Venture
Update Vol V, #1, January/February, 2001
Charlotte—Adhesion Technologies (www.adhesiontech.com), developer of Web sites for the financial industry, closed on a $15 million equity investment, led by Zilkha Capital Partners, L.P. and included a significant investment from Century Capital Management, Inc. Contact: Kim Westmoreland (704.904.5434).
RTP—AppGate Inc. (www.appgate.com), developer of security software, closed a third round $10 million investment from GE Equity, the private equity arm of General Electric Co., and from Dutch-based ABN AMRO. The company will use the funds from this round to accelerate growth. Contact: Dennis Szerszen (919.313.4549).
RTP—Avesair, Inc. (www.avesair.com), a provider of advanced carrier class technology focused on delivering advertising and marketing messages to wireless devices, received $16 million in first round funding in December 2000, led by Menlo Park, Calif.-based Nokia Venture Partners. Contact: Jane Forman (919.678.8181).
Pittsboro—Biolex Inc. (www.biolex.com), maker of human and animal proteins from genetically engineered plants, completed a $6.5 million round led by Franklin Street Capital of Chapel Hill and including Triangle-based Intersouth Partners and Charlotte's Kitty Hawk Capital, both previous investors. The Wakefield Group, Charlotte; and Tall Oaks Capital, Richmond, Va., joined in this round. Contact: Robert Erickson (919.542.6598).
Charlotte—Elumens Corp. (www.elumens.com), which builds 3D VisionStations used by the military to train pilots and by design engineers, secured $2.5 million of bridge funding towards completing a fourth round of from $8 million to $12 million. Investors, which are also participating in this round, include Triangle-based Southeast Interactive Technology Funds, Bank Boston Ventures, Morristown, N.J.-based CIT Group and New York-based New Light Associates. Contact: Brad Chasteen (919.816.8787).
Cary—The OpenMind Publishing Group (www.ompg.com), makers of customized electronic alternatives to textbooks, landed commitments for first-round financing from Charlotte Angel Partners (CAP), a six-month-old Charlotte investment group and other unidentified sources. Contact: Laurie Zuckerman (919.490.6313).
RTP—OptXCon, Inc. (www.optxcon.com) a developer of optical cross-connect technology for metropolitan networks, received $12.2 million in first round funding in December 2000. Boston Millennia Partners and H.IG. Capital lead the financing round which included an additional investment from Corning Innovation Ventures. Contact: Brandon Bryce (919.313.4323).
Raleigh—Silicon Wireless (www.silicon-wireless.com) a developer of power transistors for wireless base stations, has formed a co-development deal with Maine's Fairchild Semiconductor International. FSI will invest $10 million for research, development and marketing services in the Triangle-based company. Contact: Judy Roman (919.424.3770).
Cary—TaskPoint (www.taskpoint.com), operator of an online marketplace for light construction equipment and related products, received a $3 million investment from Terex Corp., a Westport, Conn.-based construction equipment manufacturer. Contact: Bill Finerty (919.573.0007).
RTP—WebWide Integration Inc. (www.webwideinfosys.com), makers of software that lets old and new computer systems and applications talk to each other, closed a $400,000 seed round. Investors include Jean-Claude Asscher, founder and chairman of Triangle public company Tekelec, who invested $250,000. Lee Smith, executive VP with Tekelec, is also an investor.Contact: Peter Sramka (919.932.9433).
Durham—Intersouth Partners (www.intersouth.com) announced that Kip Frey, former president & CEO of OpenSite Technologies has become a venture partner. Contact: Kip Frey (919.493.6640).
New Developments
RTP—Embrex Inc, (www.embrex.com) an
international agricultural biotechnology company,
received regulatory approval in Japan for one of its
main products, a vaccine for an infectious disease
among chickens. The vaccine could reduce mortality
and increase the body weight of chickens. Contact:
Melanie A. Johnson (919.941.5185).
Charlotte—Interactive Knowledge (www.interactiveknowledge.com), developers of instructional software, has been awarded a Phase II small business innovation research grant of $300,000. This follows the Phase I SBIR grant of $50,000 it received to establish proof of concept in September. Contact: Tom Songer (704.344.0055).
Winston-Salem—FirmLogic, Inc. (www.firmlogic.com), a software and support services provider to the legal industry with a total combined customer base of about 475 law offices, has acquired three software companies: Florida-based Client Profiles, Atlanta-based Clockwork and Texas-based Safe Harbour Software Inc. The company projects revenue of as much as $30 million in 2001. Contact: Hass Parker (336.607.8200)
Chapel Hill—MyDailyHealth (www.mydailyhealth.com) was acquired by New York's ProAct Technologies Corp. in an agreement for stock and cash. Launched in 1999, MyDailyHealth has developed a health and wellness management tool for corporations to offer health information to employees. ProAct, which plans to keep MyDailyHealth's 15 employees, will use the acquisition to enhance its own online health content offering.
On The
Up
Brightpod
RTP-based Brightpod helps businesses of all sizes
"go mobile." Founded in May of 2000, Brightpod
evolved from a business plan co-founder Mohit
Bhatnager submitted as part of his MBA program at
UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Teaming up with fellow Ericsson employee Don Shirley, the pair built its plan around ideas for filling gaps they saw in the delivery of mobile Internet services. Ericsson, the Swedish mobile phone firm, agreed to incubate the company at its Triangle offices.
Brightpod designs Enterprise Mobility Portals (EMPs) that enable businesses to provide their employees, customers and partners with anytime access to Internet and server-based content and applications, using handheld devices and Web-enabled phones.
Brightpod's platform supports instant messaging, voice browsing, wireless search and personalization. They also provide devices, airtime advisory services and training to their customers.
"With analysts predicting that more people will access the internet through wireless devices than PCs by 2003, every company with an Internet or Intranet presence should be focusing on how to extend this presence to their mobile customers and employees," says CEO Don Shirley. "We bring together the best mobile applications available today as a single subscription-based service that can be integrated quickly and cost-effectively into any company's IT infrastructure."
Brightpod received $5 million first round founding in September 2000, led by The Aurora Funds. They have established technology partnerships with IBM, MobileQ and OZ.com among others. Ericsson continues to hold an equity stake and preferred technology relationship with the company.
Red
Herring's Venture Market South
March 4-6, 2001
Ritz Carlton, Buckhead
Atlanta, G.A.
Initial
Public Offerings 2001
March 6, 2001
Noon - 6:00 p.m.
Marriott at Research Triangle Park
Venture
2001
April 17 - 18, 2001
The Friday Center
Chapel Hill, N.C.
The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) announced the first round of six companies selected to present at its 18th annual Venture 2001 conference - GadgetSpace, NetOctave, Inc., Nitronex Corporation, StemCo Biomedical, Inc., Windwire, Ziptronix, Inc. The final application deadline for additional companies wishing to present is Thursday, February 8. Companies may apply on-line at www.cednc.org/venture/2001.
Triangle Venture Breakfast Series
April 27, 2001
7:30 - 9:00 a.m.
Marriott at Research Triangle Park
Biotech
2001
May 21, 2001
8:15 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.
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 Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and Kilpatrick Stockton, L.L.P.
Research Triangle Venture Update is published by the Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED), a non-profit organization located in Research Triangle Park, N.C.