Dudu Mimran Blog

Exec Moves, Startups and Acquisitions - Wrap up for 24 Apr 2006

Mergers & Acquisitions The Active Network, a San Diego based provider of application and marketing services, acquired IronPoint Technology, a Vancouver based provider of content management software solutions, for an undisclosed amount. Adobe Systems acquired Trade and Technologies France (TTF), makers of computer-aided design (CAD) data interoperability software, for an undisclosed amount. Amdocs, a Chesterfield, MO based provider of software and services, acquired Qpass, a provider of digital commerce software and solutions, for $275 million. Clearwire, a Kirkland, WA based provider of wireless, broadband Internet service to consumers and small businesses, acquired Winbeam, a Greensburg, PA based broadband wireless Internet service provider, for an undisclosed amount. CommPartners, a Las Vegas based IP-based network operator providing wholesale VoIP and enhanced IP applications to carriers and strategic partners, acquired Anexeon Communications, a Las Vegas based provider of comprehensive managed technology solutions, for an undisclosed amount. Emulex, a Costa Mesa, CA based supplier and developer of storage networking host bus adapters, acquired Aarohi Communications, a San Jose based provider of system-on-a-chip solutions for the storage networking market, for $39 million. Hansen Information Technologies, a Rancho Cordova, CA based provider of application software that helps manage the operations of government, acquired Spear Technologies, a San Francisco based provider of asset management solutions for the public transit and rail market, for an undisclosed amount. Mediabolic, a San Mateo, CA based provider of entertainment networking software to consumer electronics and PC manufacturers, acquired the assets of Digital 5, a Lawrenceville, NJ based provider of software and system intellectual property to enable both wireless and wired sharing of content among networked consumer electronics devices, for an undisclosed amount. Microsoft Live Labs acquired Seadragon, a Seattle based developer of interface visual imaging and mapping technology, for an undisclosed amount. Motorola acquired Orthogon Systems, an Ashburton, UK based provider of high-performance fixed wireless solutions, for an undisclosed amount. Novell acquired e-Security, a Vienna, VA based global provider of software for security management, for $72 million. SolarFlare Communications, an Irvine, CA based developer of high-performance semiconductor solutions for system connectivity, merged with Level 5 Networks, a Sunnyvale, CA based developer of semiconductors and software focused on high performance ethernet connectivity, for an undisclosed amount. Funding AdaptiveMobile Security – Dublin, Ireland; a developer of mobile security and filtering solutions; $5.5 million; Series A; Intel Capital, Enterprise Ireland. Cape Clear Software – Dublin, Ireland; a provider of service-oriented architecture solutions; $15 million; Series D; InterWest Partners, Accel Partners, ACT Venture Capital, Greylock Partners. Cswitch – Santa Clara, CA; a developer of semiconductors for the communications market; $24 million; Series B; ATA Ventures, Bay Partners, Charles River Ventures, Harris & Harris Group. Gain Capital Group – Bedminster, NJ; a provider of foreign exchange (FOREX) trading and asset management services; $40 million; Series D; VantagePoint Venture Partners. mFormation Technologies – Edison, NJ; a provider of mobile device management solutions for the mobile industry; $15.3 million; Series D-1; Battery Ventures, Carmel Ventures, North Bridge Venture Partners. Nanochip – Fremont, CA; a developer of MEMS silicon data storage chips for consumer electronics markets; $10 million; Series C; Intel Capital, JK&B Capital. Revive Systems – McLean, VA; a computer network security software provider; $2 million; Series A; Novak Biddle Venture Partners. Scentric – Alpharetta, GA; a developer of a universal data classification solution across all data types for the enterprise; $4.8 million; Series A Add-On; Advanced Technology Development Center, H.I.G. Ventures, Imlay Investments, Valhalla Partners. SolarFlare Communications– Irvine, CA; a privately held fabless semiconductor company; $50 million; round not specified; Accel Partners, Amadeus Capital Partners, Anthem Venture Partners, Foundation Capital, IDG Ventures Europe, Miramar Venture Partners, Oak Investment Partners. TradeCard – New York, NY; a provider of on-demand supply chain automation products; $14 million; round not specified; Warburg Pincus. Venaca – New York, NY; a provider of digital asset management systems; undisclosed amount; Series A; Argentum Group, First Analysis. Veoh Networks – San Diego, CA; an independent Internet television broadcasting system; $12.5 million; Series B; Spark Capital, Shelter Capital Partners, Time Warner. Virtual Iron Software – Lowell, MA; a developer of data center virtualization and management software solutions; $3 million; Series C; SAP. Visible Path – Foster City, CA; developer of relationship capital management solutions; $17 million; Series B; Menlo Ventures, Integral Capital Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Widevine Technologies – Seattle, WA; a provider of downloadable content protection and digital forensics solutions; $16 million; Series C; Cisco Systems (VC), Constellation Ventures, Pacesetter Capital, Phoenix Partners, Telus Ventures, VantagePoint Venture Partners. IPO Filings Alien Technology Corporation(NASQAQ: RFID Proposed) Morgan Hill, CA Alien Technology makes low-cost, high-volume radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags using its Fluidic Self Assembly (FSA) manufacturing process. Date of Registration: 4/13/06 Offering amount: $138 million Lead Underwriter: Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. Riverbed Technology, Inc.(NASQAQ: RVBD Proposed) San Francisco, CA Develops hardware and software that improves the performance of applications that are shared over networks. Date of Registration: 4/20/06 Offering amount: $74.75 million Lead Underwriter: Goldman, Sachs & Co. Executive Moves Bluesocket, a Burlington, MA based provider of open wireless network, security and management solutions, named Mads Lillelund as CEO. Lillelund was formerly President and CEO of Carlo Gavazzi Computing Solutions. Escapia, a Seattle based provider of software and services to the vacation rental industry, named Bill Furlong as CEO. Furlong was formerly COO of Mpire. Handango, a Hurst, TX based provider of mobile content, named Shawn Freeman as SVP of Technology. Freeman was formerly CIO at Hotels.com. Panorama Capital, a Menlo Park, CA based venture capital firm, named Young Sohn as Managing Director. Sohn was formerly President of the Semiconductor Products Group at Agilent Technologies. Stretch, a Mountain View, CA based provider of software configurable processors, named Craig Lytle as President & CEO. Lytle was formerly VP of System Engineering at Altera. Voyence, a Richardson, TX based provider of network change and configuration management solutions, named Deborah MacCallum as VP of Engineering. MacCallum was formerly VP and co-founder of Silverback Technologies. Xceive, a Santa Clara, CA based developer of fully integrated multi-standard RF-to-baseband transceiver ICs for TVs, PC TVs and set-top boxes named Jean-Louis Bories as CEO. Bories was employed by National Semiconductor.

