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VCs & Venture Capital Investment Company News – 22 February 2012

mobstr — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:41:59 +0000

Highlights from the past week’s VC Investment Company news

HBM Partners raises €90m for healthcare fund

HBM Partners will invest in private European and North American companies in the pharmaceutical, medical device and diagnostics sectors through its HBM BioCapital II fund, according to a source close to the matter. The firm will focus on revenue-generating companies with approved products, supporting them in growing and internationalising their businesses.http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2012-02-13/hbm-partners-biocapital-fund-healthcare-growth

Parthenon Capital Partners Announces Final Closing of Parthenon Investors IV, LP

Parthenon Capital Partners, a leading middle market private equity firm with offices in Boston and San Francisco and over $2.0 billion of capital currently under management, announced today its affiliate, Parthenon Investors IV, LP (“PCP Fund IV”), held its final closing with $700 million in commitments. PCP Fund IV exceeded its initial fund target of $600 million and hit its “hard cap” of $700 million. http://www.parthenoncapitalpartners.com/news_result.asp?id=116

Vivo Ventures Closes $375 Million 7th Fund to Invest in Healthcare in the U.S. and Greater China

Vivo Ventures, a healthcare investment firm with offices in Palo Alto, California, Shanghai, and Chengdu, China, announced the final closing of Vivo Ventures VII (“Vivo VII”) at $375 million, which brings the firm’s total funds under management to more than $1 billion. Vivo plans to invest the capital primarily in later development stage pharmaceutical and medical device companies in the U.S. and in revenue stage healthcare companies in greater China. http://www.bioasia.com/news/010312.html

Capital Dynamics successfully closes USD 111 million in commitments to venture capital

Capital Dynamics is pleased to announce the successful final closing of Capital Dynamics Champion Ventures VII, a US-based venture program targeting top-tier US venture managers or pre-eminent international venture firms with strong US ties. The final closing of Capital Dynamics Champion Ventures VII ends a successful fundraising for Capital Dynamics’ US-based venture capital program with a total of USD 111 million in committed capital. The program has already made several venture fund commitments. Many of these funds have commenced investing and some of the funds have already experienced IPOs of underlying portfolio companies. http://www.capdyn.com/newswriter_files/Media_%20Release-Capital_Dynamics_closes_VC_fund-16Feb121.pdf

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IT Venture Capital Investment News Round Up – 21 February 2012

mobstr — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:41:05 +0000

Highlights from recent IT venture capital investment activity

North America

First Venture Round

15.02.2012 – Long Island City, NY

Aereo Raises $20.5M in Series A Financing

Aereo (formerly Bamboom Labs), a Long Island City, NY-based new Internet based television solution for consumers, raised $20.5m in Series A financing. The round was led by IAC (NASDAQ: IACI), with participation from existing investors FirstMark Capital, First Round Capital, High Line Venture Partners, Highland Capital Partners and unnamed individuals. https://aereo.com/assets/marketing/mediakit/press_release.pdf

Secondary Venture Round

13.02.2012 – Boston, MA

Spin Transfer Technologies Raises $36 Million Led by Allied Minds and Invesco

Spin Transfer Technologies, Inc. a leading developer of a breakthrough MRAM universal computer memory technology announced today that it secured $36 million in Series A funding. The raise was led by its Boston-based parent company, Allied Minds and Invesco Asset Management. http://www.spintransfer.com/

13.02.2012 – San Francisco, CA

Marin Software Raises $30 Million Funding

According to eMarketer, by 2015 advertisers will spend $132.1 billion annually for online advertising. Advertisers are increasing their investment in online advertising across multiple channels to drive greater lead generation, customer acquisition, and revenue. This activity is fueling the expanding adoption of Marin Software’s ad management and optimization platform. During the last year, Marin nearly doubled its customer base to 1,500 as well as the amount of annual spend managed on its platform to $3.5 billion. In the wake of Marin’s success, Asia investment company Temasek led a $30 million round of funding along with SAP Ventures. Joining the new investors in this oversubscribed round were existing Marin venture investors Benchmark Capital, Crosslink Capital, DAG Ventures, and Triangle Peak Partners. http://www.marinsoftware.com/resources/news/marin-software-raises-30-million-funding

