Nexterra raises $15millions in Equity Funding

The already known tendency of funding biotechnology business ideas proves to continue to be powerful as the Canadian system provider of biomass, Nexterra, has just raised $15millions in equity funds from the Tandem Expansion Fund and the ARC Financial, venture capital firms that sustain expanding businesses.

The business idea on which the Nexterra project is based refers to ways of saving electric energy and minimizing the costs for heat. The project addresses especially to large consumers such as hospitals, government buildings, universities and schools, and industrial facilities. The biomass gasification system developed by the company based in Vancouver allows these heavy consumers generate their own heat and power on-site. These systems are said to be a lot more efficient in the urban environment due to their high degree of flexibility and low level of emissions.

As the Nexterra Company is not in its start-up phase, there are already institutions around the world using this project whose growth has just been funded. The US Department of Energy and the University of Montana are just a few institutions we can name. As a matter of fact, they have also just signed a deal with the University of British Columbia for a demonstration system, in the amount of $27 millions.

‘We believe that the market for small-scale biomass heat and power systems is poised to grow rapidly in the next few years to meet rising demand for on-site renewable, energy security and greenhouse gas reduction,’ said Sandy Scott of Tandem Expansion.

Moreover, he added that their decision of funding Nexterra is due to the experience and the high-quality products of the company. Sandy Scott added the following: ‘When we looked at the biomass energy market, Nexterra clearly stood out due to its innovative and commercially proven technology, strong market position and seasoned management team.’ As you can see, the decision of funding this company is not based only on the innovation entailed by the business idea, but also on the position on the market, on the quality of the management team and on the potential return rate of the investment.

The decision of choosing this field of activity for the funded company comes as a result of the main specialization of the equity investors who have directed these funds. ARC Financial is an equity investor managing funds of more than $2.7 billion. Their interest is entirely focused on the energetic sector, covering all the area from oil sands to different ways of producing renewable energy. The Tandem Expansion is an equity investor specialised in funding expanding companies that takes minority stakes in the Canadian business field.

Tool Maker, Stanley Black & Decker Donates $1 Million in ToolBank USA to Aid Expansion Effort

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, ToolBank USA has announced on March 16, 2011, that it has just received $1 million investment from tool maker, Stanley Black & Decker for its nationwide expansion efforts. This is the largest investment ToolBank has received in its entire corporate history. The funding that Stanley Black & Decker invested into ToolBank is primed to be fully fulfilled within five years and the proceeds from the funding will go to allow ToolBank to expand its services throughout the US from coast to coast.

ToolBank USA is a not for profit organization that has a mission to providing a wide selection of tools that other not for profit, philanthropic, or charitable organizations can borrow for their projects. Many charities and philanthropic organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity, often have a shortage of tools available for volunteers to use in working on projects. ToolBank hopes to change that by providing locations throughout the US where volunteers can borrow and return tools as they need them. Loaning out tools, however, is not the only thing that ToolBank is committed to. ToolBank wants to provide not for profit and charitable organizations with the high quality name-brand tools that many of their volunteers, who are either in or have connections with the construction and landscaping industries are familiar with. Furthermore, the need for tools in the volunteer sector is very much unmet, since many landscaping and handyman enthusiasts might not necessarily have their own tools and skilled volunteers who have their own businesses are reluctant to lend their tools in fear that they might get lost or damaged due to improper use.

Charities and other philanthropic organizations can typically search ToolBank’s website for tools that are available and pick them up at their nearest location. Currently ToolBank has a depot in Baltimore, Maryland; Charlotte, North Carolina; and in Atlanta Georgia. Other locations are planned to be built throughout the US. Basically, ToolBank works by not only lending tools, but the tools are always kept under maintenance. This means that ToolBank’s staff are always busy maintaining tools, replacing blades of power saws, making sure that power sanders have fresh sandpaper in them and all tools are in tip-top condition for the next group of volunteers who are in need of them.

According to the Global Communications Director of Stanley Black & Decker, Tim Perra, what makes ToolBank USA so attractive to Stanley is that the people who have founded the organization are dedicated to make their communities a better place. The executive team at Stanley Black & Decker is also dedicated to this effort. The organization is run by a smart and enthusiastic management team who are dedicated to make this new idea of helping charitable organizations and their volunteers always have the tools needed available for any volunteer project. This in turn will also make the corporate name of Stanley Black & Decker in good standing within communities nationwide.

This donation, however, is not the beginning of the partnership between the toolmaker and ToolBank USA. According to the organization’s board president, Corky Martin, the organization has had a reliable partnership with Stanley Black & Decker ever since ToolBank was founded in 2008. The donation that Stanley has provided the organization will definitely help it realize its goals. Along with being the board president of ToolBank USA, Mr. Martin is also the Product Development Merchant at Home Depot, which is another benefactor of ToolBank.

Stanley Black & Decker is one of America’s largest tool makers. The company is currently being publicly traded on the S&P 500 and has a global presence. The tool maker has two product lines which have been household names in the United States for generations. Stanley, under which name many reliable hand tools, such as measuring tapes, drills, hammers, wrenches, and other tools are manufactured. The Stanley product line also has a collection of power tools also. The other product line that the tool maker carries is Black & Decker, which has been accredited to be one of the first vacuum and power drill manufacturers. Other brands that are carried under the Stanley Black & Decker corporate name include DeWalt, K2 Commercial Hardware, Porter Cable, National Hardware, Baldwin, and others.

Investment Firm, Intersouth Partners Lead $11 Million Investment in Equity Funding for Advanced Animal Diagnostics

Based in Durham, North Carolina, Advanced Animal Diagnostics, or AAD, has announced on March 15, 2011, that it has raised $11 million in equity funding with Intersouth Partners leading the funding round. Other investors who participated in this funding round include Novartis Venture Funds, the venture capital arm of Novartis Pharmaceuticals, and other undisclosed private investors.

AAD is a company which develops animal diagnostic tools to diagnose various diseases in livestock and other dairy animals. The company develops innovative methods to test a wide variety of farm animals for diseases and other disorders right on the farm with extreme accuracy. One of the diagnostic products that AAD already has on the market is QuickSmear. QuickSmear is a simple and rapid slide test that can check a cow’s blood for the count of white blood cells or leukocytes. These are inflammatory cells that can show the presence of an infection in the cow. The QuickSmear slide test is primarily used to check the natural immune response in the cow’s body for any signs of mastitis, a common bovine infection. Furthermore, the test is so accurate that it can show mastitis in its early preclinical stages, allowing for early and effective treatment of the infected cow.

The second product that AAD is currently developing is “Three Minutes to Better Milk.” This product is designed to accurately detect mastitis by sampling the cow’s milk. The testing kit is to come with special vials in which one can put a drop of the cow’s milk and detect the early signs of mastitis in the milk. Testing the milk allows for early detection of infection in the cow’s quarter, or the milk gland. Furthermore, studies of how this diagnostic tool is working shows great promise in the lab. The data shows that the milk test shows 95% more accuracy in detecting mastitis than the 70% or less accuracy in current methods of testing for the disease.

Mastitis is the most costly animal disease in the world, affecting the mammary glands of cows, costing dairy farmers tens of billions of dollars in lost production globally. Over $2 billion in lost production from US farmers alone. The disease itself is known as “the silent thief” because the loss of production is not noticeable in its early stages. It’s after a while, as the mastitis matures in the cows when the farmers discover the lost production and thus the lost revenues.

Mastitis comes in two different phases. The first phase is the early stage of the disease, known as the subclinical stage of mastitis and the clinical stage of mastitis. When the disease gets to the clinical phase, it begins to show symptoms. Typically, most of the testing kits available today already show mastitis in the clinical phase, and thus treatment of the cow must be done urgently with the use of antibiotics. In some cases, clinical mastitis can cause the cow to be removed from production and even worse, can cause the cow’s mammary gland to be permanently damaged, thus preventing the cow from producing any more milk in the future. This can be a devastating loss for some smaller dairy farmers. Subclinical mastitis can also cause problems for dairy farmers, because despite the fact that in its subclinical phase, the disease does not show any symptoms, it does affect the infected cow’s milk production. Besides disrupting milk production, mastitis can also cause the cow to produce a lesser quality of milk, also affecting the dairy industry.

Mastitis can be effectively treated in the subclinical phase with early diagnostic testing. The tools and kits that AAD is developing is designed to accurately test for the disease in cows while there is still no or very minimal damage done to the animal by the infection.

According to Jimmy Rosen, partner at Intersouth Partners, many food producers are under immense pressure to improve the health of their animals and the technology and products that AAD brings to the table meets a very seriously unmet need in the dairy industry.

The products that AAD is developing also got the attention of Dr. Simon Wheeler, who is the managing director of Novartis Venture Fund. He further added that his firm is confident in the technology that AAD is providing to farmers. Mr. Wheeler believes that this new diagnostic technology that AAD is currently developing will better aid dairy farmers have healthier cows and improve milk production. This together with the good business model that the management team at AAD will meet the unmet needs of the dairy industry.

Founded in 2001, AAD was begun with a grant from the USDA Small Business Innovation Research division. The SBIR grants are given to those companies who innovate new technologies to help the US agriculture industry. The company also received more funding from a grant provided from the North Carolina Biological Technology Center together with an additional grant from the North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Prior to this funding round, the company raised over $1.1 million from a group of undisclosed private investors.

Intersouth Partners is a prominent investment firm in the United States and primarily invests in early stage companies who are in the communications, software, tech, semiconductor, biotechnology, medical, and pharmaceutical industries. The firm was founded in 1985 and currently has over $780 million in capital under its management. The firm’s primary geographic preference is in the Southeast of the United States with its headquarters located in Durham, North Carolina. Other companies in Intersouth’s portfolio include Clarabridge, Comstock Systems, SciQuest, Argos Therapeutics, Athenix, Calibra Medical, NovaMin Technology, and others.

The Novartis Venture Fund was established in 1996 as a venture capital arm of Novartis Pharmaceuticals and currently has over $650 million of committed capital under its management. The firm primarily invests in private companies who are in the life sciences, medical, and pharmaceutical industries worldwide. The firm especially looks for innovative companies who develop new drugs, vaccines, and other pharmaceuticals that can benefit Novartis Pharmaceuticals. Novartis does not disclose its portfolio companies.

