The first quarter won't close till Sunday, but an early look at the period finds the soft venture-investment environment continued. Venture capitalists in the United States put $6.2 billion to work in the quarter fueling 707 deals, according to a tally by PitchBook
1 min read · 29 March 2013
Cendana Capital announced the final close of a pair of seed-based fund of funds on Friday. The institutional seed investor now has raised $88.2 million and taken a position with nine investment partnerships. The final close announced Friday in a document filed with Securities and Exchange Commission was on $28.2 million raised by Cendana Capital L.P.
1 min read · 29 March 2013
Quasar Ventures said it has begun operations with $5.4 million in investment capital from a group of investors led by Emergence Capital Partners. The firm will follow a strategy that varies dramatically from an incubator. It plans to use its capital to develop 10 new technology companies globally in the coming four years. The firm is led by former Officenet executives Andy Freire, Santiago Bilinkis and Pablo Simón Casarino.
3 min read · 28 March 2013
FundersClub said it received a no-action letter from the Securities and Exchange Commission. The letter suggests that the SEC will not take action against venture capital advisers who are not registered at broker dealers, the company said.
1 min read · 28 March 2013
500 Startups is expanding its investing team and geographic footprint with an office in New York and plans for a San Francisco location. The seed fund and accelerator program run by Dave McClure has hired Parker Thomson as a venture partner and promoted George Kellerman to partner, according to a blog post.
1 min read · 28 March 2013
Jurvetson, a managing director at Draper Fisher Jurvetson and an investor in Elon Musk’s SpaceX, sees big opportunities opening up from low-cost space travel and reusable rockets.
2 min read · 27 March 2013
Bina Technologies said it closed a $6.25 million Series B round in a deal led by Sierra Ventures. The big data genomics company plans to expand development, marketing, sales and support. It will raise additional investment from a strategic life sciences investor to close out the round in the coming months.
4 min read · 27 March 2013
PeopleLinx said it raised $3.2 million in Series A funding in a deal led by Osage Venture Partners, Greycroft Partners and MissionOG. Angel investors also participated in the oversubscribed round.
5 min read · 27 March 2013
The University of Southern California said it launched the Viterbi Startup Garage, an early-stage technology accelerator that will provide financial and other resources to USC student and alumni entrepreneurs. The school's Viterbi School of Engineering said the accelerator was put together in partnership with Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers and the talent agency United Talent Agency. The goal is to provide grants and mentorship to approximately 10 companies for a 12 week session beginning in May 2013.
5 min read · 26 March 2013
ANF Technology raised about $13 million in a round arranged by FPI Innovation Fund LP. The company makes an aluminum oxide nano fiber. FPI led a $1.3 million seed investment in ANF in 2010 and in 2012 the company received a second round investment of $600,000 with two new co-investors participating.
4 min read · 26 March 2013