Contributor: Venator Partners - Venator Partners is a Boston-based executive search firm that specializes in recruiting senior-level executives in the software and communications industries.

Copyright: Copyright © 2004. Venator Partners, LLC.

Covered Categories: M&A, Start-ups, Personnel Changes




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CNN on Web 2.0: The boom is back

See CNN's The boom is back .

Dudu

Web 2.0 - To Personalize or not to Personalize?

One of the main decisions I am standing upon these days which is not totally clear to me is whether to personalize Strategic Board or not. By personalizing I mean adding a capability to save searches and every other feature possible following a user subscription.

On one hand everywhere Web 2.0 companies go through a similar path of creating a free service, adding a registration process with few free features luring users to get "hooked" on the service and then bringing the punch line of subscription based business model.

I personally do not feel it is the right way for Strategic Board for various reasons and not only on the personalization level.

I've listed the reasons on why should or shouldn't I go through this path with Strategic Board (Maybe it can save some thinking time for someone out there)

Pros:

1) Everyone does that. Users know it (although not really used to it). Most of the times this is a sufficient enough reason to do something.

2) It is a business model. Unlike other vague and open options this one is a by the book business model. Having a business model at all again is a sufficient enough reason in many times to take the decision forward.

3) User's love being served with personalized information.

4) VCs seems to like it? Not sure about this but it seems so.

Cons:

1) Everyone does that. The question is what will keep me distinct from the herd. I am sure it won't be the unlimited marketing dollars I have to spend:)

2) Users don't like to waste time on registration/login and other advanced features. If they can get what they are looking for without to much typing and clicking then it is better. The question here is whether the new features I want to present are that important for users to make me create a personalization mechanism for it and whether they can be served even partially in a public and not personalized manner.

3) I don't believe people will pay me for in order to access publicly available information! Strategic Board as many other web 2.0 companies provide an aggregated or filtered view of publicly available information such as blogs. Putting the efforts to register and login in order to access the unique view or aspect of the information is something users already do, paying for it is a whole different story.

4) Google, the one and only company that has a lot of experience with users do not charge money on information. They had to create an almost non-relevant business model to sustain their growth. The contextual advertising concept is remote to the main concept of serving information via search engine and still it seems as the only way they could have found to do great money on the net.

5) VCs won't save you when your business model will be flushed to the toilet. Actually no one will.

6) Narrowing down your focus - A bad thing that can happen from personalization is that your state of mind gets narrowed to the point you only think on advanced extensions of the product that are possible via the personalized mechanism and not on the general publicly available capabilities. A personalized product can be much richer and much more exciting then non personalized. The only problem here is that within time you serve only a narrowing part of your potential audience.

7) A con for web 2.0 search engines/aggregators - An identity dilemma arises for search engine providers with personalization. The line between a new aggregator and a classic search engine is getting blurred and future directions are getting mixed. This is no good for strategy unless you get the whole picture.

Dudu

P.S. An idea for a web 2.0 company that just popped: If there are many new subscription based web 2.0 services, wouldn't a centralized billing company be something great for users who need to enter and track their billing info all over the place. PayPal presents something similar though non integrated. A centralized billing company would have an API for vendors to access billing information in order to answer each vendor specific needs while the control will remain centrally for the user. Just a thought:)

More and more blogs:)

See Micro Persuasion: Sifry: Blog Growth Remains Strong

* The blogosphere is over 60 times bigger than it was only 3 years ago.