13.02.2012 – Sunnyvale, CA

Ruckus Wireless raises $21.7 million

Ruckus Wireless, a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based developer of Wi-Fi technology, has raised the first $21.7 million of a planned $25 million round of equity funding, the company revealed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Thirty-nine investors have so far taken part in the round. Identities of the investors have not been disclosed. http://www.dmwmedia.com/news/2012/02/13/ruckus-wireless-raises-21-7-million

15.02.2012 – Ottawa, ON

FileTrek Secures $10 Million in Funding

FileTrek announced today the company closed $10 million in Series B funding from a consortium of investors in the U.S. and Canada led by Anthem Venture Partners, Telesystem, and Ontario Emerging Technologies Funds. FileTrek will use the funding to support its release today of the industry’s first cloud-based file sharing solution that tracks and audits Enterprise content and data. https://filetrek.com/press/2012/02/filetrek-secures-10-million-in-funding./

Europe

Secondary Venture Round

14.02.2012 – Stuttgart, Germany

IM+ Raises $10m from Finam; Expands in Russia

IM+, a Stuttgart, Germany-based mobile messenger, has raised $10m in funding from Russian brokerage and investment holding Finam Private Equity Fund. Founded by Igor Berezovsky, IM+ provides a Beep in-app free push messenger and Neighbors local chat that allows people to save on SMS and MMS while simultaneously chat on Facebook, Skype, Google Talk and tweet. Available on all mobile platforms, web and TV , it has 17,5 million users and 800 million mobile ad impressions/month.http://www.shape.ag/en/releases.php?id=414

Mergers & Aquisitions

16.02.2012 – Seattle, WA

Envestnet to Acquire Tamarac

Envestnet has agreed to acquire Tamarac for $54 million in cash, subject to certain post-closing adjustments. The acquisition is subject to approval by the holders of a majority of Tamarac’s voting securities. Holders of Tamarac’s voting securities, including members of Tamarac’s management, have agreed to vote in favor of approval of the transaction. The transaction is also subject to customary closing conditions, including customer consents, and is expected to be completed by the first half of 2012.http://www.tamaracinc.com/Public/News-Archive-2-16-12.aspx

15.02.2012 – Liberty Lake, WA

Itron Advances Growth Strategy with SmartSynch Acquisition

Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire privately held SmartSynch, Inc. in a transaction valued at $100 million. The acquisition will bring greater choice to utility customers across the spectrum of smart metering deployments and strengthen Itron’s integrated cellular communications offering. The parties expect the transaction to close in the second quarter of 2012. https://www.itron.com/na/newsAndEvents/Pages/Itron-Advances-Growth-Strategy-with-SmartSynch-Acquisition.aspx

IPOs

16.02.2012 – San Francisco, CA

Yelp IPO Set To Trade March 2 On NYSE

Online-review service Yelp Inc. plans to sell as much as $100 million in stock in an initial public offering that will trade in early March. The company aims to sell 7.15 million shares at a price of $12 to $14 each. At the high end of the range, it would carry a market capitalization of $838.6 million. It is scheduled to price March 1 and trade the next day on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol YELP. http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120216-720244.html

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Life Science Venture Capital Investment News Round Up – 20 February 2012

mobstr — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:37:48 +0000

Highlights from recent Life Science venture capital news.

