Email assistant Cc:Betty raises $1.5M
Cc:Betty, a startup that helps users organize their email, announced today that it has raised $1.5 million in seed funding. The round was led by Venrock, the firm where co-founder and chief executive Michael Cerda incubated the company as an entrepreneur in residence.
The Palo… Continue Reading
Boston Power puts Massachusetts on the battery map with $9M
Boston Power, maker of advanced batteries for electric vehicles, has struck a deal with the Massachusetts state government for $9 million in matching funds to make its new manufacturing facility in Auburn, Mass. a reality. The funds will help get the ball rolling as the… Continue Reading
Valero inherits hefty stake in ethanol producer Qteros
Oil and gas company Valero Energy has acquired an undisclosed stake in Qteros, maker of microbial ethanol, along with other assets divvied up from bankrupt ethanol producer VeraSun Energy. It also assumed ownership of seven of the company’s plants — 780 megawatts in all —… Continue Reading
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… Continue Reading
BlogHer, the “community for women who blog,” raises $7M more
BlogHer , a content network for "women who blog,” has raised $7 million more in a third round of financing, giving it a treasure chest to keep it through the downturn as it seeks to become profitable next year.
The Redwood City, Calif., company has… Continue Reading
Lavante racks up $5M for vendor communication services
Lavante, a company that automates communication between vendors and major companies to prevent transaction errors and losses, has taken in $5 million in second-round funding from Venrock and ATA Ventures. Based in San Jose, Calif., the firm, previously known as AuditSolutions, plans to use the… Continue Reading
Entrepreneurs: Apply for Silicon Alley Insider’s startup conference!
Silicon Alley Insider is launching its first annual “Startup” conference, a one-day event and competition meant to recognize the very best early-stage internet company. You can enter your startup this week for the opportunity to win buzz, bragging rights and $50,000 in cash and prizes…. Continue Reading
Philanthropic fund of funds Legacy closes $276M
Legacy Venture, the Palo Alto, Calif. firm that holds a portfolio of other investment funds and distributes returns to charities, announced that it closed a new $276 million fund, its fifth, despite adverse economic conditions. Basically, Legacy takes money from limited partners who commit their… Continue Reading
Canesta scores its 37th U.S. patent for gesture-control technology
Maybe I’m paranoid, but I can smell a legal battle coming in gesture control for TVs, computers, game consoles and other gadgets.
Maybe it’s because Canesta is soon to announce its 37th patent. Normally, that wouldn’t be a big deal, but innovations in user-interfaces are… Continue Reading
Public biotech firms Cadence, Affymax draw $128M from bargain-hunting VCs
Much has been written about how the IPO market froze out biotech companies in 2008, but it looks like times are also tough for those who went public before the economy soured. Cadence Pharmaceuticals has seen a dip in stock price from $9 to $7.53… 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… Continue Reading
China-focused VCs depart posts — Asia capital crunch to blame?
Sequoia Capital China founding partner Zhang Fan’s decision to leave for an advising post at a philanthropic fund, is the latest development in a wave of departures for venture capitalists working in Asian markets. Citing the desire to work on issues he’s passionate about, Fan… Continue Reading
Allux Medical shuts down, turns to Sherwood
Silicon Valley shutdown/turnaround consultancy Sherwood Partners has been called in by ailing Allux Medical, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based developer of devices used to treat airway and skin inflammatory diseases. The company, which managed to raise $13 million in capital and a $1.68 million bridge round,… Continue Reading
Boston Power juices up with $55M for lithium-ion batteries
Boston Power, maker of eco-friendly, long-lasting lithium-ion batteries, just landed $55 million in fourth-round funding to grow its manufacturing, sales and marketing operations. Its flagship product, the Sonata Lithium-ion battery, is slated to launch in the next several months as the primary power source for… Continue Reading
Achaogen takes in $5.6M to fight bacterial infections
Pharmaceutical company Achaogen received a $5.6 million grant from the U.K.-based Wellcome Trust as part of its Seeding Drug Discovery Initiative. The money will go toward phase one clinical trials of the San Francisco company’s lead drug candidates, aimed at treating bacterial infections that are… Continue Reading
Siminoff, Venrock part ways, reasons unknown
updated
David Siminoff, now former general partner at Venrock, has left the venture firm after a little over a year and a half. The move, confirmed by the firm, is significant considering Siminoff’s stature in the Silicon Valley venture community. It’s unclear what prompted the… Continue Reading
Anacor takes $50M to treat fungal infections
Anacor Pharmaceuticals, a Palo Alto, Calif. firm working on topical treatments for fungal infections in nails, just got a $50 million infusion in a fifth round of funding. This is pretty good news for a company that had to withdraw its IPO filing just two… Continue Reading
Drug developer Anacor cancels IPO plans
Biotech firm Anacor Pharmaceuticals has withdrawn its filing to go public after an arduous 16-month wait (unprecedented for health care enterprises, reports VentureWire). The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company says the market is not optimal to hit its target of $57.5 million in the sale.
Anacor,… Continue Reading
Bivio nets $15.8M for flexible networking systems
Networking systems developer Bivio Networks just took in $15.8 million in a round led by Silver Creek Ventures and including new Japanese investors Itochu Techno-Solutions Corporation and Cross Technology Partners, as well as existing backers InterWest Partners, Storm Ventures, Venrock and Goldman Sachs. The Pleasanton,… Continue Reading
Aria Systems raises $10M more for online billing
Aria Systems, perhaps the first company to offer billing and subscription management through a software-as-a-service business model (i.e., online subscriptions), has raised a $10 million second round.
The Media, Pa.-based company has been around since 2003, but interest in online billing software seems to have… Continue Reading