* 75,000 new weblogs created every day

* 19.4 million bloggers (55%) are still posting 3 months after their blogs are created

* Original content greatly outweighs the fake or duplicate content listed on spam blogs

* Daily Posting Volume tracked by Technorati is now over 1.2 Million posts per day

Dudu

Why people don ’ t use websites

Very nice list on Scott Heiferman's Notes: 50 Reasons Why People Aren't Using Your Website.

Dudu

Short sighted - An Israeli VC perspective on the Latest Investment Trends

I encountered today an interesting post called Enterprise Software - 2006 by Daniel Cohen from Gemini Israel Funds, a prominent Israeli VC. Daniel presents the current lack of appetite VCs show for enterprise software investment opportunities vs. web 2.0 opportunities. I fully agree with the observations being made on the current mood but I am not agreeable with how they are rationalized and why they are rationalized.

Daniel says:

" So, the question is obvious. Is 2006 in Enterprise software the comparable of 2003 in Consumer Internet? Will the Enterprise bounce back and become an attractive sector for investment. There are 3 main reasons why that won't happen -

1. 
   
   The exit strategy for most enterprise software companies is through acquisition. The big players pay little money, so the overall potential is limited. (Check this interesting analysis on 2005 exits).


2. 
   
   I still can't see the underlying activity at the enterprise level that will drive startups and innovation. Most CIOs are still looking to buy most of their products from SAP, Microsoft, and IBM.


3. 
   
   Difficult to find what will be the next driver for big companies & big returns. Open source is already a big thing going through consolidation (Jboss as a recent example)."

I'll address it in a bullet by bullet manner:

1) Exit strategy - Venture capitalists invest in the future and if we go two to four years back to 2000/1 then the same rationale for not investing could have been applied to new web 2.0 companies with no problem. Three years ago web 2.0 companies were just a strange internet (god forbid) startups trying to raise their heads among internet giants such as Amazon and Google (and they still do). The opportunity in the enterprise software market I think is only a matter of sightseeing and vision. A company that receives seed investment today in 2006 is expected to exit within three to five years the earliest, which means 2009-2012, which means no way to predict what "mood" will be.

2) Same response as in bullet number one though if we consider the nature of the innovative lifecycle in web 2.0 companies then we see that the innovation comes from the developers and not from the users. Maybe if we can apply a similar innovative cultures in enterprise software startups it will eventually lead to a new and unexpected productivity tools. Having said that I am fully aware that enterprise customers are tough and unforgiving and innovation in the enterprise software world does not depend only on the vendor wishes.

3) As I see it, open source is just at the beginning. Today open source is still accumulating good faith both from developers, consumers and enterprises. When and if todays' open source products/tools will reach critical market share point (in comparison to the market share of other competing giants such as Microsoft OS, IBM and others) a new massive wave of innovation will spree based on the newly accumulated market validation. Both investors and entrepreneurs will join the open source wagon as a viable opportunity. Most of the software we use today is still being paid for in full, a sign that also relates to the level of evolvement for open source. It can be the maturity of open source only in one case - open source is meant to be a small thing and not a big change (which I fully disagree on). Maturity of open source will be visible also in dramatic changes in the licensing concepts used today as well as in spending habits of CIOs.

I personally lead a web 2.0 innovation so I kind of need not worry about the moods described for enterprise software investments, or maybe even be happy:). Still I personally do not like the repetitive reflex VCs show again and again by following only what is very hot and creating rationales on why the investments in last week vogue is not reasonable anymore. Technology related industries are evolving always while always there is a portion that gets the focus and highlights. Still it is not a good reason as a long term investment strategy to track the lights always. Sometimes having a longtime specialty, deep domain expertise and longer term plans can be a bless and not a curse.

Dudu

P.S. I've encountered many similar state of minds from other VCs except for Daniel both in the US and in Israel.