North America

First Venture Round

15.02.2012 – Nashville, TN

WellNow Urgent Care Launching with $35 Million of Committed Capital

WellNow Urgent Care, a new urgent care company focused on treating patients in underserved markets, has launched operations with $35 million in committed capital, according to CEO Kevin Cross. The investment firms providing the capital include SV Life Sciences, Petra Capital Partners and River Cities Capital Funds.http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/15/idUS194428+15-Feb-2012+BW20120215

Secondary Venture Round

15.02.2012 – La Jolla, CA

Celladon Corporation Completes $43 Million Financing to Advance MYDICAR® for the Treatment of Heart Failure

Celladon Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative treatments for cardiovascular diseases, announced today that it has completed a $43 million equity financing to advance its lead investigational product candidate MYDICAR® for the treatment of heart failure. The financing was led by new investor Pfizer Venture Investments and also included new investors Lundbeckfond Ventures, Novartis Venture Funds, H&Q Healthcare/Life Sciences Investors, and GBS Venture Partners. All previous investors participated in this round including Enterprise Partners Venture Capital, Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, and Venrock Associates. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/celladon-corporation-completes-43-million-financing-to-advance-mydicar-for-the-treatment-of-heart-failure-139353533.html

16.02.2012 – Salt Lake City, UT

AMEDICA Completes $30M Financing

Amedica Corporation, a spinal and reconstructive implant manufacturer focused on its medical grade silicon nitride ceramic material, today announced the completion of its $30 million Senior Secured Subordinated Convertible Notes financing. This financing, which began in 2011, has now been fully funded with the receipt of the final $5,000,000 investment. http://amedica.com/company/news/02.16.12.pdf

13.02.2012 – Livermore, CA

Halt Medical Closes First $20M Tranche of $50M Financing

Halt Medical, Inc., a Livermore, CA-based medical device company focused on women’s health, has closed the first $20m tranche of a $50m debt and equity financing. The round was led by American Capital Strategies (ACAS). http://www.finsmes.com/2012/02/halt-medical-closes-20m-tranche-50m-financing.html

14.02.2012 – Scottsdale, AZ

Cayenne Medical Closes $10 Million Capital Raise

Cayenne Medical, Inc., a private sports medicine device company, today announced the closing of a $10 million equity financing, with new investor Fletcher Spaght Ventures joining existing investors Split Rock Partners, MB Venture Partners and Investor Growth Capital. The proceeds will be used to enhance the company’s sales and distribution and to support expansion of its portfolio of sports medicine orthopedic solutions. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/14/idUS132467+14-Feb-2012+PRN20120214

Europe

Secondary Venture Round

14.02.2012 – Oxford, UK

Oxitec Secures £8M in Funding

Oxitec Ltd, an Oxford, UK-based company developing a new approach to combating dengue fever, has secured £8m in new funding. The round was led by Oxford Capital, with participation from new investors, which include Asia Pacific Capital, from many of the regions affected by dengue fever and other insect-borne diseases, such as the USA, Argentina, Brazil and South East Asia. http://www.finsmes.com/2012/02/oxitec-secures-8m-funding.html

This Week In Venture Capital is brought to you by VM Index from Venture Market Intelligence – Venture Capital made easier

VM Index is an online Life Science, Med Tech & Biotech venture capital funding tool with expert data that enables companies to raise more money, faster and at a better valuation than they could otherwise.

Venture Capital Investment – 17 February 2011

mobstr — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:13:23 +0000

A round up of deal activity in IT, Life Science, Med Tech & Biotech Venture Capital Investment over the past week.

Total No. Deals	NA	EU	Total Raised $	Total Raised €
57	46	11	388.4	294.4

North America

No. Deals	Total $	Total €	Average $	Average €
46	356.1	270.1	8.9	6.8

Europe

No. Deals	Total $	Total €	Average $	Average €
11	32.2	24.2	5.4	4.0

Breakdown By Sector

Life Sciences

No. Deals	NA	EU	Total $	Total €
18	15	3	151.3	114.9
Average Deal NA & EU	$
Average Deal NA & EU	10.8	8.2

Largest Deals

Company Name	Region	Stage	$m	€m
Appollo Endosurgery	NA	SVR	47.6	36.1
Pharnext	EU	SVR	7.3	5.5

TMT

No. Deals	NA	EU	Total $	Total €
39	31	8	237.1	179.5
Average Deal NA & EU	$	€
Average Deal NA & EU	7.2	5.4

Largest Deals

Company Name	Region	Stage	$m	€m
Access Media 3	NA	SVR	30.0	22.6
GCI Telecom	EU	SVR	15.8	11.9

