Monday, 11-year-old online antiques marketplace 1stdibs.com disclosed that it has raised $102 million over the last 19 months, including a new, $42 million round. Aside from the stunning amount of capital involved, the deal is interesting for a number of reasons.
5 min read · 04 December 2012
For many U.S. -based startups, European privacy standards remain an afterthought. To find out why that's so dangerous, we called up Phil Lee, a freshly-arrived-to-Silicon Valley attorney who heads up the U.S. practice of London-based Field Fisher Waterhouse, and who specializes in helping U.S. companies understand the black box that is European privacy law.
8 min read · 30 November 2012
Prospect Mortgage, a Sherman Oaks, Calif.-based home purchase lender, has appointed Michael Williams, a former president and CEO of Fannie Mae, chairman of its board of directors. Prior to Fannie Mae, Williams held positions at KPMG Peat Marwick and the DuPont Company. Prospect is backed by the private equity firm Sterling Partners.
4 min read · 29 November 2012
Venture capital funding in the life sciences sector, which includes the biotechnology and medical device industries, gained in Q3 in terms of dollars compared to the second quarter of 2012. But the sector still trended downward for the year, according to a new PwC US report that includes data from the PricewaterhouseCoopers, the National Venture Capital Association, and Thomson Reuters.
5 min read · 29 November 2012
Nutrastar International, a Harbin, China-based producer of health beverages and organic and specialty foods, has appointed Richard Fearon to its board of directors. Fearon is the founder and managing partner of Accretive Capital Partners, a 12-year-old private equity fund that seeks out take-private candidates and has offices in Boston, New York and West Palm Beach, Fla.
4 min read · 29 November 2012
Anyone who is alarmed to learn that most of today’s seed-funded startups will not survive hasn’t been paying very close attention.
3 min read · 29 November 2012
Sanu Desai probably knows venture-backed M&A as well as any investment banker, and as the year winds down, we asked for Desai’s perspective on the sluggish tech M&A market, private company valuations and what sectors he expects will drive deals in 2013.
4 min read · 28 November 2012
San Diego-based Tealium, whose software allows digital marketers and Web analytics pros to use a drag-and-drop interface to manage all their page tags, has hired Jeff Lunsford as CEO. Lunsford, most recently the president, CEO and chairman of Limelight Networks, begins in January.
3 min read · 28 November 2012
3M New Ventures, the venture arm of 3M Company, is investing in and collaborating with VocalZoom, a three-year-old maker of speech enhancement technology based in Israel. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
3 min read · 28 November 2012
YouScribe, a Paris-based startup focused on digital document publishing and sharing, has raised €2 million from investors, including Iris Capital and individual investors Philippe Oddo and Bruno Emsens. Previous investors Thierry Dassault, Habert Dassault, Benoit Habert, the Gilberte Beaux family and Henri and François de Maublanc also participated in the funding.
3 min read · 28 November 2012
