Stoke, the fixed-wireless convergence company, raises $15M more
Stoke, the company that wants to let you use your mobile phone or other device on your wireless carrier while on the go, but let you switch to your broadband connection at home, has raised $15 million more in a fourth round of financing.
The company recently partnered with WiFi Internet access provider Trustive, which has roaming agreements with more than 70 hotspot operators in more than 65 countries. The partnership will seek to enable a… Continue Reading
PeerApp takes $8M for peer-to-peer traffic policing
PeerApp, an infrastructure company for Internet service providers that helps them deal with peer-to-peer traffic, has raised an $8 million second round of funding less than a year after taking its first.
The company’s UltraBand caching system stores chunks of P2P files locally, so that repeated downloads of popular files don’t overburden the network. Tangential to the needs of the ISPs, the product can also speed up the downloads for the end user.
Over 100 UltraBand systems… Continue Reading
PeerApp raises $3M for streamlined peer-to-peer sharing
PeerApp, a company based in Newton, Mass., claims that its infrastructure solutions for internet service providers can reduce the costs for ISPs when dealing with peer-to-peer traffic, a claim that, if true, should get it plenty of business.
Many ISPs grumble about the cost of dealing with P2P traffic, and a major company, Comcast, is currently the target of an FCC probe investigating its handling of P2P traffic.
A recent agreement with Pando Networks has given PeerApp… Continue Reading
Life sciences briefing: Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007
Featured companies: Cyntellect, Lectus Therapeutics, NeoMatrix, Nexstim, Pearl Therapeutics, Proteon Therapeutics, SupplyScape
(UPDATED at 10am PT: See below.)
Airway-disease specialist Pearl Therapeutics raises $15.5M — Redwood City, Calif.-based Pearl Therapeutics, a drug-formulation company focused on respiratory disease, raised $15.5 million in a first funding round. Investors included New Leaf Ventures, Clarus Ventures and 5AM Ventures.
Pearl doesn’t appear to have a working Web site yet, but according to its release, the company aims to treat unspecified airway diseases using “particle… Continue Reading
Ntag raises $8.3M more for event social networking
Ntag, a Boston company that makes interactive name badges for people to wear at conferences and other events so that they can interact socially with people with similar interests, has raised $8.3 million in a second round of funding.
A helpful demo on the company’s home page shows how it works (see “networking” chapter for basics). A conference attendee signs up online before an event, enters his occupation, experience and other interests. Ntag then provides him… Continue Reading
BigBand Networks prices IPO shares at $13, to start trading today
BigBand Networks, a Redwood City, Calif. provider of routers for broadband networks, has priced its initial public offering shares at $13 per share, allowing it to raise $139 million.
It will offer 10.7 million shares for trading, which begins today.
This is the first IPO for Redpoint Ventures, a seven-year-old venture capital firm that was an early backer of Bigband, and owns 22.5 percent of the company.
Other major shareholders include Charles River Partners (19 percent), Meritech Capital… Continue Reading
Cable networks supplier, Bigband, files for $140M IPO
BigBand Networks, a Redwood City, Calif. company that sells technology to cable operators so they can offer video, voice and data services, has filed to go public and raise up to $140 million in common stock.
The company has raised about $100 million in financing since 1999 from multiple venture firms, including Redpoint Ventures, Cedar Funds, Charles River Partners, CommVest, Lauder, Meritech Capital, Time Warner Investments and Pilot House Ventures.
Grown up site Gather gets $10M from old media Hearst, McGraw-Hill & others
Gather.com, a social networking site focused on themes for “grown-ups,” from cooking to politics, said it has raised a $10 million round of financing.
Lead investor is Pilot House Ventures, and large media companies Hearst Corporation, and The McGraw-Hill Companies participated, along with Jack Connors, Chairman of Hill Holliday and Gather.com CEO Tom Gerace and his family.
The strategy is to build tight partnerships with leading media properties, as well as plans for international expansion.
It is noteworthy… Continue Reading