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IT Venture Capital Investment News Round Up – 14 February 2012

mobstr — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:34:14 +0000

Highlights from recent IT venture capital investment activity

09.02.2012 – Oakbrook, IL

Access Media 3 Receives $30M in Funding

Access Media 3 (AM3), an Oakbrook, IL –based provider of comprehensive Internet, TV and Voice services including design, installation, maintenance and management of these services for multi-dwelling units, has received $30m in funding. Backers include ORIX Venture Finance and Petra Capital Partners.http://www.finsmes.com/2012/02/access-media-3-receives-30m-funding.html

09.02.2012 – Palo Alto, CA

Vivio Raises $21M in Funding

Vivio, a Palo Alto, CA-based start-up providing access to desktop applications, data and a familiar Windows environment from anywhere in the world, on almost any device, Mac or PC, android tablet or iPad, notebook or netbook, has raised $21m in funding. Backers include Videocon (& Group Companies), and AEC Partners. http://www.finsmes.com/2012/02/vivio-raises-21m-funding.html

07.02.2012 – San Mateo, CA

Conviva Raises $15M

Conviva Inc., a San Mateo, CA-based video quality optimization and advanced analytics solution provider, has closed a $15m funding. The round was led by Time Warner Investments, the investment arm of Time Warner Inc. The company intends to use the funding to accelerate its growth in international markets and to expand their staff. http://www.conviva.com/node/143

07.02.2012 – Bellevue, WA

Spoken Communications Closes Series B Financing

Spoken Communications, provider of a leading enterprise cloud platform for contact centers, today announced that it has completed its Series B round of financing. The completion of this transaction includes the issuance of preferred stock totaling $11.5 million led by Ignition Capital and includes participation from Ignition Partners (Series A investor). http://www.spoken.com/news-events/bid/74668/Spoken-Communications-Closes-Series-B-Financing

08.02.2012 – San Francisco, CA

Extole Secures $10M in Series C Funding

Extole (www.extole.com), the leading Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) Social Marketing Platform, today announced it has closed a $10 million Series C round of funding, bringing the company’s total financing to $22 million. The round was led by Shasta Ventures with participation from existing investors Norwest Venture Partners, Redpoint Ventures, and Trident Capital. Extole marks the first Shasta investment for Jim Barnett, who joined Shasta Ventures as a partner in November 2011 and has served as Extole’s Chairman of the Board since 2009. http://extole.com/press-coverage/extole-secures-10-million-in-series-c-funding-led-by-shasta-ventures/

07.02.2012 – New York, NY

Spongecell Raises $10M in Series B Financing

Spongecell, Inc., a New York City-based advertising technology company that turns standard banner ads into dynamic ads with rich media features, has raised $10m in Series B financing. The round was led by Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NYSE: SFE). The company intends to use the capital for continued expansion including product development, sales and marketing, executive and staff recruitment, and other working capital needs. http://www.finsmes.com/2012/02/spongecell-raises-10m-series-financing.html

Mergers & Aquisitions

08.02.2012 – San Francisco, CA

Netvibes acquired by Dassault Systèmes for $26M

Dassault Systèmes announced the acquisition of Netvibes, the award-winning brand in dashboard intelligence technologies to enrich its 3D Experience platform. Netvibes is an internet platform that delivers a holistic snapshot of any key information related to ‘my company’ or my ‘personal interest’. Netvibes offers an easy and fast way to create personalized dashboards for real-time monitoring, social analytics, knowledge sharing, and decision support.http://www.3ds.com/company/announcement/netvibes

06.02.2012 – Sunnyvale, CA

Rambus Acquires Unity Semiconductor

Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ: RMBS), one of the world’s premier technology licensing companies, today announced it has acquired privately-held Unity Semiconductor, an innovative memory technology company for an aggregate of $35 million in cash. As part of this acquisition, the Unity team members have joined Rambus to continue developing innovations and solutions for next-generation non-volatile memory. This acquisition will expand the breadth of Rambus’ breakthrough memory technologies and will open up new markets for licensing. The boards of directors of both companies have approved the acquisition and it has closed. http://www.rambus.com/us/news/press_releases/2012/120206.html

