Solar ink maker Innovalight shines with $15M
Innovalight, a Sunnyvale, Calif. company that has developed solar ink (made of liquid-like solar cells) capable of being printed onto conducting surfaces to generate power, has brought in $15 million of an anticipated $20 million round of equity and rights, according to a filing with the SEC.
This brings the company’s total raised to $55 million, with backers including Arch Venture Partners, Apax Partners, Convexa Capital, Harris & Harris, Seven Rosen Funds, Leader Ventures and Silicon… Continue Reading
Spray-on solar ink is coming soon — to paint on roofs and generate energy
[Update: We've clarified this story to make clear that Innovalight is not involved with this project]
Technology to turn light-absorbing materials into nano-size particles to make so-called solar ink that can be sprayed on to roofs to generate energy, is apparently only three to five years from becoming a reality.
At least, that’s according to Brian Korgel, an entrepreneur and chemical engineer at the University of Texas at Austin. Korgel tells LiveScience that his project, which has… Continue Reading
Nuventix snags $8M to cool LED lighting systems
Nuventix, provider of technology that cools light emitting diode lighting systems, just tacked $8 million onto its third round of funding. Basically, it’s able to silently pump air onto the lights to ensure they don’t overheat. With so much demand for LED lighting systems from the commercial sector and government infrastructure projects (e.g. street and traffic lights), they’re becoming a vital part of the new, more energy-efficient economy.
Based in Austin, Tex., the company says it… Continue Reading
Aerovance inhales $38M for asthma drugs
Aerovance, developer of asthma medications, just brought in $38 million in a post-recapitalized third round of funding to push its lead drug candidate through a second phase of clinical trials. The company has already received $20 million, with the option of claiming the remaining $18 million as necessary.
Based in Berkeley, Calif., the company has already seen its drug, Aerovant, through the first part of second-phase trials. The company will use the new money to complete… Continue Reading
Pearl Therapeutics gathers $8M to treat breathing disorders
Pearl Therapeutics, a Redwood City, Calif.-based developer of inhaled drugs to treat respiratory diseases like COPD and asthma, just landed $8 million in venture debt from Oxford Finance and Silicon Valley Bank to expand its product line.
The company licensed particle-based technology from San Carlos, Calif.-based Nektar Therapeutics to improve inhaled drug targeting and lung distribution, cutting down on negative side effects. So far, it has not disclosed whether its products are in clinical trials or… Continue Reading
Expresso pulls in $14M for interactive cardio equipment
Is it just me or is one of the best things to hit the gym the mini TV screens now built into treadmills and ellipticals? For all those who now depend on a good episode of CSI to get them through their workout, there’s good news today out of Expresso Fitness, a company that markets exercise bikes to gyms with a media twist. It just raised $14 million in a round of venture debt and… Continue Reading
Clearleap jumps $3.3M to bring online video to TV
Clearleap, a company that delivers video from a range of different sources to your living room television screen, announced today that it pulled in $3.3 million in debt financing from Silicon Valley Bank. These funds follow hot on the heels of a $9 million first round kicked in by Trinity Ventures and Noro-Moseley Partners.
The young Atlanta-based company hopes to use set-top boxes and partnerships with TV service providers to bring online content to television sets…. Continue Reading
Games2win to be entertainment powerhouse; firm outwits pirates, launches game search engine
If I told you that a game company you’ve never heard of will be a top ten entertainment company in 2009, you’d probably laugh. But that’s the ambition of Alok Kejriwal, chief executive of Games2win, and his cofounder and chief technology officer, Mahesh Khambadkone.
It sure sounds like bluster. But I wouldn’t bet against these guys. They run one of the fastest-growing casual game companies in India. The Games2win site is a portal for casual Flash… Continue Reading
Innovalight rakes in $5M for solar cell ink
Investors Leader Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank have shined on solar cell company Innovalight, providing $5 million in new financing toward the development of silicon solar modules so small they can be painted onto surfaces like ink.