Exec Moves, Startups and Acquisitions - Wrap up for 14 Apr 2006

Mergers & Acquisitions Charrette, a Woburn, MA based provider of digital and traditional design imaging products, acquired Mile High Imaging Supply, a Denver, CO based provider of technical services and graphics media and equipment, to architects, engineers and graphic designers, for an undisclosed amount. Comverse, a New York, NY based provider of software and s network based multimedia enhanced communication and billing services, acquired Netcentrex, a Paris, France based developer of voice and video solutions that enable telecom operators and service providers to deliver voice-video-data and fixed-mobile converged services, for $180 million. Emptoris, a Burlington, MA based provider of supply and contract management software solutions, merged with diCarta, a San Carlos, CA based provider of contract management software. JDSU, a Milpitas, CA based provider of communications test and measurement solutions, acquired Test-UM, a Camarillo, CA based developer of home networking test instruments, for an undisclosed amount. Murata Manufacturing, a Kyoto, Japan based developer of electronic parts, acquired SyChip, a Dalles, TX based developer of radio frequency chip scale modules and integrated circuits for the wireless market, for $1.3 million. Oracle, a Redwood Shores, CA based provider of business software, acquired Portal Software, a Cupertino, CA based provider of billing and revenue management solutions for telecommunications and media markets, for $220 million. Palladium Group, a Lincoln, MA based provider of management methodology and technology, acquired Arcon Group, an Atlanta, GA based provider of membership based advisory services for corporate executives, service providers, and equity analysts, for an undisclosed amount. RedHat, a Raleigh, NC based provider of open source solutions, acquired JBoss, an Atlanta, GA based provider of open source middleware, for $3.5 million. Salesforce.com, a San Francisco, CA based provider of on-demand customer relationship management services, acquired Sendia, a Santa Monica, CA based developer of software that extends existing enterprise applications to wireless handheld devices, for $15 million. Tundra Semconductor, an Ottawa, Canada based provider of support and semiconductor solutions to communications, networking, storage system, and information technology vendors, acquired Potentiai Semiconductor, an Ottawa, Canada based power controller business for $1.2 million VeriFone Holdings, a San Jose, CA based developer of secure electronic payment technologies, acquired Lipman Electronic Engineering, a Rosh Haayin, Israel based provider of electronic payment systems, for $793 million. Wayport, an Austin, TX based provider of wireless and wired high-speed internet access to travelers, acquired NetPower Wireless Solutions, a Norway based provider of high speed internet access for hotels, meeting and conference facilities, restaurants and airports, for an undisclosed amount. Funding Aperto Networks – Milpitas, CA; a supplier of WiMAX broadband wireless products for service providers; $26 million; Series E Follow-On; GunnAllen Venture Partners, JK & B Capital, Canaan Partners, Alliance Ventures, Innovacom, Jafco, Labrador Ventures. Authernative – Redwood City, CA; a developer of innovative user authentication and identity management technologies; $2.5 million; Series A;First Round Capital, WS Investments, Dave Duffield, Peggy Taylor, Ron Conway, Scott Seligman. Automattic- San Francisco, CA; a developer of open source blogging technologies; undisclosed amount; Series A; Polaris Venture Partners, Balcksmith Capital, CNET, Radar Partners. Before the Call – Sunnyvale, CA; a developer of sales intelligence; $2.5 million; round not specified; Gould Investments, Band of Angels, Steve Blank, Martin Brauns. GreenFuel Technologies - Cambridge, MA; a developer of algae bioreactor systems that convert CO2 smokestack gases into clean biofuels; $6.8 million; Series B; Polaris Ventures Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Access Private Equity. iConclude – Bellevue, WA; a provider of problem management and incident resolution solutions; $9 million; Series B; Greylock Partners, Shasta Partners, Madrona Venture Group. Indicative Software – Fort Collins, CO; a provider of IT service management software; $6 million; Series B; Sutter Hill Ventures, Sequel Partners, Vista Ventures, WW Ventures. Jigsaw Data – San Mateo, CA; a provider of a web based subscription service where marketers, recruiters, and sales people can buy, sell and trade business contact information; $12 million; Series C; Austin Ventures, El Dorado Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners. Magink Display Technologies – Mevasseret Zion, Israel; a developer of proprietary, full-color, commercially-viable digital ink technologies; $10.5 