New Enterprise Associates Lead $33.9 Million Investment for Omthera Pharmaceuticals in Series C Funding Round

Based in Bedminster, New Jersey, Omthera Pharmaceuticals is a pharmaceutical company which develops innovative specialty pharmaceuticals has announced on March 14, 2011, that it has just raised $33.9 million in a funding round which was led by New Enterprise Associates. Other companies who participated in this funding round include the company’s existing investor, Sofinnova Partners.

Omthera Pharmaceuticals is a company which produces specialty pharmaceuticals for the clinical treatments of dyslipidemia and other diseases related to lipids in the body. Some of the other related diseases that Omthera Pharmaceuticals produces treatments for include hypertriglycemia, mixed dyslipidemia, and triglycerides. All these diseases can be a problem which needs treatment to manage.

Dyslipidemia is a disease that causes a disorder of lipid formation in the body. Typically, in the past, dyslipidemia was a term to cover a wide variety of metabolic blood lipid disorders under one umbrella. This is a flawed form of thought, because there are many different metabolic disorders which involve blood lipid disorders and they are all different from each other and thus require different treatments.

One of the most common lipid disorders is hypertriglycemia. This is a disorder in which is defined by the level of triglycerides in the blood stream. Typically, a normal count of triglycerides would be around 50 to 150 mg. Hypertriglycemia is an elevated level of triglycerides in the blood stream which can also lead to cardiovascular disease. The triglycerides are also known as “bad cholesterol” and when the levels reach over 500 mg, patients can suffer coronary arterial disease or pancreatitis. According to the latest estimates by health officials worldwide, the prevalence of hypertriglycemia in the West is close to 30%. This can be caused by a high fat diet or can also be hereditary or a combination of the two.

Dyslipidemia is also a metabolic blood lipid disorder that can indicate either a very low consistency of lipids in the bloodstream or a very high consistency of lipids in the bloodstream. The lipids measured in the testing for dyslipidemia include cholesterol, triglycerides, and phospholipids. The lipids are carried in the bloodstream in the blood plasma. If these lipids are excessively elevated, the risk of artery blockage and cardiovascular disease is increased. Furthermore, a very low lipid count can also result in other imbalances in the body and other related health issues.

Mixed dyslipidemia is very similar to dyslipidemia in that it is a metabolic imbalance of lipids in the bloodstream. In this case, many patients who have mixed dyslipidemia have elevated levels of cholesterol in the bloodstream and need medications to treat the condition.

Triglycerides are the most common lipid in the bloodstream. These lipids are typically fats that come into the bloodstream from food intake. Typically, people who eat a high fat diet will have an elevated level of triglycerides in the body.

The object of Omthera Pharmaceuticals is to develop revolutionary drugs to treat these conditions. Currently the company has developed two drugs to help treat the above mentioned disorders undergoing clinical trials. The first is Epinova. Epinova works by being ingested by mouth after a high fat meal. The recommended dose is 4 grams of Epinova after eating a high fat meal. As the drug enters the body, it works to dissolve the fats. The object of the trial is to see how the drug works in both a high and low fat diet.

The other drug undergoing clinical trials is Evolve, which is currently in Phase III of clinical trials to treat patients with excessively high levels of triglycerides in the body. The clinical trial is expected to enroll 300 patients who have triglyceride levels that exceed 500 mg.

Proceeds from this funding round will go to finance the current clinical trials of the cholesterol reducing drugs that Omthera has been developing. With this latest funding round included, Omthera Pharmaceuticals has amassed a total of over $40.4 million in capital since it has begun operating in 2009.

According to the president, cofounder, and CEO of Omthera, Jerry Wisler, the company has been continuing to show positive data in the lipid reducing drugs it has been producing to treat dyslipidemia and other cholesterol related disorders. Mr. Wisler further added that the executive team of the company is very excited to have such a prestigious venture capital firm, such as New Enterprise Associates join the company’s group of investors.

As part of the agreement of this funding round, David M. Mott will join Omthera Pharmaceuticals board of directors. Along with being a general partner of New Enterprise Associates, Mr. Mott was also the CEO of MedImmune prior to joining the prominent vc firm. Mr. Mott has over 20 years of experience in the life sciences industry. 16 of those 20 years, Mr. Mott spent at MedImmune. At New Enterprise Associates, Mr. Mott oversees and participates in all the bio-pharmaceutical investments of the firm.

Mr. Mott added that he was very pleased to join the four-member board of Omthera and stated that he strongly believes in the company’s value. Mr. Mott also stated that there is an unmet need in the pharmaceutical industry for new drugs to effectively treat elevated blood lipids, such as triglycerides and in effective treatments of many of the common lipid metabolic disorders, such as dyslipidemia, hypertriglycemia, and mixed dyslipidemia. Furthermore, data from the company’s clinical trials tends to show promising data in the new drug, Epanova in the treatment of high lipid patients.

New Enterprise Associates or NEA is a large scale and prestigious venture capital firm which invests in companies who are in the IT, healthcare, and energy technology industries. NEA is a global venture capital firm with offices in the United States, China, and India. The firm invests in promising companies who are in a wide variety of stages. Currently, NEA has $11 billion of committed capital under its management and since its inception has invested in over 650 companies. Some other companies in NEA’s portfolio include 3Com, 3Ware, Antenna Software, Argon Networks, 3-V Biosciences, Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Acorn Cardiovascular, BioPure, Bravo Health, and others.

Based in Paris, France, Sofinnova Partners is an independent venture capital firm which primarily invests in early stage companies who are in the life sciences and tech industries. The firm was founded in 1972 and has over €1.1 billion ($1,539,369,350.83 USD) of committed capital under its management. Some other companies in Sofinnova’s portfolio include Twenga, OpenERP, Bee Ware, Sage Wireless, Digital Media INC, Coaxia, Stentex, SpineVision, and others.

Novak Biddle Ventures and QED Investors Invest in WealthEngine and Take Best Early Stage Award

Based in Bethesda, Maryland, WealthEngine announced on March 14, 2011, that after being together with its investment partners, Novak Biddle Ventures and QED Investors, the company has taken together with its two investors the 2011 Venture Capital Awards of the Greater Washington Area. The award is delegated to be the top honors for the Best Early Stage Award for the Year.

WealthEngine is a company which provides financial services for hospitals and medical institutions. The company leads the market in wealth identification and information-based fundraising solutions. The company’s solutions are not only limited to the medical industry, however. WealthEngine also serves clients who are also in higher education, financial services, and leisure industries. Currently, the company boasts of over 2000 clients and provides them with products that can provide comprehensive research for both individuals and organizations.

When looking at WealthEngine’s website, one discovers that the company has already been around for 19 years and has been successful in providing the funding its clients needed. The company has 35 databases which it researches to search for the best sources of wealth for its individual clients. Some of the data that WealthEngine collects include regulatory data, voluntary data, statistically modeled data, and UK data.

These different data pools together can cover a wide spectrum of funding that individual clients can raise with WealthEngine.

Regulatory data is the type of data that is collected by government entities. This data can either be collected by local, state, or federal government agencies. This data is required by any individuals, organizations, and companies are to report to government agencies for tax and other purposes. Some of the data collected in regulatory data include property liens, real estate records, and more.

Voluntary data, on the other hand, is data that is historically collected to see what kinds of trends are being formed. Most of the voluntary data is primarily from biographical or philanthropical sources. The data is mainly found in annual reports, charitable donations, and other such sources.

Statistical modeled data is data that is primarily based on statistics. This data can show what kinds of trends are forming by the number of people who are either buying or doing a particular thing and this information is primarily gleaned from behavior of society and what wealth indications there are in that society.

The award that both WealthEngine and its investors have been awarded is determined by the size of the venture capital firms and companies involved in the investment transaction and on the significance of the firm along with the people involved.

According to the CEO of WealthEngine, Tony Glowacki, the team at WealthEngine is very proud of winning this high award. Mr. Glowacki further added that innovation is part of the company’s DNA and has fueled over 40% of its growth in the past year. Furthermore, the company has succeeded with further venture funding and a sound business model, which adds up to the company’s success. The venture funding has supported the company’s product development, technical infrastructure, and to expand in order to help its clients gain the necessary data they need to raise funds.

Novak Biddle Ventures is a private equity firm which provides equity and venture capital funding to early stage companies in the IT industry who are located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The firm was founded in 1997 and currently has over $850 million of funds under its management. Some other companies in Novak Biddle’s portfolio include Capital Schools, Digital Signal Corporation, FiberZone Networks, LogicLibrary, Luna Technologies, and others.

August Capital Leads $27 Million Investment for SnagAJob.com in Series C Funding Round

Based in Richmond, Virginia, SnagAJob.com has announced on March 10, 2011, that it has just secured $27 million in private equity funding in a series C funding round led by August Capital. SnagAJob.com is one of the largest job search websites available that allows users to search for hourly jobs in their local areas. The service allows users to create an account and they can then register and even apply for those jobs online. SnagAJob.com has provided serious competition for other job hunting websites, such as CareerBuilder.com, Monster.com, and Glassdoor.

The service works in a rather simple fashion. Any user can sign onto the website and set up an account free of charge. All a user needs is to enter his or her email and choose a password. That’s it and the service is free. Once logged in, anyone can simply enter his or her zip code and will find hourly jobs in their area within seconds.

Unlike CareerBuilder.com, which does have some good job options, SnagAJob.com will give you a wide list of real jobs with real hourly wages that you can choose for either part time or full time. They do not necessarily have to be career oriented jobs. Furthermore, with SnagAJob, you also do not have to filter through these “nontraditional” jobs which require some kind of investment in advance, such as Avon or the like.

Though there are many advertisements for work at home jobs, including Avon, listed on the site, they do stand out better than on other sites. SnagAJob.com also allows its users to network to find jobs and also apply directly online. The website can also help you build your online resume in the form of your profile. You can also try out the networking program, which is undergoing beta testing. All of this makes SnagAJob.com be one of the most affective job search engines available.

