inhibitors and beta blockers.
Ardian… Continue Reading
Lending Club raises $12M more for peer-to-peer loans
Lending Club, a website where people looking to borrow money can connect with lenders, has raised $12 million in a second round of funding.
Given the extent to which credit has dried up, it’s not hard to see why borrowers would be interested in peer-to-peer lending sites, rather than going through a bank; The New York Times wrote about the phenomenon last fall. Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Lending Club says the number of loans made through the site… Continue Reading
Medical device maker Emphasys on the auction block
Emphasys Medical, maker of a valve that diverts air to only the healthy parts of lungs in emphysema patients, has put itself up for sale after the Food and Drug Administration rejected its lead product in December. This is the second relatively recent defeat for the Redwood City, Calif.-based company, which had to withdraw its IPO filing last May. Since then, all but five of its 50 employees have been laid off.
Founded in 2000, Emphasys… Continue Reading
Ardian nabs $30M to treat heart failure
Ardian, maker of a device used to treat symptoms of congestive heart failure, just brought in $30 million of an anticipated $60 million third round of capital, according to peHUB. Backers of the Menlo Park, Calif. company include Advanced Technology Ventures, Morgenthaler Ventures and St. Paul Venture Capital. It previously raised $18 million.
Founded in 2003, the tiny, web site-less firm was initially incubated at the Foundry.
Force10 and Turin merge, pool their capital and clients
Network builder Force10 Networks has merged with Ethernet services provider Turin Networks to create a powerhouse in both spaces, with an impressive list of clients, numbering 1,300 (including eHarmony and Facebook), reports peHUB. More significant than that is the marrying of two significant pots of venture capital. Since their nearly simultaneous founding a decade ago, Force10 has raised $400 million, and Turin $250 million.
Combined under the Force10 name, the new entity, based in San Jose,… Continue Reading
Jaspersoft raises $12.5M for open source business intelligence
Jaspersoft, a provider of open-source business intelligence software, has raised $12.5 million in new funding. The round was led by Adams Street Partners, with participation from leading open-source company Red Hat and Jaspersoft’s previous investors Scale Venture Partners, SAP Ventures, DCM, Morgenthaler Ventures, and Partech International.
The San Francisco company last raised a $12 million fourth round in 2007. Jaspersoft says that with 7 million downloads, it offers the most-downloaded business intelligence software in the world…. Continue Reading
Catalyst lands $40M to combat disease-causing proteins
Catalyst Biosciences has raked in $40.4 million in third-round funding to continue engineering an enzyme called protease to fight disease-causing proteins. The technology has the potential to affect many different diseases, including cancer and hemophilia. It has R&D agreements with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and Centocor Research & Development.
Based in South San Francisco, the company received its recent round from new investor Essex Woodlands Health Ventures and previous backers Burrill & Company, HealthCare Ventures, Johnson & Johnson… Continue Reading
Set-top box co. Sezmi cuts staff despite new $33M
Personalized television service Sezmi announced that it has laid off about 20 of its employees even though it just brought in a $33 million tranche of an anticipated $51.5 million third round of funding. The Belmont, Calif. company cited the poor economy as its rationale. It is just one of many tech companies cutting staff to conserve cash in preparation for tighter times ahead.
Sezmi’s service comes with a set-top box that brings both high-definition broadcast… Continue Reading
Morgenthaler Ventures closes $400M ninth fund
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Morgenthaler Ventures, a Menlo Park, Calif. venture firm focused on early-stage investments in information technology and life sciences, has completed a $400 million raise for its ninth fund to date.
Despite its long-held focus on first investments for young startups, the firm said it will be opening up to more second- and third-round fundings with this fund. However, in this fund Morgenthaler won’t be making private equity investments with its buyout team in Cleveland, OH and… Continue Reading
Force10 rolls out virtualization products
Force10 Networks, a developer of 10-gigabit networking hardware, will be launching a new line of products over the next half year to help companies set up automated and virtual networks. Currently, it provides routers and switches to web companies like Facebook and eHarmony, to help them manage large amounts of data over their local networks, reports VentureWire.
In this pursuit, Force10 faces a full field of competition including Woven Systems, Foundry Networks, Cisco Systems and Juniper… Continue Reading
OncoMed nabs $93M for stem cell programs
OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, a company working to fight cancer using stem cells, added a $93 million tranche to a second round of funding that now totals $154 million. The money will be used to push its lead antibody candidate through phase-two clinical trials.
The Redwood City, Calif. firm specializes in developing treatments to target cancer stem cells — the cells that cause tumor growth and renewal. They are unique in their resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments…. Continue Reading
Optiscan adds $5M tranche for glucose monitor
Optiscan Biomedical, developer of a less-invasive human glucose monitor for hospitals, received an additional $5 million in a second round of funding that now totals $53 million. The boost came from Wexford Capital, reports VentureWire.
The Hayward, Calif.-based company plans to use its new resources to see its product through clinical trials next year. While it has already been tested on humans, it has yet to receive the stamp of approval from the Food and Drug… Continue Reading