million; round not disclosed; Jerusalem Venture Partners, Formula Ventures, VantagePoint Venture Partners. Pivot Solutions – New York, NY; a developer of IM Trader an instant messaging, electronic trading, and research distribution network for the institutional community; $8 million; Series B; Softbank Capital. Reel FX – Dallas, TX; a provider of 3D animation and visual effects in the broadcast, feature film, computer and videogame and advertising industries; $8 million; round not specified; Pharos Capital Group. Revver – Los Angeles, CA; a provider of a service that allows users to make money off their videos; $8.7 million; Series B; Bessemer Venture Partners, Draper Fischer Jervetson. Seed Media Group - New York, NY; a provider of science media and entertainment; $1.75 million; Series B; Innovium Capital, The Walnut Group. ShotSpotter – Santa Clara, CA; a developer of gunshot location systems and technology; $9.4 million; round not specified; City Light Capital, Claremont Creek Ventures, Lauder Partners, RNR Ventures, Labrador Ventures, Band of Angels. SintecMedia – Jerusalem, Israel; a developer of management systems for the broadcasting, cable and satellite industries; $10 million; round not specified; Sequoia Capital. Trenstar - Greenwood Village, CO; a provider of mobile asset management; $10 million; Equity Funding; Trencor Ltd, The Carlyle Group. Uplogix – Austin, TX; a provider of automated network support solutions to reduce the cost and complexity of managing IT infrastructure; $7 million; Series B; Adams Capital Management, Fayez Sarofim & Co. YouTube – San Mateo, CA; a developer of media for people to watch and share original videos worldwide through a Web experience; $8 million; Series B; Sequoia Capital. Zoom Systems – San Francisco, CA; a developer of robotic stores that place iconic brands and high demand products directly in the path of consumers; $10 million; Series C; Goldman Sachs, Sierra Ventures, NeoCarta Ventures. Executive Moves Agilent Technologies, a Palo Alto, CA based provider of core electronic and bio-analytical measurement tools, named Keith Barnes as President and CEO of Verigy. Barnes was formerly Chairman and CEO of Electroglas. BlueRoads, a San Mateo, CA based provider of channel management software-as-a-service, named Shinya Akamine as CEO. Akamine was formerly CEO at Postini. Debitman Card, a San Mateo, CA based developer of interoperable electronic payment network for retailer-issued debit cards, named Mike Grossman as CEO. Grossman was formerly CEO of LiveCapital. Ember, a Boston, MA based developer of networks enable communication among embedded microcontrollers with standards-based wireless mesh networking semiconductors and software, named Robert LeFort as CEO. LeFort was formerly President at Infineon Technologies. GeoVue, a Woburm, MA based provider of provider of location based decision support systems for the real estate, retail, and restaurant industries, named Rudy Nadilo as CEO. Nadilo was formerly founder and CEO of Greenfield Online. Ignite Technologies, a Dallas, TX based developer of digital delivery service, named Jim Janicki as President and CEO. Janicki was formerly President and CEO at Calpont. NemeriX, a Santa Clara, CA based developer of fabless semiconductors with ultra low power, RF, baseband and software designs for global positioning systems (GPS) solutions, named Lionel Garin as CTO. Garin was formerly Director of Systems Architecture and Technology at SiRF Technology. Peerflix, a Menlo Park, CA based provider of peer-to-peer online trading for DVD’s, named Jim Ambras as VP for Engineering. Ambras was formerly VP of Products and Services at OnStation Corp. Rambus, a Los Altos, CA based developer of high speed chip interfaces, names Satish Rishi as SVP of Finance and CFO. Richi was formerly VP of Finance and CFO at Toppan Photomasks. SanDisk, a Sunnyvale, CA based supplier of flash memory data storage card products, named Eli Harari as Chairman and Sanjay Mehrotra as President and COO and Irwin Federman as Vice Chairman and Lead Independent Director. Harari is also CEO of SanDisk. Mehrotra was formerly EVP. SiBeam, a Sunnyvale, CA based developer of semiconductors systems solutions for high-speed communications platforms named John LeMoncheck as President and CEO. LeMoncheck was formerly VP of Consumer Electronics and PC/Display Products at Silicon Image. TZero Technologies, a Sunnyvale, CA based developer of multimedia chipsets, named Mike Gulett as CEO. Gulett was formerly interim CEO at Siliquent Technologies. UPEK, a Berkeley, CA based supplier of fingerprint authentication solutions, named Gary Martell as CFO. Martell was formerly CFO at Orbital Data. Velogix, a Santa Clara, CA based developer of programmable fabrics, components, and design software platform named Vivek Pendharkar as President and CEO. Pendharkar was formerly Senior Executive at Xilinx. .