According to the company’s CEO and cofounder, Shawn Boyer, SnagAJob.com was designed to work together with large scale employers to help them find the workers they need in an efficient manner of time. The fact that most of the working public is now online, the website has been designed specifically with that in mind. Ms. Boyer further added that August Capital has constantly invested in companies and entrepreneurs who have strong business models and are willing to make their vision into world-class ideas.

As part of the agreement of this funding round, Mr. Eric Carlborg, who manages the later stage investments at August Capital, will join the company’s board of directors. According to Mr. Carlborg, SnagAJob.com is entering its next phase, which is providing hourly work to employees by enlarging its database of hourly employers who are hiring. Mr. Carlborg further stated that SnagAJob.com has proven to be a great resource to both employers who need hourly labor and people who are searching for work. Mr. Carlborg has been with August Capital for quite some time and has deep experience in investing, transactions, and operations in both private and public companies.

Founded in 1995 by Dave Marquardt and John Johnston, August Capital is a private equity firm which is run by seasoned entrepreneurs. Currently, along with the two cofounders of the firm, August Capital also has other professional investment partners, who include Eric Carlborg, David Hornik, Vivek Mehra, and Howard Heartenbaum. The firm currently has over $1.3 billion in investment funds under its management and since its inception has invested in over 75 companies across the tech industry. Some other companies in August’s portfolio include Cobalt Networks, Ebates, DeviceScape, Silicon Image, Aardvark(acquired by Google), Alta Devices, Compaq Computer, and others.

DAG Ventures and Benchmark Capital Lead $20 Million Investment in Series D Funding Round for GrubHub

Based in Chicago, Illinois, GrubHub is a company which links up mobile connections with restaurants and other eateries throughout the United States. The company has announced on March 10, 2011, that it has secured a $20 million series D funding round, which was led by DAG Ventures and Benchmark Capital. Other investors who participated in this funding round have not been disclosed by the company. The series D funding round began in November 2010, when Benchmark Capital first started the initial investment of $11 million.

Proceeds from this funding round will go to help GrubHub continue to invest in R&Ds and other acquisitions of new mobile applications to help the company expand its services to new markets.

GrubHub is a pioneer in the industry. The service platform that it provides allows mobile device users to find restaurants and other eateries in their area or in other areas if they are traveling. The company was founded in Chicago by two entrepreneurs with a vision, Matt Maloney and Mike Evans in 2004. GrubHub works on a website, on which users can go on and download apps for iPhones and other smartphones that can allow them to locate restaurants around the US.

GrubHub has been a success story from the very beginning. In the beginning of the company’s life, it was awarded the prestigious award of the New Venture Challenge provided by the University of Chicago. After winning this award, the company was successful in quickly receiving series A funding in 2007 by Amicus Capital. Angel investors also invested in the company’s beginning and through the course of its early life, GrubHub has rapidly expanded into three major markets which include New York, San Francisco, and Chicago. The company currently serves the dining needs of consumers in those mentioned cities along with Los Angeles, San Diego, Washington DC, and other cities.

The service that GrubHub offers is free to restaurants who pay with cash credit, or PayPal. The technology that GrubHub provides is always evolving. Recently, the company has launched an Android app for beta testing and GrubHub has also announced that it will be launching a new iPhone app for beta testing in September of this year. GrubHub earns its profits from eateries who pay commissions after customers have been referred from its apps to them.

According to Mr. Maloney, who is also the company’s CEO, currently there are over 13,000 different restaurants, diners, and other types of eateries who are registered with GrubHub. The service that GrubHub provides meets an unmet need in this age of technology. With many people being frustrated about not finding a good place to eat quickly when they have a busy schedule, the service that GrubHub provides for an efficient way to help consumers find restaurants of their tastes. Before choosing a restaurant at GrubHub, consumers can first look at each restaurant’s menu, prices and other information to help them make the choice.

John Cadedeu, Managing Director at DAG Ventures further stated that GrubHub has proven its leadership in the emerging market of online and mobile restaurant orders. The company has proven itself to be a good opportunity for DAG Ventures by demonstrating the stamina the company has and its ability to double its growth in such a short time.

Bill Gurley of Benchmark Capital reiterated much of what Mr. Cadedeu has stated about GrubHub. Mr. Gurley went further to say that he is quite impressed with the progress the company has made in the past few years. He believes that this additional funding will allow GrubHub to expand and eventually hold a large stake in the online dining market.

Founded in the 1980s, DAG Ventures become one of the nation’s leading venture capital firms in the tech industry with originally investing in the new cable television ventures of the time of its inception. The firm is currently based in Palo Alto, California, and invests in companies who are in the wireless, software, and tech industries. Some other companies who are in DAG’s portfolio include Yelp, AdBrite, Chegg, Ketera, Cosmix, and others.

Benchmark Capital is a prominent venture capital firm which was founded in 1995 with the aim of helping gifted entrepreneurs with unique ideas build world-class companies. The firm is based in Menlo Park, California. Other companies in Benchmark’s portfolio include Ariba, Axiom, eBay, Grockit, Handspring, Mint, Ofoto, Odesk, and others.

bubbles & beyond closes new financing round

Bubbles & beyond is a technology company which focuses on innovative liquids and foams for industrial, medical and other applications.

This company has managed to develop a singular technology platform which combines polymer and tenside chemistry with surface modification techniques. Bubbles & beyond is able to produce novel structured liquids and foams, which may be applied and customized to meet specific needs and requirements. The resulting products and processes can be placed as utterly new areas of application or to significantly improve product characteristics.

The company focuses on three business units: Foams and Bubbles, Surfaces, and Cosmetics.

On the 7th of March 2011 the German company has announced the closing of a second financing round. With a total of 1.2 million Euros, the successful closing gathered all its existing investors: LBBW Venture Capital, S-Beteiligungen, Hightech-Gruenderfonds and KfW.

The company’s priorities are to manage strengthening its presence within the international market and to be able to broaden the internal development capacities so as to meet the large demand for customized intelligent fluids™ in numerous industry sectors. The new funds will be used to obtain the above-mentioned priorities. Including future sale opportunities in microelectronics, the printing industry and facility cleaning sectors in countries across Europe and Japan, bubbles and beyond is already present in markets such as cleaning and building preservation. Moreover, a new product portfolio containing professional cleaning agents for print rolls is to be launched soon. The company enjoys also considerable market demand in functional cosmetics.

To support the company’s upcoming success, Christian Roemlein, Managing Director of bubbles & beyond, declared: „This follow-on financing round is a clear sign of confidence of our investors regarding bubbles & beyond and our unique intelligent fluids™ technology platform. Our partners can achieve significant benefits from implementing our customized solutions”.

Bubbles and beyond is based in Leipzig, Germany and was funded in 2006. For more information, please visit
www.bubbles-beyond.com.

Pharmaron raises $40 Million

Pharmaron, the China-based company providing R&D services, has raised $40 million in the series C financing round from the already existing investors DCM, Legend Capital and others along with the new investor, GL Capital Group. Pharmaron will use this amount in order to expand its discovery services offerings, preclinical GLP (good laboratory practice) toxicology capabilities and GMP (good manufacturing practice) chemical synthesis services. This expansion will help Pharmaron satisfy the demands of their biopharm clients. “Building long-term partnership with CROs has become part of many pharmaceutical and biotech companies’ corporate strategy”, said Lou Boliang, Chairman and CEO of Pharmaron.

The company has been founded in 2003 and it provides R&D services such as discovery chemistry, biology, DMPK, GLP bio analytical services, GLP toxicology, in vivo pharmacology, pharmaceutical manufacturing and development. Currently, the company has more than 1,200 employees and provides expertise for the pharmaceutical markets of China, U.S., North America, Japan and Europe. Their mission is to help customers advance their projects in a cost and time-efficient manner.

During the last years, Pharmaron has visibly expanded its capacity and capability in the field of integrated drug discovery and the area of development services. This is the first Chinese company that has managed to successfully provide truly integrated drug discovery and development services from the stage of discovery to the stage of IND after integrating the U.S. FDA GLP compliant toxicology expertise in 2010. Dr. Lou Boliang added the following: “We are pleased to have the continued confidence and strategic partnership of our existing and new investors in Pharmaron. This additional capital funding will allow Pharmaron to strengthen and expand drug R&D service capacities and capabilities, to better serve our partners. Recently, the pharmaceutical and biotech industry has undergone fundamental changes as it has responded to increased productivity demands. Building long-term partnership with CROs has become part of many pharmaceutical and biotech companies’ corporate strategy.”

Due to this investment, the management team at Pharmaron expects their sales to grow quickly. Also, the expressed confidence of already existing clients in the Pharmaron’s portfolio is expected to bring new clients worldwide as an amount of money will also be invested in the expansion of the display areas. The venture capitalists sustaining Pharmaron are very enthusiastic about the company’s products and its capacity of quickly expansion. Mr. Jeffrey Li, Founding Partner of GL Capital Group and former CEO of Novartis China stated the following: “Pharmaron has a proven track record in the CRO industry, providing highly dynamic access to scientific expertise and customer services when and where it is needed by pharmaceutical and biotechnology organizations. Our strategic investment in Pharmaron will boost Pharmaron’s service capability and capacity to serve the pharmaceutical and biotech industry better, which in turn will add additional value to all the stakeholders involved.”

As the biotechnology market continues to expand and the need for high-quality pharmaceutical products and customer services grows, the global market for CRO services is expected to reach gains of $27 billion in 2011 with a CAGR of 15 percent, announced in 2010 the report of Frost & Sullivan.

Samplify raises $11.2 Million for Analog Chips

Although venture capitalists are not exactly thrilled about funding chip start-ups due to their huge initial capital needs, Samplify has managed to persuade the venture capitalists at Integrated Device Technology, Charles River Ventures, Formative Ventures, and Schlumberger to invest in its analog chips project. Woodside Capital Partners have also taken part in the transaction, but only as advisors. The Samplify team has managed to convince venture capitalists to invest in their start-up project by demanding a smaller amount of money justifying that their analog chip project requires a lot of engineering expertise, but not a lot of personnel.

