Venture
Update Vol IV, #10, November, 2000
Research Triangle Park—neoButler Inc. (www.neobutler.com), a provider of customer retention solutions for Internet businesses, closed on $5 million in second round venture financing in October 2000. Franklin Street Partners led the round, which included Draper Atlantic and other prior investors. Contact: Lewis Broadnax (919.226.4901).
Research Triangle Park—FullSeven Technologies Inc. (www.fullseven.com), a developer of software for enhanced corporate email, secured $800,000 as part of a $1 million agreement in October 2000. TruePilot led the round, which included private investors. FullSeven is formerly known as OuiShare. Contact: Don Rua (919.316.1112).
Research Triangle Park—Ziptronix, Inc. (www.ziptronix.com), a developer of technology for the integration of wafer-scale semiconductors, raised $6.5 million in first round venture financing in October 2000. Alliance Technology Ventures led the round. Contact: William Clark (919.485.5300).
Durham—GadgetSpace Inc. (www.gadgetspace.com), a developer of a system to enable multiple enterprise software applications to be easily accessible on many types of wireless devices, received $5.5 million in initial seed financing in October 2000. Investors included The Aurora Funds, Southeast Interactive Technology Funds and angel investors. Contact: Karl Schlatzer (919.678.0660).
Raleigh—Sicel Technologies Inc., a developer of implantable biomedical devices for sensing and transmitting biological and physiological parameters for measuring the effectiveness of cancer treatments, raised $3.5 million in second round financing from local and European investors. Contact: Bob Black (919.831.0880).
Chapel Hill—Pozen Inc. (www.pozen.com), a pharmaceutical development company focused on therapies for migraine headaches, completed an initial public offering of 5 million shares of common stock at an initial offering price of $15.00 U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray Inc. was the lead underwriter of the offering. Pozen debuted on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol POZN on October 11, 2000. Contact: Matthew Czajkowski (919.490.0012).
Research Triangle Park—Peopleclick (www.peopleclick.com), a developer of online human capital management tools for human resource professionals, acquired Claybrooke & Associates, Inc., a developer of Internet sourcing technology, in October 2000. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Contact: Li-Chun Hsu (919.645.2800).
Research Triangle Park—Brightpod, Inc. (www.brightpod.com), a mobile Internet services provider incubated by Ericsson since its founding in May 2000, closed on an initial round of $5 million of venture financing in September 2000. The Aurora Funds is leading the investment. Contact: Don Shirley (888.439.9932).
Durham—StemCo Biomedical Inc., a stem-cell biology company, received $4 million in its first round of venture financing in October 2000. Intersouth Partners led the round with participation from The Aurora Funds. Contact: Jonathon Lawrie (919.244.8785).
Morrisville—Home Director Inc. (www.homedirector.com), a developer of networking technology for in-home Internet, entertainment and communications systems, closed its initial $55 million investment financing round in October 2000. Investors included Motorola, Inc., Cisco Systems and IBM. The funds will be used to expand the company and develop new products, as well as for the acquisition of Digital Interiors, a high-tech wiring company based in California. Contact: Scott Yates (919.760.5029).
Cary—Mi-Co (www.mi-co.com), a developer of systems for PDA's, received $2 million in venture financing in October 2000. Investors included Canopy Group Inc. The round was a follow-up to a $1.5 million Series A round of funding from Renaissance Ventures LLC and angel investors. Contact: Daniel Leslie (919.485.4819).
Research Triangle Park—Overture Networks Inc. (www.overturenetworks.com), a developer of products to allow service providers to optimize their optical networks, received $750,000 in seed financing from private investors in October 2000. Contact: Jeff Reedy (919.558.2200).
Research Triangle Park—NetOctave (www.netoctave.com), a developer of silicon-based Internet security services targeted at vendors in network equipment and system vendors in network equipment and server markets, secured $15.6 million in its first round of financing. Intel Communications Fund, Intersouth Partners, Kitty Hawk Capital, MCNC, North Carolina Enterprise Fund, and The Wakefield Group were investors in the round. NetOctave spun off from Celotek in July 2000. Contact: Andrea Straw (919.493.6640 ext. 108).