Contributor: Venator Partners - Venator Partners is a Boston-based executive search firm that specializes in recruiting senior-level executives in the software and communications industries.

Copyright: Copyright © 2004. Venator Partners, LLC.

Covered Categories: M&A, Start-ups, Personnel Changes




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Exec Moves, Startups and Acquisitions - Wrap up for 10 Apr 2006

Mergers & Acquisitions Autodesk, a San Rafael, CA based provider of design software and services, acquired Constructware, an Alpharetta, GA based provider of technology solutions for the construction industry, for $46 million. Cisco Systems, a San Jose, CA based developer of networking for the internet, acquired SyPixx Networks, a Waterbury, CT based provider of video surveillance software and hardware, for $51 million. Coremetrics, a San Mateo, CA based provider of web analytics and precision marketing solutions, acquired IBM SurfAid, a Dallas, TX based provider of on-demand web analytics, for $31 million. E-Dialog, a Lexington, MA based provider of e-marketing solutions, acquired Adinfonitum, a Bellevue, WA based interactive marketing agency, for an undisclosed amount. Glu Mobile, a San Mateo, CA based developer and publisher of global entertainment, acquired iFone, a Manchester, UK based publisher of wireless mobile entertainment, for an undisclosed amount. Ikano Communications, a Salt Lake City, UT based provider of private label internet services, acquired DSL Extreme, a Los Angeles, CA based provider of high speed internet services, for $12 million. McAfee, a Santa Clara, CA based provider of internet security software, acquired SiteAdvisor, a Boston, MA based provider of software that rates websites to protect users from security threats and nuisances, for an undisclosed amount. Medio Systems, a Seattle, WA based provider of mobile search technology, acquired Web Relevance, a Seattle, WA based provider of software and services in contextual advertising, for an undisclosed amount. Microsoft, a Redmond WA based developer of software, acquired ProClarity, a Boise ID based developer of software for advanced analysis and visualization technologies, for an undisclosed amount. PMC-Sierra, a Santa Clara, CA based provider of broadband communications and storage semiconductors, acquired Passave, a Santa Clara, CA based supplier of gigabit FTTH (Fiber To The Home) semiconductors for the broadband access network, for $300 million. SAP, a Newtown Square, PA based provider of inter-enterprise software, acquired Virsa, a Fremont, CA based provider of cross enterprise compliance solutions, for an undisclosed amount. Sun Microsystems, a Santa Clara, CA based provider of computing hardware and software, acquired Aduva, a Sunnyvale, CA based developer of managing and monitoring software updates, for an undisclosed amount. Funding 3Par – Freemont, CA; a provider of storage utilities; $30 million; Mezzanine Round; Integral Capital Partners, AllianceBernstein LP, Open Field Capital. AccountNow– San Ramon, CA; a provider of financial solutions for the US consumers that don’t have established credit or traditional banking relationships; $12 million; Series B; INVESCO Private Capital, Oak Hill Venture Partners, VSP Capital, Grayhawk Venture Partners. Akorri – Littleton, MA; a developer of software to help companies manage information technology and control costs; $15.2 million; Second Round; Matrix Partners, North Bridge Venture Partners, Bluestream Ventures. Atrica – Santa Clara, CA; a provider of Optical Ethernet solutions; $28.2 million; round not specified; Vesbridge Partners, GunnAllen Venture Partners, Innovacom, JK&B, Investor Growth, AT&T, European Venture Partners. Billeo – Cupertino, CA; a provider of free online bill management; $4 million; Series A; Altos Ventures, Claremont Creek Ventures, Pacifica Fund. Claria – Redwood City, CA; a provider of behavioral marketing and personalization technology; $40 million; round not specified; SOFTBANK America, Rogers Communications, Asia Pacific Ventures, Sand Hill Capital. Clearwell Systems – Santa Clara, CA; a provider of software for companies to discover, organize, and analyze information across corporate e-mail systems; $12 million; Series B; Redpoint Ventures, Sequoia Capital. DocuSign – Seattle, WA; a provider of on-demand electronic signature service; $10 million; Series B; Sigma Partners, Frazier Technology Ventures, Ignition Partners. Eons – Charlestown, MA ; a provider of media for the over 50 market; $10 million; Series A; General Catalyst Partners, Sequoia Capital. Powered – Austin, TX; a provider of consumer online education; $6.2 million; Series D; Austin Ventures. Rave Wireless – New York, NY; a provider of GPS-enhanced mobile applications for colleges and universities; $12 million; Series B; RRE Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, Sigma Ventures. Raza Microelectronics – Cupertino, CA; a developer of semiconductor products; $20 million; round not specified; Advanced Equities Financial, Warburg Pincus, Benchmark Capital, Duff Ackerman & Goodrich, Kodiak Venture Partners. Roundbox – Florham Park, NJ; a provider of mobile broadcast