Samplify is now working at an analog chip project whose purpose is to make the processing of real world data more sound efficient and thus less expensive. The device they are planning to produce is intended to be swept through most of the electronic devices in order to lower their prices. The technology is based on a system that converts analog data into digital data, easier put, a system that converts elements of reality into the zeros and ones used by computers. These chips are destined to be suitable for all the electronic systems surround us, from the medical technology field to the industrial and army field. Their real innovation consists in the fact that their convertors don’t only transform real data into digital data, they also compress it. This feature is a result of a “mixed signal” technology that combines the analog and digital data on the same chip. This means that the chips can provide not only cheaper technology, but also more accurate devices.

This business idea of “mixed signal” technology comes as a result to the demands of the market and to the actual situation of competitors. The analog chip market has been dominated by firms such as Texas Instruments, National Semiconductor, Maxim Integrated Products, Linear Technology, and Analog Devices by now. They produce only analog chips that are cheap, but that are not easily compatible with digital circuitry. Moreover, as the analog data transmitted on to the second digital chip is not compressed and that makes the transmission process complicated and expensive. But the chief executive of Samplify, Tom Sparkman, has announced that they have found a way of putting both the analogical and the digital circuitry into just one chip with its Prism IQ signal compression technology.

If able to do this, samplify could help to drastically cut down the prices of electronic gadgetry of all kinds, from ultrasound and cat-scan machines to the cell phone infrastructure and data acquisition equipment.

The idea on which the chip is based belongs to Al Wegener, chief officer of Samplify. He has tried to produce it back in 2000 with the Texas Instruments, but they have refused him. So he took it to a start-up company and obtained initial funding in 2006 from Charles River Ventures. Afterwards, they have raised another round in March 2007 from Formative Ventures and other angel investors. Counting this new round, Samplify has managed to gather up to $22.5 million in venture capital by now. The firm is designing its own chips which will be manufactured by Taiwan’s United Microelectronics. The money raised in this round will be used in order to expand into new markets and to attract customers.

Privalia raises €88 million and buys Dress for Less

Spending more than €88 million for the acquisition of the biggest German online fashion retailer, Dress for Less, Privalia has once again showed its desire of becoming the global provider of discount labels.

Privalia is a private sales club which operates huge sales for brand products on the internet exclusively for their club members. This company based in Spain has approximately 5 million members worldwide and it is the leader on each of the markets on which it operates. The markets on which Privalia already holds the majority of online fashion sales are based in Spain, Italy, Brazil and Mexico. The new goal established by the company is that of becoming a leader of the worldwide market. In order to achieve this, Privalia managed to raise €88 million which were spent in order to buy the German online fashion retail, Dress for Less. This major acquisition allows them to grow incredibly much on the European market, putting their competition in a very difficult position. Although their leadership on the European display areas was limited to Spain and Italy till now, the acquisition of the most important online discount site in Germany allows them to spread more on the continent and to assure us that their intention is of becoming the global leader of the online fashion retail stores is to be accomplished.

Dress for Less is a distribution platform working with discount and full prices segment on the internet. The company has been founded in 1999 in Germany, but it has spread worldwide. Since then, it has spread in more than 50 countries in the world and has over 500,000 active clients and a database of total costumers of over 1 million.

Part of the amount of money needed for the transaction, meaning €88 million, has been obtained in new equity financing from General Atlantic, Index Ventures, Highland Capital Partners and Insight Venture Partners, while the site has been acquired from Palamon Capital partners, which is a pan-European private equity company. In order for the acquisition process to be complete, Privalia has to offer the €88 million provided by the private equity firms named above, a debt facility and shares. But this comes in addition to the €70 million which have already been raised by Privalia in a funding round in October 2010. The transaction has been made such wise as for the managing partners of Dress for Less, Mirco Schultis and Holger Hengstler, to become “significant shareholders” in the new company, ran now by Privalia.

By this new acquisition, Privalia wants to accomplish its goal of gaining over 400 million euros this year. The strategies they will use in order to attaint this goal are based on perspectives upon combined sales and upon global triple-digit growth. The newly acquired base of clients which goes up to 1 million new potential customers and the merging of the products offer may be just what they needed in order to achieve this competitive goal.

Undisclosed Investors Invest $18 Million Venture Funding Round for Retina Implant, AG

Based in Reutlingen, Germany, Retina Implant, AG is an innovative medical device company which has developed sub-retinal implants to help visually impaired people improve their sight. The company announced on March 2, 2011, that it has secured $18 million USD in second round of funding from its existing investors, who are not disclosed to the public.

The company develops revolutionary technologies that can help the visually impaired regain their sight. The company’s goal is to develop retinal implants that can even help the blind see for the first time in their lives.

Proceeds from this funding round will go to help the company expand its market and help develop its retinal chip into the commercialization phase. Currently, the chip implant is undergoing its second human clinical trial phase and is reporting to be successful. The retinal microchip has been proven to be very helpful to people who have been blinded by various retinal ailments which have previously not been curable, such as retinitis and pigmentosa.

According to Retinal Implant’s corporate website, which is in German, in Germany alone, there are over 130,000 blind. The company further reports on its website that one-fourth of these people have been blinded by one form of retinitis or another. As of today, there has not been any proven technology which could provide useful vision to people who have been blinded by retinitis or pigmentosa. The goal of Retina Implant, AG is to change that and bring the sight back to many people who have suffered from these devastating diseases. The technology that Retina Implant, AG is developing can also help people who are suffering from another serious blinding disease that affects many people — macular degeneration.

As far as approval for clinical use in the EU, the Retinal Implant’s revolutionary technology has received high marks for the CE mark, which is the testing company that shows approval within the European Union. The company is also looking into expanding its technology into other markets, with another clinical human trial going on for approval in the United Kingdom.

This amazingly large round of funding comes on the heals of a bumper profit year for Retinal Implant, AG. During 2010, the company has experienced record growth and innovation in its retinal implant microchip technology. The company has not just kept this amazing technology only in Germany. The retinal microchip was also named as one of the top ten of the best new medical technologies and devices listed by the online medical publication MedTech. That’s not all, however. In 2010, the company has also started its second human clinical trials and the results of the first human clinical trials were published and have shown to have highly positive effects.

Retinal Implant, AG was funded in 2003 with originally receiving grants from the German government and has grown to a large corporation with a promising technology. The company’s founder is Dr. Eberhard Zrenner, who has devoted his career to helping people blinded by retinal disease to regain useful vision.

A Syndicate of Undisclosed Investors Lead $45 Million in Series C Mezzanine Funding Round for Semiconductor Company, Achronix

Based in Santa Clara, California, Achronix is a semiconductor company that provides one of the world’s fastest FPGAs. The company has announced on March 1, 2011, that it has raised $45 million in a series C mezzanine funding round that was led by a syndicate of undisclosed strategic corporate investors.

Achronix provides FPGAs, which are a type of semiconductor that uses Intel’s 22 nm technology. This technology allows for more density, cost effectiveness, and efficiency, which is not been generated by many contemporary semiconductor technology. Due to the fact that Achronix uses Intel’s technology for its semiconductors, the company has developed a strategic relationship with Intel for resources and expertise. Some of the applications that the FPGRAs that Intel develops are used for a wide variety of functions, which include internal processing bandwidth, input/output bandwidth, and external memory bandwidth. Some of the systems that use these above mentioned applications include networking, telecommunications, encryption, high-performance computing, and other systems.

The series C funding round that Achronix has received on March 1, 2011, has been one of the largest venture capital backed funding rounds for a privately held semiconductor company in the industry’s recent history.

As far as the investment is concerned, $40 million in the funding round has already been committed and the remaining $5 million will be closed due to the interest of some of the strategic investors who participated in the funding round. The funding from this round will go to help finance the company’s investments in the Intel 22nm technology and to further develop its class of FPGAs that is destined to blow through the current limits of FPGA technology.

Far West Capital Invests $1 Million in Capital for Probe Manufacturing

Based in Irvine, California, and founded in 1994, Probe Manufacturing is an electronic manufacturer which provides a global service that provides businesses the design and manufacturing services that they can count on. Probe will manufacture electronic devices for many different companies in its own factory, eliminating the need for businesses to have their own factories and an entire manufacturing department.

Probe announced on March 1, 2011, that it has secured $1 million in working capital from Far West Capital, which is one of the largest working capital providers in Texas and the dessert Southwest. The whole idea of investing in working capital, according to Far West, is to insight growth and expansion.

According to John Bennett, CFO of Probe Manufacturing, Far West Capital has been a key partner in providing the company with the customized capital that Probe needs to further expand its services. Mr. Bennett further added that this investment from Far West is a crucial milestone in the company’s life.

Probe has proven to be able to grow as it provides a valuable service for many businesses who need manufacturing but do not have factory space or facilities. Proof of this growth can be seen by a good 2010 that Probe has experienced. Furthermore, the quarter to quarter growth the company has experienced last year shows that it is able to pull through and expand even further.

Some of the manufacturing services that Probe Manufacturing provides serve a wide variety of different industries, which include medical, aerospace, defense, industrial, automotive, and instrumentation industries. Some of the services that the company provides include engineering, design, supply chain management, manufacturing, and program management.

The engineering that Probe provides its clients include the designing process of the item to be manufactured. This includes software design, electronics design, mechanical design, industrial design, and PCB design. Along with the design process, the company’s engineers also run tests to ensure that the product runs correctly. The engineering department also includes new product introduction which allows the client to work together with Probe’s team of engineers to assess the manufacturability of the product, documentation package review, and quick turn prototyping among other services provided to clients.

According to Cole Harmanson, the goal of Far West Capital is to help companies like Probe Manufacturing to succeed by providing them with working capital. Mr. Harmanson has further added that his firm is happy to help Probe Manufacturing and believes the company is likely to succeed.

Probe Manufacturing has factories in California as well as in other parts of the world.

Far West Capital is an investment firm that primarily invests in companies in the manufacturing, wholesale, distribution, high-tech and other industries within Texas and the dessert Southwest. The purpose of Far West Capital is to provide working capital to those companies who are starting out and are not able to get the capital they need to continue their operations. The capital that Far West provides are usually in the form of an advance that can range from $100,000 to $5 million. Far West does not disclose its portfolio companies.