IPOs

06.02.2012 – Cambridge, MA

Online video player Brightcove prices IPO at $10-12 a share, could raise $60M

Online video startup Brightcove has set the price range for its initial public offering at $10 to $12 a share and could raise up to $60 million, according to its latest S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We last heard from Brightcove on the financial front this past August, when it filed an S-1 to raise up to $50 million in its IPO. But with this latest filing, that amount has gone up a modest $10 million. The company will offer 5 million of its shares, so at the high end of the $10 to $12 per share offering, it could raise as much as $60 million. The underwriting of the offering is led by Morgan Stanley and Stifel Nicolaus Weisel, and they have the option to sell another 750,000 shares if investor demand is high enough. The pricing of shares would equal a valuation between $263.8 million to $316.5 million.http://venturebeat.com/2012/02/06/brightcove-ipo/

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Life Science Venture Capital Investment News Round Up – 13 February 2012

mobstr — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:31:59 +0000

Highlights from recent Life Science venture capital news.

06.02.2012 – Austin, TX

Apollo Endosurgery Announces $47.6M Financing

Apollo Endosurgery, Inc., a company focused on the development of devices that advance therapeutic endoscopy to enable an entirely new generation of minimally invasive, scarless surgical procedures, today announced a $47.6 million financing. New investors Novo A/S, Remeditex Ventures, and CPMG, Inc. joined existing investors PTV Sciences and H.I.G. BioVentures in this latest round of financing for the Austin-based medical device company. http://www.apolloendo.com/News—Events/Press-Releases/Apollo-Endosurgery-Announces-$47-6M-Financing.aspx

08.02.2012 – Austin, TX

Pivot3 Closes $23M Equity Financing

Pivot3, Inc., an Austin, Texas-based provider of unified storage and compute appliances, has closed a $23m round of new equity financing. The round was led by Samsung Ventures, with participation from existing investors Focus Ventures, InterWest Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Mesirow Financial, Northleaf Capital Partners and Silver Creek Ventures. http://www.finsmes.com/2012/02/pivot3-closes-23m-equity-financing.html

07.02.2012 – San Diego, CA

Applied Proteomics (API) secured $22.5 million Series B Financing

San Diego-based Applied Proteomics, which is developing personalized medicine applications, said today that it has raised $22.5M in a Series B funding, and moved its headquarters to San Diego. The funding came from Domain Associates, Vulcan Capital, and angel investors. As part of the funding, the firm said that Domain’s James C. Blair joins the company’s board. http://www.appliedproteomics.com/press/2012.02.06.pdf

10.02.2012 – Boston MA

Celgene makes $15 million investment in Acetylon

US biotech Celgene (Nasdaq: CELG) will invest a total of $15 million in Acetylon Pharmaceuticals via the purchase of Series B-2 Preferred Stock. Mark Alles, Celgene’s chief commercial officer, will serve as a non-voting observer to the Acetylon board of directors. However, Celgene does not receive rights or options to Acetylon technology under the terms of the equity purchase agreements.http://www.thepharmaletter.com/file/110943/celgene-makes-15-million-investment-in-acetylon.html

09.02.2012 – San Francisco, CA

Altheos raises $12.5M, starts glaucoma trial

Altheos Inc. (South San Francisco, Calif.) raised an additional $12.5 million in a series A round and announced the start of a Phase IIa trial for ATS907 in patients with primary open angle glaucoma and/or ocular hypertension. The total raised in the series A is now $32.5 million. The financing was co-led by Bay City Capital, Novo A/S and Canaan Partners. ATS907 is a Rho kinase inhibitor. Altheos has exclusive, worldwide rights, excluding Japan and Korea, from Asahi Kasei Pharma Corp. (Tokyo, Japan).http://www.biocentury.com/dailynews/financial/2012-02-09/altheos-raises-125m-starts-glaucoma-trial