solutions; Series B; $15 million; Polaris Venture Partners, RRE Ventures, Core Capital Partners. Siano Mobile Silicon – Netanya, Israel; a developer of receivers for mobile digital TV; $23 million; Series B; Bessemer Venture Partners, Jerusalem Venture Partners, Star Ventures, Walden Israel. Teneros – Mountain View, CA; a developer of business continuity appliances for mid-market companies and branch offices; $20 million; Series C; Goldman Sachs, New Enterprise Associates, Steven Rosen Funds, Star Ventures. Transtech Control- Israel; a developer of control systems for airports; $17 million; round not specified; 3i, Giza Venture Capital, Accel Partners. Ubicom – Mountain View, CA; a provider of wireless communications processors and software platforms; $20 million; Series C; Investcorp Technology Ventures, August Capital, Mayfield, Levensohn Venture Partners, JatoTech, Dado Banatao. Zimbra – San Mateo, CA; a developer of software for collaboration and e-mail; $14.5million; Series C; Presidio STX, Benchmark Capital, Accel Partners, Redpoint Ventures, and Inventures Group. Executive Moves Acsera, a Sunnyvale, CA based developer of applications that helps companies deploy large-scale enterprise applications, named Jason Donahue as President and CEO. Donahue was formerly CEO at TeleComputing. AirMagnet, a Sunnyvale, CA based provider of wireless LAN security and management solutions, named Greg Yates as EVP and Kevin Allan as Senior Director of Marketing. Yates was formerly VP of Sales for Inet Technologies. Allan was formerly Director of Product Management and Marketing at Netgear. Atrica, a Santa Clara, CA based provider of carrier ethernet transport solutions, named MattGiuliano as VP Worldwide Sales. Giuliano was formerly VP of Global Sales and Business Development for Mangrove Systems. Avago Technologies, a San Jose, CA based developer of semiconductors, named Hock Tan as President and CEO. Tan was formerly CEO of Integrated Circuit Systems. CA, an Islandia, NY based information technology (IT) management software company, named David Hurwitz as VP of Marketing of CA’s Business Service Optimization (BSO) business unit. Hurwitz was formerly CMO of Niku Corporation. Dynamic Network Factory, a Hayward, CA based developer of advanced data storage technologies, named Carl Munio as EVP of Operations. Munio was formerly VP of Engineering for SBE. Elemental Security, a San Mateo, CA based developer of enterprise technology security, named Richard Hornstein as CFO and General Counsel. Hornstein was formerly CFO at OpenTV. eSilicon, a Sunnyvale, CA based provider of custom integrated circuits, named Fritz Koehler as VP and General Counsel. Fritz was formerly VP and General Counsel at Marima. Greystripe, a San Francisco based provider of mobile advertising network for gamed and applications, named Larry Grossman as VP of Sales. Grossman was formerly head of his company, Media Encounters. Intesource, a Pheonix, AZ based provider of on-demand sourcing solution for companies in the retail and consumer goods industries, named Ronald Southard as President and CEO. Southard was formerly EVP at Trax Retail. Juniper Networks, a Sunnyvale, CA based provider of high performance IP platforms that enable customers to support many different services and applications at scale, named Steven Wastie as VP of Enterprise Marketing, Shailesh Shukla as VP of Service Provider Marketing and Partnerships, and Sam Ezekiel as VP of Managed Services Marketing. Wastie was formerly VP of Emerging Technologies for at Juniper. Shukla was formerly VP of Strategy and Business Development at Redback Networks. Ezekiel was formerly Senior Director of Marketing at Cisco Systems. Lodestar, a Peabody, MA based provider of energy software solutions, named Jon Hovan as SVP, Chief Software Architect and CTO. LongBoard, a Santa Clara, CA based developer of open IP multimedia and mobile VoIP services for telecommunications carriers and service providers, named Hari Haran as President and CEO. Haran was formerly SVP of global sales at Longboard. Media Publisher, a Berkely, CA based provider of enterprise video communications, named Craig Smith as VP of Worldwide Sales. Smith was formerly VP of Enterprise Sales at iManage. Prepaid Media, a Nashua, NH based provider of media and information services to prepaid card and other industries, named Anil Aggarwal as CEO. Aggarwal was formerly CEO and a director at TSYS Prepaid. RightAnswers, a Clark, NJ based developer of software that provides internal IT help desks with content and services designed to reduce calls to the Help Desk, named Keith BergVP of Professional Services. Berg was formerly Director of Client Services at RightAnswers. Tumbleweed Communications, a Redwood City, CA based provider of e-mail security, managed file transfer and identity validation appliances, named Daniel Greenberg as CMO. Greenberg was formerly VP of Worldwide Marketing and Product Management at Macrovision. Vesta Technology, a San Jose, CA based provider of thermal processing and deposition solutions to the global semiconductor and nano-technology industries, named Karl Markert as President and CEO. Markert was formerly at Infineon Technologies.