Madrona Venture Group Leads $8 Million in Funding Round for MaxPoint Interactive

Based in Cary, North Carolina, MaxPoint Interactive is a company which has been leading an emerging market in the real-time neighborhood target online marketing for local retailers. The company announced on March 1, 2011, that it has raised $8 million in a funding round that was led by Madrona Venture Group. Other investors who participated in this funding round include the company’s existing investor, Trinity Ventures. Trinity Ventures has initially funded MaxPoint’s first quest for venture capital funding with $3 million last year.

MaxPoint works by delivering an effective data driven platform that allows for local businesses to market online within the neighborhood. The company’s platform works by gathering data from previous customers and potential customers who are interested in a vendor’s particular product. The data gathered from customers will indicate what they have purchased in the past and will allow for vendors to advertise and play to the interests of those customers who may buy a similar product.

What makes MaxPoint’s platform work so effectively is that is uses a proprietary system, known as Digital Zip, which is a digital zip code reader and works by using the customer’s zip code to determine the neighborhood that customer lives in. The zip codes determine many things. First, zip codes determine what state and metropolis a customer lives in. Furthermore, zip codes can also determine whether a customer is upper-class professional, middle class, or low income by determining the neighborhood they live in. This way MaxPoint’s clients can advertise accordingly to attend to the needs of an individual customer.

According to Joe Epperson, CEO and president of MaxPoint Interactive, since Trinity Ventures has funded our initial round of venture capital funding last fall, the company has experienced amazing growth with many satisfied clients. One of the key aspects of MaxPoint’s growth is that advertisers are constantly looking for an advertising platform that will reach more customers at one time. Furthermore, the internet has become a very affective advertising platform that has reached millions of people and has generated billions of dollars in sales.

Proceeds from this funding round will allow MaxPoint to accelerate its growth and strengthen its leadership in the market. To expand its growth, MaxPoint has also decided to change the location of its headquarters. The company has currently moved to New York City, where it can have a larger market and reach a larger number of clients. Furthermore, the company’s new offices are right in the heart of New York’s designer garment district, which is 505 Eighth Avenue. That neighborhood has also in recent times also become home to the vanguard of new tech companies.

Madrona Venture Group is a venture capital firm that “funds the passion behind the team.” Madrona works by allowing entrepreneurs to come to them and ask the firm to help them build their companies up from scratch. The firm also helps entrepreneurs develop solutions to attend to the marketing challenges that all new businesses face. Madrona Venture Group primarily invests in the consumer internet, commercial software and services, digital media advertising, and wireless industries. Some other companies in Madrona’s portfolio include All Treatment, Anamoto, Borrow or Steal, BuddyTV, Optify, PayScale, ThinkFire, AdReady, and others.

Based in Menlo Park, California, Trinity Ventures is an early stage venture capital firm that primarily invests in the internet, software, and tech industries. The firm has been investing in passionate entrepreneurs for over two decades and have invested in passionate executive teams who have build companies that have come from startups to name brands. Other companies in Trinity’s portfolio include 21 Vianet, 24/7 Real Media, Affinity Labs, Aruba Wireless Networks, Aryaka, Badgeville, Bill Shrink, Care.com, and others.

Adams Capital Management Leads $8 Million Investment in a Series B Funding Round for ProspX

Based in Austin, Texas, ProspX is one of the first on demand sales and collaborating service has announced on February 28, 2011, that it has completed an $8 million series B funding round led by Adams Capital Management. Other investors who participated in this funding round include HPI Real Estate Services and Investments.

ProspX is a first of its kind in allowing professionals to collaborate in the insurance industry. What makes ProspX so unique is that its platform allows people to make searches and sales on demand. What makes this system work so well is that it is able to manage a complex multi-party sales process. Commercial insurance sales is an industry that it worth over $500 billion. The platform that ProspX offers is actually a SaaS or Software as a Service application that insurance professionals can access online. This series B funding round is only a shadow of the capital that the company has raised in the past. As a token of the ProspX’s success shows, the company has raised together with this current funding round a sum of over $14.5 million.

Currently over 4,000 insurance brokers and over 16,000 carrier underwriters are using the service that ProspX provides.

Proceeds of this current funding round will go to help the company fund its amazing growth. Since ProspX was founded in 1994, its platform has met many of the unmet needs of the commercial insurance industry in the internet age.

According to Martin Neath, general partner at Adams Capital Management, ProspX has built a platform that can generate incredible revenue for insurance companies. Furthermore, the service that ProspX is providing has resulted in high quality results and many satisfied customers. Mr. Neath further added that he believes that the team at Adams Capital Management has been excited at the growth that ProspX has been showing. He believes that Adams Capital will continue to support the company for years to come.

More praises about ProspX were also sung by the company’s president and CEO, Todd Young, the support of such prominent investors into the company and its talented team shows that the product that ProspX has to offer meets many unmet needs in the commercial insurance industry during the internet age. Furthermore, the funding that the company’s investment partners has been giving will allow ProspX to continue to grow and develop new products and services based on the current platform it currently offers.

Adams Capital Management is one of the largest global investment firms in the United States. Founded in 1994, Adams Capital Management has grown to invest in many companies who are in the IT, network infrastructure, and semiconductor industries. Currently Adams Capital Management leads investments, especially early investments, such as series A and B funding rounds and has over $815 million under its management. Some other companies in Adams Capital’s portfolio include Additech, BuzzLogic, Dynamics, First Insight, and others.

HPI Real Estate Services and Investments is a real estate company that is based in Austin Texas and serves the central Texas area. The firm also offers investments to companies that can provide services to the real estate industry. HPI also assesses tenant growth and other real estate related matters. HPI manages industrial, residential, and rental properties throughout Texas.

Leo Capital Holdings Leads $1 Million in Venture Funding Round for Media Chaperone

Based in Chicago, Illinois, Media Chaperone is one of the first in the market of a Facebook type application that allows parents to easily monitor their children’s social gaming activities online. The company announced on February 24, 2011, that it has closed its first attempt at venture capital funding with a sum of $1 million led by Leo Capital Holdings. Other investors who participated in this funding round include angel investor syndicate, Hyde Park Angels.

Proceeds from this funding round will go to Media Chaperone’s efforts in the expansion and marketing of its product, PiggyBack. PiggyBack is a free Facebook application that parents are able to download and monitor their children’s gaming activities online. The application works by providing parents with online monitoring and controls to ensure their child’s safety online during learning and playing. Not only can parents monitor their Children’s activities, but PiggyBack also provides parents with valuable controls which allow them to control what their children can access and cannot access online in real time.

One of the most important features that Media Chaperone’s PiggyBack software offers include the real time monitoring and safety reports that allow parents to actually see what their children are doing online, with whom they are talking with, etc. The safety reports that PiggyBack offer parents can also be consoling as it will let them know if there are any breaches of their children’s safety online and how parents can correct those breaches.

As more children are communicating and interacting with each other online, many problems that can trouble children can also happen online, such as online bullying, online predators, and the like. The safety updates that PiggyBack provides will inform parents whether their child is a victim of online bullying, or whether a predator is posing as a child online to try to lure their child to see him, etc. The safety updates can also determine whether someone is using inappropriate or lewd language or other inappropriate subject matter that children are being exposed to.

One other thing that Media Chaperone’s PiggyBack application offers parents makes it stand out from the crowd, when it comes to online monitoring and filtering. If a parent who uses PiggyBack sees that his child is playing properly and is not getting involved into any dangerous online activity, he or she can give his or her child rewards directly out of Facebook. The fact is that many online gaming platforms and social networks which are designed for children offer all kinds of digital currencies, prizes, and other online goods that your child can use to win prizes or free subscription renewals. PiggyBack allows parents to deliver these goodies to their children directly online.

According to the Managing Director of Leo Capital Holdings, Randy Rissman, the team at Leo Capital is excited to be able to help Media Chaperone in funding this important product and service. Furthermore, in this day and age, when more preteens are playing online and are involved in online social networks, it is becoming more difficult for parents to monitor their children’s activities online. The PiggyBack application that Media Chaperone offers meets a growing unmet need for parents to monitor their children’s activities, and they can do it from home, work, or even on the go.

Besides being the managing director of Leo Capital Holdings, Mr. Rissman is also an entrepreneur himself, and is a cofounder of Tiger Electronics, one of the largest online electronic gadgets retailers. Furthermore, Mr. Rissman is also a member of the Hyde Park Agels syndicate of angel investors and has worked with other angel investors from that syndicate, including Doug Moneison, both of whom will join Media Chaperone’s board of directors as part of the agreement for this funding round.

Leo Capital Holdings is a venture capital firm based in Illinois and primarily invests in Illinois based companies who are in both early and later stages. The focus on Leo Capital’s investments is primarily in companies who are in the consumer software and tech industry. Some other companies in Leo Capital’s portfolio include EpiWork, FunMobility, Grub Hub, Shoutlet, Smith & Think, GirlSense, and others.

Hyde Park Angels is an angel investor syndicate which is based in the Chicago metropolitan area and primarily invests in companies within the Midwest. The syndicate is a group of independent angel investors who primarily invest in seed and early stage capital in a wide variety of industries. Some of the angel investors who are members of the syndicate are also experienced in business, being both entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. Some other companies that angels at Hyde Park Angels have invested in include Honey Apps, Tap Me, Y Charts, ReTel Technologies, and others.

Existing Investors Invest £2.2 Million ($3.6 Million) in Series A Funding Round for Acunu

Based in London, United Kingdom, Acunu is a pioneer software company which is launching a beta test of a new data storage system. The company announced on February 24, 2011, that it has closed £2.2 million ($3.6 million) in a series A funding round from its existing investors, who include Eden Ventures, Oxford Technology Management, and Pentech Ventures LLC, UK.