08.02.2012 – Menlo Park, CA

Velomedix Closes $10.2M in Series B Funding

Velomedix, Inc., a Menlo Park, California-based development stage medical device company advancing the clinical field of Therapeutic Hypothermia, has closed $10.2m in Series B funding. The company intends to use the funding to initiate a post-CE Mark trial in support of EU commercialization and obtain U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for a clinical study in the United States.http://www.finsmes.com/2012/02/velomedix-closes-10-2m-series-funding.html

Europe

Secondary Venture Round

09.02.2012 – Issy les Moulineaux, France

Pharnext Raises €8M in Funding

Pharnext SAS, an Issy les Moulineaux, France-based biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of innovative treatments based on Pleotherapy™ for severe neurological diseases, has raised €8m in two tranches in October and December 2011. This follows a €2.5m round closed in June 2011. http://www.finsmes.com/2012/02/pharnext-raises-e8m-funding.html

Mergers & Aquisitions

09.02.2012 – Durham, NC

Cytomedix snaps up stem cell biotech Aldagen for a bargain price

Just 10 months after abandoning its second effort to go public, Aldagen is selling out to a small regenerative medicine company for just $16 million in shares and the chance to earn another chunk of stock based on the clinical success of its stem cell therapies. The news isn’t likely to spur much joy among its investors. Durham, NC-based Aldagen reportedly raised more than $60 million from venture groups, a list that includes Aurora Funds, Intersouth Partners, Harbert Venture Partners, CNF Investments and Tullis-Dickerson. http://www.fiercebiotech.com/story/cytomedix-snaps-stem-cell-biotech-aldagen-bargain-price/2012-02-09

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Venture Capital Investment – 10 February 2011

mobstr — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:33:57 +0000

A round up of deal activity in IT, Life Science, Med Tech & Biotech Venture Capital Investment over the past week.

Total No. Deals	NA	EU	Total Raised $	Total Raised €
73	57	16	535.4	406.6

North America

No. Deals	Total $	Total €	Average $	Average €
57	466.6	354.3	8.5	6.4

Europe

No. Deals	Total $	Total €	Average $	Average €
16	68.8	52.3	4.9	3.7

Breakdown By Sector

Life Sciences

No. Deals	NA	EU	Total $	Total €
13	8	5	153.4	116.3
Average Deal NA & EU	$	€
Average Deal NA & EU	12.8	9.7

Largest Deals

Company Name	Region	Stage	$m	€m
ConforMIS	NA	SVR	89.0	67.3
TeraView	EU	SVR	5.5	4.2

TMT

No. Deals	NA	EU	Total $	Total €
60	49	11	382.0	290.3
Average Deal NA & EU	$	€
Average Deal NA & EU	6.7	5.1

Largest Deals

Company Name	Region	Stage	$m	€m
TrialPay	NA	SVR	40.0	30.4
Videoplaza	EU	SVR	12.0	9.1

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VCs & Venture Capital Investment Company News – 9 February 2012

mobstr — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:32:33 +0000

Highlights from the past week’s VC Investment Company news

Venture Capitalist Confidence Index Falls in 4Q for Third Straight Quarter

Early-stage investing is chugging along at a nice pace. But Silicon Valley venture capitalists are less confident about the months ahead than they were during the financial tumult of the fall.

This is according to the Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist Confidence Index prepared each quarter by Mark Cannice, a professor at the University of San Francisco. The index fell in the fourth quarter to 3.27 from 3.41 in the third quarter. (Five represents maximum confidence.) It was the third consecutive decline. http://www.pehub.com/133399/venture-capitalist-confidence-index-falls-in-4q-for-third-straight-quarter/