The Sunnyvale, Calif. company uses liquid processing of silicon to produce nanosize solar prarticles that are not only more efficient than crystalline wafers, but also much cheaper to make than regular solar panels. It received $28 million last year… Continue Reading
Digg beefs up its funding for major expansion plans
With over 30 million monthly unique users, Digg is a juggernaut of a site. Despite perpetual rumors of an imminent acquisition by major players like Google or Microsoft, the social voting site is now gearing up for a major expansion on its own. And it’s just secured a big round of funding to make that expansion possible.
Interestingly, almost half of Digg’s users are outside of the U.S. now, the service claims on its blog. So… Continue Reading
Daptiv scores more funding for project management software, continuing on growth trajectory
Still on its quest to become the Salesforce.com of project portfolio management (PPM), Seattle startup Daptiv has raised $9 million more to develop and market its platform to large companies.
PPM, for those of you who haven’t spent much time in a cubicle, refers to the sets of goals, objectives and steps required for completing large projects. In essence, it’s how corporations keep their internal operations ticking along. Given the size and complexity of most modern… Continue Reading
Roundup: Amazon takes over reader social networking, IE8 to subtract ads, bad signs from China and more
Amazon buys social network for book lovers — Shelfari, a small social network for bibliophiles, has been acquired by Amazon.com, according to John Cook at the Seattle PI. Amazon also has a stake in Shelfari’s main competitor, LibraryThing.
Internet Explorer to subtract some ads — A feature called InPrivate Blocking will stop tracking pixels that help advertisers see where you have been on the web, while another privacy feature will prevent information like cookies and browsing history from… Continue Reading
InnerWireless takes on $9.5M in debt for in-building wireless
InnerWireless didn’t try to be too creative when choosing their name — they are more or less what the name says. The company provides a platform that links and extends various wireless networks including WiFi, ultrawideband and passive RFID signals within buildings like hospitals.
That platform is used for two main services the company offers: One, Horizon, unifies wireless to guarantee reliable, standards-based access within a building; the other, PanGo, is a location-based technology for tracking… Continue Reading
Life-science briefing: Friday, March 28, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
VaxGen, Raven Bio terminate merger agreement (release)
Aerovance gets $20M in venture debt for respiratory disease (release)
EKOS raises $5M for ultrasound catheters (peHUB)
Intelligent Bio-Systems draws $353K for high-speed genome sequencing (peHUB)
Quintessence Bio takes in $5M for cancer-directed proteins (VentureWire)
7 Health Ventures adds three members to investment team (release)
Contract manufacturer Cytovance names Darren Head CEO (release)
VaxGen, Raven Bio terminate merger agreement – A weirdly structured, always hard-to-understand merger between the failed vaccine biotech VaxGen and startup Raven Biotechnologies… Continue Reading
Agito Networks emerges with $9M for WiFi-cellular convergence
Agito Networks, a Silicon Valley company that allows companies to lower the cost of voice communications by routing them over WiFi networks instead of using cellular networks, has emerged with $9 million in funding.
Mobile phones used within such networks need to be WiFi enabled, and run with Agito software. Agito’s product also requires companies run an Agito appliance on top of their WiFi network to manage the routing.
Battery Ventures led the investment in the Sunnyvale,… Continue Reading
Roundup: Forterra, Appfuel, AOL’s plans? and more
Here’s a summary of the latest action. See below for more:
1) In-Q-Tel invests in Forterra Systems, a private virtual world creator
2) Appfuel, another Facebook ad network, but with better ad targeting
3) AOL to spin out advertising arm?
4) Project Playlist, for sharing music playlists on other sites, raises $3 million
5) Four Interactive, a local business review site, gets $10 million from Valley VC’s
In-Q-Tel invests in Forterra Systems, a private virtual world creator – San Mateo-based Forterra’s software… Continue Reading
Silicon Valley Bank raising $50M for India venture fund
SVB Capital is raising up to $50 million for its first India-focused venture capital fund, according to a regulatory filing cited by PE Week. It already has secured over $33 million in capital commitments.