Acunu is a software company that was founded in 2009 to develop a complex cloud storage system that handle all the complexities and inefficiencies that face many data storage providers face. One of the greatest challenges that most data storage providers face is the ability to provide their customers with larger storage space with fewer computers, less power, and at a lower cost to the customer. These challenges need to be met as there is a growing demand of cloud storage of data is growing at a heart stopping pace.

Along with the closure of this funding round, Acunu also announced that it has launched the first beta test of its new storage program, the Acunu Storage Platform. This particular platform is intended to be used by all kinds of companies, such as social media, advertising, and cloud computing. Acunu believes that its new software is just the right thing that many IT technicians believe is needed to meet the challenges that all the above mentioned industries face. The program works by combining big data tools with a basic redesigning the entire storage stack that will extract at a much higher and more predictable rate.

According to the CEO of Acunu, Tim Moreton, Acunu can handle all the big challenges that many big data companies face. Many companies which require big data include both startup companies and enterprises that have been around for a while. Mr. Moreton further added that the proceeds of this funding will help with the growth and speed up the adoption of Acunu’s technology.

Eden Ventures is a vc firm that primarily invests in companies who are in the software, SaaS, digital media, internet, mobile media, and other tech industries. The team at Eden Ventures is made up of both entrepreneurs and investment professionals. The firm boasts that the combination of both of the experience from entrepreneurs and investment professionals is just the right mix and provide the right resources for its portfolio companies. Some other companies in Eden’s portfolio include Blink Box, Boirro, Huddle, Tru, Zamenta, Bright Pearl, and others.

Israeli Financial Institution Phoenix Holdings Leads $6.3 Million in New Funding Round for Mazor Robotics

Based in Caesarea, Israel, Mazor Robotics announced on February 24, 2011, that it has completed a $6.3 million funding round that was led by Israeli Financial Institution Phoenix Holdings. Other top Israeli investment firms also took part in this funding round.

Mazor Robotics is a company which develops surgical robots which are used in complicated and typically invasive surgeries. These robots provide a safer surgical environment for patients by making smaller incisions and allowing the surgeons who are performing the surgery to view inside the body and perform the surgery without cutting open the patient. This in turn also reduces the risk of infection and other complications that can result in difficult surgeries.

One of the flagship products that Mazor Robotics provides clients include the SpineAssist, which is a unique robotic device that is specifically designed to perform spinal surgeries, which are very often difficult to perform with a robot. The SpineAssist robot that Mazor has developed is already in use in many hospitals in both the United States and Europe.

What is so great about the SpineAssist robot is that effectively performs surgeries on the spine, such as implants with the less likelihood of misplaced screws.

According to Ori Madori, the CEO of Mazor Robotics, completing this funding round is a very important milestone for the company. The team at Mazor is furthermore, honored and pleased that some of Israel’s top financial institutions have chosen to invest in the company. Mr. Madoni further stated that the proceeds from this funding round will go to continue significantly expand Mazor’s operations worldwide.

The funding will also help the company expand its market share. Mr. Madoni further added that his executive team at Mazor has already made great strides by having their SpineAssist robot already in many hospitals in both the United States and Europe. Mr. Madoni further added that his team is also looking forward to provide its new technology to other hospitals and help their surgeons and patients.

Just recently, prior to this funding round, Mazor Robotics just hired Mr. Christopher Sells, who is a 20 year veteran in the medical robotic sector. Prior to coming to Mazor, Mr. Sells was first with Intuitive Surgical as its vice president of sales and marketing. Mr. Sells was primarily hired to run and oversee the company’s US sales and marketing operations. Along with Mr. Sells, Mazor also hired some other top American sales executives to run its US sales and marketing operations.

New Investors Novo A/S and Fletcher Splaght Ventures Lead $15.7 Million Investment in Series D Funding Round for HTG

Based in Tucson, Arizona, HTG announced on February 24, 2011, that it has completed the first tranche of a $15.7 million funding round that was led by new investors Novo A/S and Fletcher Splaght Ventures. Other investors who participated in this funding round include the company’s existing investors, Merck Capital Ventures, Solstice Capital, and Valley Ventures.

HTG is a market leader in the molecular genetic biology sector. The company develops and markets molecular based gene expression solutions. The company currently develops solutions that profile gene expression by reading the miRNA and mRNA measurements. These solutions are developed by HTG for medical translation and diagnostics. The company further has a proprietary platform that based on the qPNA molecular technology platform that is perfectly suited to reliably detect small, but major changes in gene expression in various different types of samples.

Proceeds from this new funding round will go to fund the growth of the company’s flagship technology, the HTG Multiplex Gene Expression Testing platform. This particular platform is being used for various clinical validation and testing in various fields of therapeutics. Currently, this technology is being used in many of the cancer treatment centers at many major universities and medical centers throughout the United States and Europe.

According to HTG’s CEO, TJ Johnson, the company has had a breakthrough year last year. During 2010, HTG has passed some significant milestones, which include the commercial adoption of the multiplex gene expression platform into other medical fields. Furthermore, with this funding round, the company is able to continue its pipeline of products that are based on the multiplex platform.

More praises about HTG’s achievements were also sung by the people from the company’s new investors who led this funding round. According to Peter Bisgard, partner at Novo A/S, the team at Novo is proud to invest in HTG and are impressed in the determination that HTG has proven with their ability to execute their operations with limited resources before this funding round. Mr. Bisgard further added that the platform that HTG provides meets all kinds of unmet needs in various molecular medical fields, such as oncology and other areas of genetic mutation. Mr. Bisgard also stated that the HTG Multiplex Gene Expression Testing platform works especially well with formalin fixed paraffin imbedded tissue samples. In the past, these tissue samples were very difficult to read and often misdiagnosed.

The director of Fletcher Splaght Ventures, Molly Hoult, FSV is very happy to become an investor of HTG and is looking forward to work together with the company’s management and executive team. The company’s breakthrough technology is crucial to providing easier diagnostic solutions for tissue samples which in the past were very difficult to read. The technology has great expectations for researchers who are looking for more accurate diagnostic testing platforms to help patients.

Novo A/S is a holding company which is subsidized by the Novo Group, which is wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation. Based in Denmark, the firm primarily manages the foundation’s investments. Some other companies in Novo’s portfolio companies are not disclosed to the public.

FSV is a vc firm that primarily invests in emerging market and high growth companies who are in both the healthcare and high tech industries. Some other companies who are in FSV’s portfolio include BioTrove, CardioFocus, Soleo Communications, and others.

Intel’s Corporate Investment Arm, Intel Capital, Leads $12 Million Investment in Series D Funding Round for Digital Chocolate

Based in San Mateo, California, Digital Chocolate is one of the emerging market leaders in the growing social gaming industry has announced on February 22, 2011, that it has secured a $12 million funding round that was led by Intel Capital, the investment arm of Intel Technologies. Other investors who participated in this massive funding round include the company’s existing investors, who are Sutter Hill Ventures and Bridgescale Partners.

Digital Chocolate is a company that has developed one of the world’s fastest growing social gaming platform and has created many of the online games being played by the growing internet gaming crowd today. Some of the more famous games that Digital Chocolate has produced include Pro Fighter, Roller Coaster Rush, and Tower Bloxx. The company has been growing at a heart-stopping pace with just as recently as 2009, it has released many of its games to the App Store, an online store that sells apps for the iPhone and other smartphones.

Proceeds from this funding round are to go to help the company further expand its scale, cross platform capabilities, and geographic reach. This round of funding has come only after Digital Chocolate has successfully become one of the top five game publishers in 2010.

According to Mike Buckley, managing director of the internet consumer sector at Intel Capital, his firm has decided to invest in Digital Chocolate because the company is one of the fastest growing in the emerging social gaming industry and proves to be a leader who has the capabilities to take over the entire industry in the future. Furthermore, the company has proven itself to be one of the most successful game developers which develops games that can be played across a wide variety of different computer platforms.

The founder and CEO of Digital Chocolate, Trip Hawkins, further added that having an investment from such a serious strategic corporate investor, such as Intel Capital, is proof that the vision that the team at Digital Chocolate of providing one of the most universal social gaming platforms in this internet savvy age.

Intel Capital is the investment arm of Intel Technologies and is a global investment firm that invests in high growth and innovative startups in the tech and software industry. The primary goal of Intel Capital is to make investments that will benefit Intel Technologies.

Oaktree Capital Management, LLC Leads $4.6 Million in Series B Funding Round for Fetch Technologies

Based in El Segundo, California, Fetch Technologies is one of the major market leaders in web data availability to enterprises. The company announced on February 22, 2011, that it has secured $6.4 million in a series B funding round, which was led by Oaktree Capital Management Fund, LLC. Other investors who participated in this funding round include Jeffries and Company, INC. As part of the agreement of this funding round, Mr. Sheldon Stone, founder and principal of Oaktree Management Fund, and Mr. Frank Baxter of Jeffries and Company will join the company’s board of directors.

Fetch Technologies has developed a market leading product that allows enterprises to transfer and retrieve web data and real-time feeds for businesses to stay up to date with their workers. Some of the products that Fetch offers to its clients include Fetch Live Access, which is a data service that allows businesses to connect with its management, employees easily and efficiently. Fetch Live Access also allows people to share information in real time in a seamless and uninterrupted fashion. This system also connects clients with websites and companies pay for it by paying a subscription fee.

Other products include FetchCheck, which is a program that makes background checks of prospective employees easy and quick, reducing the waiting time during the interview and hiring process. Along with FetchCheck, Fetch Technologies also have a live access platform that allows for all enterprise data to flow back and forth between management and employees.

Proceeds from this funding round will go to help the company accelerate its sales and marketing of its proprietary technologies.

According to Robert Landes, Fetch’s CEO, because of the proliferation of web data transfer technologies, the industry has become very competitive with many new companies are struggling to meet the needs of their clients. Fetch has had a different approach with its cutting-edge technologies, which not only provides a reliable and safe database for its clients, but also allows for companies to have more efficient way to conduct their daily operations in today’s technological age.

Originally, the technology that Fetch possesses was developed in the research labs of the University of Southern California’s Information Sciences Institute. For this reason, Fetch received the vast majority of its funding from government grants. Now, the company is led by a highly experienced management team who has processed over 4 billion data for its clients. Some of Fetch’s clients include some large names, such as Reuters, Dow Jones, and others.