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IT Venture Capital Investment News Round Up – 8 February 2012

mobstr — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:25:32 +0000

Highlights from recent IT venture capital investment activity

North America

First Venture Round

31.01.2012 – Palo Alto, CA

CardSpring Raises $10M Series A from Accel and Greylock

Payments infrastructure startup CardSpring announced today the raise of a $10M Series A investment led by Accel Partners and Greylock Partners, with SV Angel, Morado Ventures, Felicis Ventures, and WIN also participating. CardSpring is a new Application Programming Interface (API) for the payment network that lets developers add new capabilities to credit and debit cards by programming the payment network to link online applications to specific payment events. The API brings the disruption of the web to the payment network, enabling developers to turn existing offline payment-linked services like paper coupons, loyalty cards, or receipts into software. http://www.pehub.com/133269/cardspring-raises-10m-series-a-from-accel-and-greylock/

Secondary Venture Round

31.01.2012 – Mountain View, CA

TrialPay Secures $40 Million in Funding For Transactional Advertising Platform

TrialPay announced that it has raised more than $40 million in its latest round of funding. New investors in this round include Greylock Partners, Visa Inc., T. Rowe Price, DAG Ventures, DFJ Growth and QuestMark Partners, with existing investor participation. The new financing will accelerate TrialPay’s business growth as it expands into new markets and continues to innovate. http://www.trialpay.com/about/press-releases/release/?article=55

30.01.2012 – South Jordan, UT

Solera Networks Raises $20 Million in Series D Funding Led by Intel Capital

Solera Networks™, the industry’s leading Network Security Analytics provider, announced today that it has secured $20 million in Series D financing led by Intel Capital. Intel Capital is joined by existing investors Allegis Capital, Signal Peak Ventures and Trident Capital. The new funds will help support the company’s rapid growth by further expanding global sales, marketing and product development initiatives. http://www.soleranetworks.com/press_release/raises-funding/

31.01.2012 – Denver, CO

Inspirato Receives Additional Capital to Fund Rapid Expansion Plans

Inspirato, the destination club for a new generation of luxury consumers, today announced plans to add at least 180 new properties in 2012 to its already expansive portfolio of luxury homes at the world’s finest vacation destinations.

Inspirato’s continued growth will be fueled in part by a $20 million investment the company recently received from later-stage venture capital firm Institutional Venture Partners (IVP). One of the premier VC and growth equity firms in the U.S., IVP has been able to achieve a 43.2 percent average internal rate of return over the past 30 years due to its track record of backing companies that stand out in their respective markets.http://www.inspirato.com/press/press-releases-detail/2012-01-31-ivp

31.01.2012 – Lindon , UT

Omniture Co-Founder’s Business Intelligence SaaS Company Domo Lands $20M From IVP

Domo, the SaaS business intelligence startup launched by Omniture founder Josh James, has raised $20 million in new funding from Institutional Venture Partners (IVP). This round brings total investment in Domo to $63 million. Previous investors include Benchmark Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Ron Conway and David Lee of SV Angel, and Hummer Winblad. http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/31/…

03.02.2012 – El Segundo, CA

Lead Management Company Leads360 Raises $15 Million

Leads360, a consumer sales automation and telephony platform, announced today it has completed a $15 million round of new funding. The round was led by Volition Capital and saw participation from existing Leads360 investor Rustic Canyon Partners. The company plans to use the funding to expand its product lineup, pursue strategic relationships and raise awareness about its platform. http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/03/lead-management-company-leads360-raises-15-million/

01.02.2012 – Orlando, FL

PlanSource Raises $12 Million Investment

PlanSource Holdings, Inc., a cloud-based HR and healthcare SaaS technology company, has announced that it has received a $12 million investment led by Lemhi Ventures to leverage its technology leadership position and expand its growing business in healthcare technology, employee benefits administration, and HR technology services. http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx feed=PR&Date=20120201&ID=14749600

02.02.2012 – Knoxville, TN

PerfectServe Closes $10.9M Series C Financing

PerfectServe , a Knoxville, Tenn.-based provider of clinical communication services, has closed a $10.9m Series C financing. The round was led by PJC Capital LLC, with participation from National Healthcare Services and CHV Capital, as well as existing investors River Cities Capital Funds, Village Ventures and Spring Mill Venture Partners.http://www.perfectserve.com/aboutus/releases/release020212.html