Contributor: Venator Partners - Venator Partners is a Boston-based executive search firm that specializes in recruiting senior-level executives in the software and communications industries.

Copyright: Copyright © 2004. Venator Partners, LLC.

Covered Categories: M&A, Start-ups, Personnel Changes




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Executive Moves, Venture Funding and Mergers and Acquisitions - 2 apr 06

Mergers & Acquisitions TA Associates, a Boston, MA based private equity and buyout firm, acquired eSecLending a Boston, MA based global securities lending manager; for an undisclosed amount. Vocollect, a Pittsburgh, PA based provider of voice directed work applications, acquired Adherence Technologies, a Dulles, VA based provider of voice activated communications systems for nursing homes; for an undisclosed amount. Funding Accordent Technologies – San Diego, CA; a developer of software for companies to enhance use of live and recorded media for communications; $4 million; Series A; TVC Ventures. AirClic– Newtown, PA; a provider of business process mobilization solutions; $2.9 million; Series B; Motorola, Zon Capital Partners. Allurent – Cambridge, MA; a developer of internet applications for commerce; undisclosedamount; Series A; Polaris Venture Partners. AmberPoint – Oakland, CA; a provider of SOA visibility, management and security solutions; $10.3 million; round not specified; Meritech Capital Partners, Crosslink Capital, Motorola Ventures, Northwest Venture Partners, Sutter Hill Ventures. Chorus Systems – Triangle Park, NC; a developer of IT support software that automatically detects, diagnoses, and fixes enterprise computing problems; $9 million; Series B; Core Capital Partners, Inflection Point Ventures and Anthem Capital Management. Cittio – San Francisco, CA; a provider of system monitoring software; $8 millon; Series B; JK&B Capital. Coghead – Redwood City, CA; a developer of an on-demand application delivery service; 3.2 million; Series A; El Dorado Ventures. FiberZone Networks – Bethesda, MD; a provider of automated connectivity systems for the efficient management of the physical fiber optic infrastructure; $8 million; Series B; Novak Biddle Venture Partners, Portview Communications Partners, Stage One Ventures. I4 Commerce – Timinium, MD; a provider of alternate payment solutions for retailers; $27 million; round not specified; Kingdon Capital Management, Crosspoint Venture Partners, Azure Capital Partners, GRP Partners. HedgeStreet – San Mateo, CA; a provider of government regulated online exchange for binary options and futures; $12.5 million; Series C; Northwest Venture Partners. H-Stream Wireless – Palo Alto, CA; a developer of low power wireless semiconductors; $12.5million; Series A; Granite Ventures, Intel Capital, Tallwood Venture Capital. Insider Pages – Pasadena, CA; a search engine of local business reviews; $8.5 million; Series B; Sequoia Capital, Softbank, Idealab. Jenzabar – Cambridge, MA; a provider of enterprise software for higher education; undisclosed amount; round not specified; Wells Fargo Foothill, MCG Capital. LimeLife – Menlo Park, CA; a provider of mobile entertainment products geared towards women; $10million; Series B; U.S. Venture Partners, Rustic Canyon Partners, i-Hatch Ventures, Monitor Ventures. Linden Lab – San Francisco, CA; a developer of online game Second Life; $11 million; Series D; Globespan Capital Partners, Benchmark Capital, Catamount Ventures. Networks In Motion – Irvine, CA; a provider of wireless navigation for GPS-enabled mobile phones; $10million; Series C; Sutter Hill, Redpoint Ventures, Misson Ventures. SalesGene – Pittburgh, PA; provider of sales workstyle management solution; undisclosed amount; Series A; Draper Triangle Ventures. Wikia – St. Petersburg, FL; a developer of an online community for sharing information; $4 million; Series A; Bessemer Venture Partners. WiQuest – Allen, TX; a developer of solutions for the ultra wideband market; $18 million; Series B; Sequoia Capital, Menlo Ventures, Palomar Ventures, iD Ventures America. Zopa – London, UK; an online lending and borrowing community; $15 million; Series B; Bessemer Venture Partners, Benchmark Capital, Wellington Partners. IPO Pricings China GrenTech Corporation Limited(NASDAQ: GRRF) Shenzhen, China China GrenTech provides customized wireless coverage and radio frequency (RF) technology. Date of Offering: 3/30/06 Offer Price: $18.00 Closing Price as of 3/31/06: $17.10 Avg. Volume: 4,865,750 Himax Technologies, Inc.(NASQAQ: HIMX ) Hsinhua, Taiwan Himax Technologies designs microchips used in TFT-LCD flat-panel displays. Date of Offering: 3/30/06 Offer Price: $9.00 Closing Price as of 3/31/06: $8.75 Avg. Volume: 24,694,300 Executive Moves Adscape Media, a San Francisco, CA based developer of in-game advertising, named Frank Babbitt as VP of Sales and Eva Woo as VP of Marketing. Babbitt was formerly AD Sales Executive at TV Guide. Woo was formerly Director of Technology at LeapFrog Enterprises. Analogic, a Peabody, MA based developer of advanced health and security systems and subsystems, named Donald Melson as VP and Corporate Controller. Melson was formerly VP and Corporate Controller at Millipore Corporation. Data Domain, a Palo Alto, CA based provider of capacity optimized storage solutions, named Beth White as VP of Marketing and Dan McGee as VP of Engineering. White was formerly VP of Corporate Marketing at Asrohi. McGee was formerly VP of Engineering for Internet and Intranet Security. HireRight, an Irvine, CA based provider of employment screening, named Jeffrey Wahba as CFO. Wahba was formerly CFO at Henry Co. Loea, a Campbell, CA based manufacturer of wireless communication equipment, named Mark Sullivan as Sales Director. Sullivan was formerly in an executive sales position at Larscom. M-Factor, aSan Mateo, CA based developer of software to increase marketing return on investment, named Jeff McFadden as CEO. McFadden was formerly CEO of Claira. MoSys, a Sunnyvale, CA based developer of high density system on chip embedded memory solutions, named Jim Pekarsky as VP of Finance and CFO. Pekarsky was formerly CFO of AccelChip. Ortiva Wireless, a La Jolla, CA based provider of software to improve the quality and performance of mobile web browsing, video streaming, and other data services, named DeWayne Nelson as President and CEO. Nelson was formerly President of North American Telecoms at LogicaCMG. Permabit, a Cambridge, MA based developer of compliance software, named Jim Geronaitis as VP of Marketing and Product Management. Geronaitis was formerly VP and Senior Technology Strategist at CA Inc. RGB Networks, a San Mateo, CA based developer of personalized video processing technology, named Dan Schoo as VP of Engineering and Kirk Ross as Controller. Schoo was formerly Co Founder and VP of Engineering at ZRON Networks. Stratosphere Solutions, a Sunnyvale, CA based developer of semiconductor design tools, named Bob Smith as Chairman and CEO. Smith was formerly VP of Marketing and Business Development at Magma Design Automation.

Contributor: Venator Partners - Venator Partners is a Boston-based executive search firm that specializes in recruiting senior-level executives in the software and communications industries.

Copyright: Copyright © 2004. Venator Partners, LLC.

Covered Categories: M&A, Start-ups, Personnel Changes




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