Oaktree Capital Management, LLC was founded by six men in the financial industry. Mark Sheldon is one of the founders as well as the principal of the firm. Oaktree primarily invests in all industries and stages. Oaktree does not disclose its portfolio companies.

Jeffries and Company is a large global securities and investment bank with offices in over 25 cities worldwide. The company primarily invests in both debt and equity capital. The firm is located in New York, NY; Albany, NY; Chicago, IL, London; Frankfurt; and others. Jeffries invests in a wide variety of industries which include the aerospace and defense, business services, consumer and retail, clean tech, energy, and many others. Jeffries does not disclose its portfolio companies.

Nexus to Receive $80 Million in Credit Facility from GE Capital

Based in Valencia, California, Nexus announced on February 18, 2011, that it has just received an $80 million credit facility from GE Capital, which is the venture capital and strategic corporate financing arm of General Electric. The GE Capital headquarters are located in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and has offered the credit facility to Nexus because of the potential that the technical solutions provider can provide General Electric. This is not the first financing that Nexus has received from GE Capital. The company has first received a $2 million in 2004 to allow for the company to continue to build its business and develop its products.

Nexus is a technical solutions developer which has been around for quite some time. Some of the products and services include unified communications that many organizations and large companies need to keep operations running smoothly. The solutions that Nexus provides include integrated mobility features, IP soft phones, messaging, unified, or standard voicemail, and more. The company has also merged together with CISCO Systems to broaden its resources in the tech industry. Nexus also offers data protection systems that can help large organizations protect their sensitive corporate data from falling into the wrong hands. There are many other technical solutions that Nexus provides to its clients in both the private and public sectors.

Besides being in a partnership with CISCO Systems, Nexus is also in partnerships with many other large tech and software companies, such as Microsoft, NEC, and EMC.

According to Deron Pearson, President and CEO of Nexus, the amazing growth that the company has experienced over the past years would not have been possible if Nexus did not have a good partnership with GE Capital. Furthermore, Mr. Pearson further added that this large credit facility his company has received from GE Capital will help it in its growth trajectory.

On the side of GE Capital, the team is also happy with the growth that Nexus has experienced. Mr. Tom Grathwohl, managing director of the CDF Technology Financing Unit at GE Capital stated that the team at GE Capital was happy to raise the original $2 million credit facility in 2004 to the $80 million and will continue to work together with key partners who work together with Nexus, such as CISCO Systems to advance the growth of the company.

As the financial arm of General Electric, GE Capital has financed over 30,000 companies and businesses who are in the tech industry across the United States and across the globe. GE Capital also helps consumers as well as businesses with different financial services.

Oak Investment Partners Leads $20 Million Investment in a Series B Funding Round for China’s Yoyi Network

Based in Beijing, China, Yoyi Media, China’s leading online advertiser and publisher has announced on February 15, 2011, that it has completed $20 million in series B funding round, led by Oak Investment Partners. Other investors who participated in this funding round also include the company’s existing investors, Steamboat Ventures and Gobi Partners.

Yoyi Media is one of China’s leaders in targeted marketing and other internet marketing solutions. Founded in 2007, the company has already grown to have a decent sized group of well-known worldwide brands that include Nokia, Jim Bean, Papa John’s Pizza, Avaya, Microsoft, and others. Furthermore, Yoyi has also acquired a nice group of publishers as well. Some of these publishers include some worldwide names that include CCTV.com, MSN, ESPN.com STAR, and others.

According to the company’s cofounder and CEO, Junfeng Liu, the team at Yoyi is ecstatic to have such a large investor invest such a large amount of money to help the company advance in the ever-changing internet marketing industry. Mr. Liu further added that having a world class investment team funding the company, it does not only get the capital to grow, but the experience and resources that the team of investment partners bring to the company. Furthermore, the experience and capabilities that Oak Investment Partners will bring to the company will add some new resources that will allow Yoyi Media to grow and expand in the targeted marketing industry in China, the region, and worldwide.

Proceeds from this funding round will provide Yoyi the necessary capital needed to help its growth and expansion. The funding will also help the company continue to enrich its flagship platform which is not only being used by many of China’s popular brands and publishers, but also some global brands and publishers as well.

As part of the deal of this funding, Mr. Ren Riley, General Partner at Oak Investment Partners will join the company’s board of directors. Mr. Riley has already been proud to lead the investment in Yoyi Media and added that Yoyi Media has some enormous ambitions, but what is truly amazing is that the company has been doing well in competing with come very aggressive benchmarks. Mr. Riley further stated that his team at Oak Investment Partners believes that the business model that Yoyi provides is a great opportunity for his firm.

More praises were sung from Steamboat’s Perry Chui, stating that his firm is proud to be continuing its investment in Yoyi Media and his team will continue to be enthusiastic about working together with the management team of Yoyi Media, who have shown a great stamina in the highly competitive market of targeted internet marketing. Mr. Chui further added that his firm will continue to support Yoyi’s goal to provide a highly efficient target advertising platform to transform the target marketing industry.

Founded in 1978, Oak Investment Partners is a global investment firm that works together with entrepreneurs who provide the firm with high growth opportunities in high growth markets and industries. Typically, Oak Investment Partners primarily invests worldwide in software, tech, IT, healthcare, clean energy, and retail industries. Currently the firm has a worldwide base with offices in West Port, Connecticut, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Palo Alto, California. Other companies in Oak’s portfolio include 1Life/One Medical, 2 Wire INC, Allos Therapeutics, Digital Media Group, EquaTerra, eSolar, and others.

UTILICASE Completed the Last $5 Million in $10 Million Funding Round from Clean Technology Investment Fund’s Cycle Capital Fund I

Based in Montreal, Canada, UTILICASE is a company which provides asset optimization and IT solutions for power utilities, announced on February 14, 2011, that it has completed the last $5 million tranche from a $10 million funding round from the Clean Technology Investment Fund’s Cycle Capital Fund I.

UTILICASE is a company which is leading the markets in asset optimization and IT solutions for power utilities. The company’s main product is the EPS-M Software, which primarily manages assets and is primarily aimed at power companies to help them manage their assets and resources. Some of the details of the EPS-M Software platform include systems to help power companies successfully overcome the challenges that power companies face on a day-to-day basis. The primary challenge that most power companies face is being able to generate power to their customers efficiently and as affordably as possible. This challenge has become an even bigger problem in today’s age with power being consumed by larger numbers of people than ever before and with the economic downturn affecting how people can pay for their utility bills.

What makes UTILICASE so attractive to investors is the fact that the company has an affective strategy and a creative management team that have designed a platform that has destined the company for immediate growth. The combination of the company’s team and the EPS-M Software platform has allowed UTILICASE to gain leverage in this fast growing industry.

According to Mr. Marc André Forget, President and CEO of UTILICASE, this last funding round began in the past six months and the proceeds from the financing is expected to accelerate the company’s marketing strategy of its flagship EPS-M Software platform worldwide and this in turn will help power companies efficiently manage and optimize their assets and resources.

Founder and Senior Partner of Cycle Capital Management, working together with the Clean Technology Investment Fund, Andrée Lise Méthot, the progress that UTILICASE has shown is truly a sing of leadership in the emerging asset optimization and management software sector. What gives UTILICASE the cutting edge in this fast growing market is that its platform is able to provide real-time solutions that power companies can use to manage valuable assets and resources. Ms. Méthot further added that with its unique platform, UTILICASE is actually killing two birds with one stone. On one hand, it is revolutionizing the asset management industry, and at the same time, it is also revolutionizing the way power companies can manage their assets, resources, and utilities.

Cycle Capital Management Fund (CCM) is a private investment fund that is managed by the Clean Technology Investment Fund. The investment fund primarily focuses on companies who are in the clean tech industries or companies which provide solutions for more efficient energy management. The fund primarily provides investments between $1.5 million to $7 million depending on the company it invests in. Some other companies in CCM’s portfolio include Enerkem, Prosep INC, Vaperma Gas Separation Solutions, Sixtron Advanced Materials, EcoCycle, Energate, and others.

Paladin Capital Group Leads $12 Million in New Equity Funding Round for Dambella

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, One of the world leaders in combating cyber threats, Dambella, announced on February 14, 2011, that it has received $12 million in a new equity funding round led by the Paladin Capital Group. Other investors who participated in this funding round include the company’s existing investors, Sigma Partners, Palomar Ventures, InterWest Partners, GRA Venture Fund, Imlay Investments, and Blumberg Capital. All the above mentioned investors have also increased their equity steaks Dambella with this funding round.

Leading the market in fighting cyber threats, Dambella is taking a lead in a new emerging industry with cyber threats being a reality for most businesses in this day and age. The fact is that there are many different cyber threats which can do anything from destroying or deleting vital data to cleaning out entire bank accounts. Some of the most common cyber scams include phishing, which is when you download some kind of malware that allows its programmers to figure out all your passwords, including those to your online banking access. Furthermore, there is also plenty of spyware which can do the same thing. You could also download a file or open an email which has a virus that can wipe your whole hard drive clean.

Dambella aims to make the internet a more safe and secure place to work in. One of the main products that the company has to offer its clients is the Dambella Failsafe. This program allow the user to protect his computer from the wide variety of malware, crimeware, and other cyber threats out lurking in the internet. The way the Dambella Failsafe system works is by detecting any kind of odd communication and detects any breached online assets.

As part of the deal for this new funding round, the principal of Paladin Capital Group, Mr. Philip Elliot will join the company’s board of directors. As far as the investment is concerned, Mr. Elliot stated that the nature of cyber attacks which are targeted to business and corporate IT systems is an eminent threat and is ever evolving. Furthermore, cyber attackers have become more sophisticated and are capable of breaking into the most secure networks in both the private and public sectors. The innovations that Dambella has produced in the cyber defense industry are truly revolutionary and the company has experienced rapid growth as the ever-changing cyber threat persists to be a problem. Mr. Elliot further stated that his team at Paladin Capital Group are very excited about the significant growth potential that Dambella can provide, thus the ROI the company can provide the firm. Mr. Elliot further stated that he is happy to join the management of a company that has a dedicated team and has a dynamic product which can help fight the growing problem of cyber threats.