31.01.2012 – San Diego, CA

MOGL raises $10M

MOGL, a customer loyalty platform that’s all about psychology and game mechanics, has raised its second institutional round of funding. The $10 million round brings the startup’s total amount of venture capital raised to $12.4 million. The new funding round was led by Sigma Partners, with participation from Austin Ventures and Avalon Ventures. http://venturebeat.com/2012/01/31/mogl/

Europe

Secondary Venture Round

01.02.2012 – London, UK

Videoplaza raises $12M

Videoplaza raises Series B funding of $12M USD, coming from two new investors – Innovacom (France) and Qualcomm Ventures (US), as well as our existing investors, Northzone and Creandum. The funding will be used to further develop our product and service, so we can continue to help our clients solve the challenges of monetising video in a device agnostic world; and to fund further global expansion. http://www.videoplaza.com/news/

01.02.2012 – London, UK

Stylistpick Lands $11 Million Funding

London-based fashion e-commerce site Stylistpick has successfully landed $11 million (£7 million) in a second round of funding. It is a big vote of confidence in the 15-month-old start-up which has an unusual offering among European fashion sites, a subscription model. The investment comes from Fidelity Growth Partners Europe, with partner Davor Hebel joining the Stylistpick board. Existing investors Accel Partner and Index Ventures also took part. http://blogs.wsj.com/tech-europe/2012/02/01/…

Mergers & Aquisitions

31.01.2012 – Needham, MA

Options Media to Acquire Illume Software

Illume Software, maker of the iZup mobile app to prevent distracted driving, is being acquired by Options Media Group Holdings, Inc., a publicly traded Florida company, and maker of PhoneGuard, another anti-distraction driving software product. Financial details were not disclosed, but Illume shareholders will own 40% of the post-merger company. http://bostinno.com/2012/01/31/options-media-to-acquire-illume-aims-to-keep-your-eyes-off-your-phone-and-on-the-road/

Life Science Venture Capital Investment News Round Up – 7 February 2012

mobstr — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:18:04 +0000

Highlights from recent Life Science venture capital news.

First Venture Round

02.02.2012 – Menlo Park, CA

Auxogyn Completes $20 Million In Series A Funding

Auxogyn Inc., a Menlo Park, Calif.-based company that focuses on products for women’s reproductive health, has closed a final tranche in its Series A financing. Investors in the round include Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, TPG Biotech and Merck Serono Ventures. The company, which has now raised $20m in total funding, has already developed its first product, Early Embryo Viability Assessment (Eeva), which provides quantitative information regarding embryo development to assist reproductive specialists in optimizing the treatment path for their patients undergoing In vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures. http://www.vcaonline.com/news/news.asp?ID=2012020205

30.01.2012 – Toronto, ON

Xagenic Inc. Closes $10 Million Series A Financing

Xagenic Inc., a Toronto, Canada-based molecular diagnostics company developing a new technology for decentralized, rapid diagnostic testing, has closed a $10m Series A financing. The round was co-led by CTI Life Sciences Fund (CTI) and the Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund (OETF) with participation by QIAGEN N.V. The company intends to use the funds to develop a molecular diagnostic testing platform and lead tests designed for use in physician offices, clinics and hospital settings. http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/30/4224690/xagenic-inc-closes-10-million.html

Secondary Venture Round

30.01.2012 – Burlington, MA

ConforMIS Reaches Funding Milestone with $89 Million in Series E Financing

Surpassing all previous fundraising rounds, privately-held medical-device company ConforMIS, Inc. announced today that it has raised $89 million in a Series E round of funding, with additional funds beyond this amount committed upon meeting certain milestones. The company, which more than doubled its revenues in 2011, will use the funds to support ongoing sales and marketing expansion, R&D investment into new product lines, and build out of manufacturing infrastructure. The investments originated from private-equity funds in the U.S., Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Principal investors in the round include AGC Equity Partners and Axel Johnson, Inc., along with Government Investment Funds from Asia and the UAE. http://www.conformis.com/About-Us/Pressroom/Press-Details?id=37

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