New Developments
Raleigh—HAHT Commerce, Inc. (www.haht.com),
developer of a suite of software applications that
enable companies to use the Internet to conduct
business, announced November 8, 2000, that it has
filed a registration statement with the Securities
and Exchange Commission relating to its proposed $75
million initial public offering of shares of its
common stock. All shares will be offered by HAHT
Commerce, Inc. Salomon Smith Barney will lead manage
the offering, and CIBC World Markets and US Bancorp
Piper Jaffray will co-manage the offering. Contact:
Nick Riehle (919.786.5169).
Durham—TruePilot (www.truepilot.com), an early-stage venture firm which invests primarily in entrepreneurial Internet and wireless infrastructure, was selected as a member of Lycos Ventures' Regional Entrepreneurship Partner (REP) Program in November 2000. The REP Program promotes interaction between Lycos Ventures, a $75 million Internet investment fund, and early-stage local partner investors in key technology development areas across the U.S. TruePilot and Walker Ventures are the first two REP Program members. Contact: Shawn Ramsey-Krobot (919.806.4361).
Durham—Pinpoint (www.pinpoint.com), a provider of custom-wired and wireless search infrastructure solutions, has formed a strategic partnership with Everypath, a California-based wireless enabler. Under the terms of the partnership, Pinpoint is allowed to include Everypath's optimized wireless content in its Wireless Search and Directory Engine solutions for carriers and mobile portals. Also, the two companies will have a joint referral arrangement, which will enable Everypath to offer Pinpoint's search and navigation solutions to its current and future customers. Contact: Eric Harber (919.251.7000).
On The
Up
BLUEBOLT NETWORKS, INC.
Durham-based BlueBolt Networks is transforming the
commercial interior design industry by creating an
Internet-delivered environment for architects,
designers, facility management and real estate
professionals, dealers, manufacturers and other
members of the interiors community.
Through its patent-pending technology, BlueBolt Networks streamlines the way architects and designers do business with their clients and the companies that manufacture interior goods. Its solution improves designers' productivity by unifying a fractured industry under a single standard for imagery, color, product data and process.
"The initial response from the interiors industry has been tremendously positive," says President and CEO Al Kabus. "Unlike many technology companies that are built from the idea down, we're built from the deliverable up -- and our customers are delighted. It's a win-win for everybody. We truly benefit all parties in the supply chain of this industry."
Founded in 1999, BlueBolt Networks has several prominent design firms throughout the U.S. on its client list and a national product launch is scheduled for first quarter of 2001. Supplier members of the network currently comprise 35 percent of the commercial interior finishes sector by revenue.
The Web site, www.BlueBolt.com, was developed in conjunction with the RTP branch of Keane, Inc., a billion dollar systems integration firm. BlueBolt Networks currently has 26 employees and expects to add an additional 5-10 before 2001. Its first-round investors included Wakefield Group and Gray Ventures. The company is currently seeking its second round of funding, set to close in late fourth quarter.
For more information on BlueBolt Networks, contact Al Kabus (919.865.2600).
Streak Luncheon
December 14, 2000
Noon - 1:30 p.m.
Marriott, RTP
Mergers
& Acquisitions 2001
January 9, 2001
Noon - 6:00 p.m.
Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club
Triangle Venture Breakfast Series
January 26, 2001
7:30 - 9:00 a.m.
Marriott, RTP
Venture
2001
April 17 - 18, 2001
The Friday Center
Chapel Hill, N.C.
Biotech
2001
May 21, 2001
The Friday Center
Chapel Hill, N.C.
For more information about these events or to register, visit the CED Web site at www.cednc.org or call 919.549.7500.
CED is a private non-profit organization supported, in part, by corporate contributions, including funding from Daniels & Daniels, P.A., Duke Energy Corporation and GTE.
Research Triangle Venture Update is published by
the Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED), a
non-profit organization located in Research Triangle
Park, N.C.
Editor Carolyn Foy, CED
P.O. Box 13353
RTP, NC 27709
Phone: 919.549.7500
Fax: 919.549.7405
Email: mcfoy@cednc.org