The investors are not the only ones singing praises to Dambella. According to the company’s CEO, Val Rahmani, the entire management team of Dambella are very excited that the investment track record and experience that Paladin Capital Group brings to the company. Dambella has acquired a wide range of clientele, which include some of the most respected brands and companies in the world. Proceeds from this latest funding round will help Dambella develop its products to be more dynamic and be able to keep up-to-date with the latest cyber threats which are ever evolving.

Based in Washington D.C., the Paladin Capital Group is one of the largest multistage private equity firms in the United States. Currently, the firm has over $950 million of committed capital under its management and primarily invests in high-growth companies who are in the security and IT security industries. Some other companies in the Paladin Capital Group’s portfolio include Initiate Systems, QuantaLife, Modius, Royalty Pharma, CloudShield, Crossbow, Digital Signal, and others.

Venture Capital Firm, Sunstone Capital Leads $4 Million in Series A Funding Round for Podio

Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, Podio has announced in February 10, 2011, that it has just secured $4 million in a series A funding round which was led by Sunstone Capital. Other investors who participated in this funding round include other undisclosed investors.

Podio is a fast growing startup which was founded in early 2009 and has developed a disruptive work platform that connects people together with tools and other office related business when they are on the go. Podio actually allows workers to connect with each other and also provides a workspace that professionals can use to collaborate together and work on different projects.

Many people have described the product that Denmark-based Podio has to offer as a new technology which is redefining the online workspace for Enterprise 2.0 market. One of the biggest benefits that Podio’s company has to offer in its product is that it is highly customizable, allowing for its users to be able to do all kinds of different tasks and organize them effectively for optimum performance.

According to Podio’s CEO, Tommy Ahlers, the unique work platform that Podio provides its users with is growing in popularity with already over 6,000 users taking advantage of the company’s services. Mr. Ahlers further added that Podio’s platform is the only one in the world which places people at the center, instead of technology, allowing them to use their full creativity to its full potential. Already, many paying customers who are using Podio’s service are already realizing the value of this capability.

Other praises of Podio’s achievements were also sung by the company’s own investors. Sunstone’s partner, Christian Jepsen further added that Podio has provided the perfect match with the strategy that Sunstone Capital requires of its portfolio companies. Mr. Jepsen further added that as his firm likes to invest in early stage companies who are in the tech industry who have the vision to become a global corporation and Podio not only provides that, but also wants to expand further and has a strong and motivated management team that Sunstone Capital requires to turn that vision into reality. The future looks bright for this company and Sunstone Capital is proud to add this company to its list of portfolio companies.

Sunstone Capital is a venture capital firm that primarily invests in early stage tech and life sciences companies in the Nordic geographic region. The firm currently has over $650 million in capital under its management and believes in investing in companies who have the goal of expanding and being successful on a global scale. Some other companies in Sunstone’s portfolio include Rovsing Dynamics, Nuevolution, Jurag Separation, Vivostat, Giritech, Agilic, and others.

Battery Ventures Leads $12 Million in Series C Funding Round for Glassdoor

Based in Sausalito, California, Glassdoor is a company which operates a website that allows users to anonymously search for jobs by providing access to millions of companies and businesses who are hiring. The company announced on February 10, 2011 that it has secured $12 million in a series C funding round which was led by Battery Ventures. Other investors who participated in this funding round include the company’s existing investors, Benchmark Capital and Sutter Hill Ventures. Founded in 2007, along with this funding round, Glassdoor has raised a total of $22 million in venture capital and private equity.

With the advent of online job search sites, such as Career Builder and Monster.com, Glassdoor has disrupted this market by providing an easy to use website that offers users free access to millions of employers and job listings. The site that Glassdoor has to offer not only includes the job listings, pay, and benefits, but goes one step further. Along with the above mentioned information that Glassdoor offers its users, their website also offers an inside look at each employer that the user looks at. The site allows users to see such details as how happy employees are at that company, and reviews of each employer listed. Furthermore, the site also offers photos of the offices and workplaces each employer has, allowing users to get a first hand look before they even call up and apply for an interview.

Glassdoor is not only for people who are looking for jobs. Employers also look at Glassdoor to find employees who can work best for their companies. Glassdoor also offers services for recruiters who are looking for potential job seekers to recruit people for employment in companies who need workers. On top of that, once a job seeker chooses a category and a location, the website that Glassdoor provides gives a list with a bar graph that shows CEO ratings and other ratings about a particular employer. When a user clicks on an opening that they seem interested in, they will get a whole profile of the employer, which includes a company overview, job description, job requirements, and more. The opening page also allows you to click a button and schedule an interview online, as well as offering advise from Career Builder.

According to the cofounder and CEO of Glassdoor, Robert Hohman, since Glassdoor has launched its website in 2008, both job seekers and employers have often had difficulty finding detailed information about salary and benefits. Furthermore, since the launch of the site, the company has seen an enormous growth in job seekers and employers looking to communicate and find a perfect match for both. Mr. Hohman further added that as companies are beginning to add the predicted number of 2.3 million jobs this year, the company expects to grow even more in the future.

Proceeds from this funding round will help Glassdoor to fuel its amazing growth and to enhance its services as well as hiring extra staffing to manage the growing traffic on Glassdoor’s website.

Founded in 1983, Battery Ventures is a vc firm that primarily invests in innovative companies who are in the tech industry on a global scale. The firm invests in all stages of a company’s life from startup to expansion stage. Battery Ventures also manages buyouts, such as LBOs and MBOs. Currently, Battery Ventures has over $4 billion in capital under its management and has offices in Boston, Massachusetts, California’s Silicon Valley, and in Herzliya, Israel. Other companies in Battery’s portfolio include Achronix, Angie’s List, FreeWheel, Guidewire, Panaya, Solarbridge.com, and others.

$483K of investment for Free Web Service Start Up

The Minnesota, MN, free web service start up company, Inveni, announced that it has raised a total $483,333 in seed funding. The investment companies that led this round of financing were some Silicon Valley based venture capital firms that did not want their identities to be revealed.

Inveni is a browser plug in and web service that provides greatly personalized product suggestions based on a client’s overall taste profile. In order to create a personalized profile of taste, the company enables users to combine the product and service ratings that they have made on the internet on websites like Hulu or Amazon and rapidly build profound and rich profiles of their own tastes. Customers can share this taste profile information with their friends and other online services. Inveni also allows product recommendations among friends using word to mouth, based on the tastes and it utilizes a distinctive crowd refined recommendation engine in order to supply recommendations that are extremely personalized.

Inveni’s founder, Aaron Weber, stated in an interview that the company has as advisors the former NetPerceptions executives, which are the creators of the collaborative filtering software that drives the recommendation engine for Amazon. Although there are similarities between Inveni’s technology and Amazon’s and Netflix, Mr. Aaron Weber, the company’s founder, stated that there are some differences between the two and Inveni. Inveni’s users are able to publish the movies and TV shows that they have watched, this leading the website to ask friends and other Inveni members what they should look at next. This thing is different from the fully automated algorithms.

Mr. Aaron Weber also stated that the crawling is just one component of the recommendations and says that the contractors, staff and the website’s users create most of the connections. The company has been using a bot to crawl other websites on the internet which offer user generated content recommendations, for example websites that give the permission to its users to recommend TV shows and movies among themselves. This thing intends to help the company staff to make recommendations at a faster pace.

The company officials say that Inveni will focus on TV and movies, but there are also plans to expand beyond Hollywood, possibly to move towards music and books.

Investor Sevin Rosen Leads $10 Million in Series B Funding Round for Airwalk Communications

Based in Richardson, Texas, Airwalk Communications is an industry leader in small cell radio communications and has announced on February 8, 2011, that it has raised $10 million in series B led by private investor Sevin Rosen. Other investors who participated in this funding round include TL Ventures, Alta Berkeley, Duchossois Technology Partners, and Nodelco. Airwalk Communications plans to use the proceeds from this funding round to advance its small cell radio technology product portfolio, including the enhancement of the capabilities of existing technologies, such as the company’s CDMA products and the launching of LTE solutions.

Airwalk Communications has always, since its foundation in 2002, been at the forefront of small cell radio technology and has developed products for efficient small cell radio communications which are currently being used in over 25 countries around the world. Currently, with the advent of 4G technology and more cellphone and mobile device service providers are upgrading their transmitters to transmit 4G and LTE signals, Airwalk Communication has been at the forefront of this industry as well. Currently, the company is working on launching its new LTE technology, which would be used by mobile service providers to have seamless coverage area wide.

Recently small cell technology being used by more mobile users, the macro networks have become overloaded, causing for slow internet speed on devices, such as 3G networks. Furthermore, as mobile technology gets more into multimedia and the quality of graphics, photos, and videos from mobile devices is beginning to improve, many mobile carriers are looking to find small cell technology that can accommodate the growing demand and use of macro networks and mobile signals. This can especially be experienced in areas where most professionals use their mobile devices for work, such as in or near office buildings, restaurants in large city metropolises, and in commuter trains. The new technology that Airwalk is planning to launch is to allow mobile users to be able to seamlessly have coverage without congestion of data in the above mentioned hot spots and in areas where typically signal gets lost, such as inside high rise buildings.

According to Airwalk’s president and CEO, Serge Pequeux, one of the biggest problems with many of these new macro networks is that the advent of new mobile devices which have more multimedia features, especially video causes large amounts of congestion. The fact is that congestion is mainly caused by increased traffic and demand on the signal, slowing down the speed. For this reason, Airwalk is focusing its strategy, resources, and business to develop new solutions that allow for more bandwidth and for larger files, such as video files, to be transmitted at normal speed.

Adding to this, the practice director of Mobile Networks and ABI Research, Aditya Kaul, with the way the macro network is changing and mobile technologies are changing, you’re starting to see that the overloaded macro networks are gradually being changed to more effective small cell networks, such as OPEX and CAPEX. Airwalk Communications is truly an innovator when it comes to improving and enhancing small cell technologies for the mobile industry.