The PE Data Center Buzz Archives

Posted on 03/04/2010

How can you generate more qualified visitors to your company’s website? That is a question that many small to mid-sized businesses ask. There are several companies out there that help you do just that, get noticed more, convert more visitors into leads, and close those quality leads. This week we are going to take a look at a recent round of financing for HubSpot, Inc, one of those companies that can assist you in doing this.

HubSpot, Inc. is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company provides a marketing application that gives small and mid-sized businesses the power to transform their static website into a marketing machine that produces quality leads and that helps in converting a higher percentage of these leads into clients. The company recently closed its third round of financing, bringing in an additional $16 MM. Participating in this round were Scale Venture Partners, General Catalyst Partners, and Matrix Partners.

Posted on 02/25/2010

Internet security is important, especially for large companies that rely on their networks. This week we are going to take a look at a recent funding for Damballa, Inc, a company that specializes in protecting organizations from bot-driven attacks used for organized, online crime.

Damballa, Inc. is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The company provides solutions that allow enterprises to protect themselves from bot-driven attacks that could potentially devastate their organization. The company recently closed on a Series C round for approximately $8 MM. Participating in this round were Sigma Partners, InterWest Partners, Palomar Ventures, and Noro-Moseley Partners.

Posted on 02/18/2010

They still deliver local phone directories to doorsteps, but more and more people are relying on their mobile devices and other internet accessible devices to get directions, contact information, and persuasive ads to assist them in choosing a place to shop or eat. One of those companies that provides this information online is Yodle, Inc, and this week we are going to take a look at their most recent round of financing.

Yodle, Inc. (formerly Natpal, Inc.) is headquartered in New York, NY. The company provides online advertising for local businesses. Bringing businesses from offline to online advertising, the users are able to track results of the advertising and see exactly how their investment is performing. The company recently closed on an additional round of financing in the amount of $10 MM. Participating in this round were JAFCO Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and Bessemer Venture Partners.

Posted on 02/11/2010

In the spirit of the recent sporting events, we thought we would take a look at a company that is trying to connect millions of sports and TV fans. WaterCooler, Inc. received some additional funding in mid Q4 2009, and this week we are going to take a look at this investment.

WaterCooler, Inc. is headquartered in Mountain View, California. The company develops social games for several social networks including Facebook and MySpace. The company’s platform allows fans to connect with each other inside the social networks. In Q4 2009 the company raised an additional $5.5 MM. Participating in this round were Betfair and Canaan Partners.

Posted on 02/03/2010

Tesla Motors, Inc. recently filed a Form S-1 Registration Statement for a proposed IPO. This week we are going to take a look at their last round of financing from August 2009.

Tesla Motors, Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in San Carlos, California. The company engineers and manufactures electric vehicles. In September 2009, the company closed on a Series F round of financing in the amount of $82.5 MM. Some of those participating in this round were Blackstar Investco LLC (an affiliate of Daimler AG), Al Wahada Capital Investment LLC, and Fjord Capital Partners.

Posted on 01/26/2010

SmartGrid technology companies are making the news more and more these days. There has been quite a bit of funding to this portion of the CleanTech sector as well. One company in particular, Silver Spring Networks, Inc, has received a substantial amount of funding over the years. This week we are going to take a look at this company’s latest funding that came in late Q4 2009.

Silver Spring Networks, Inc. is a SmartGrid solutions company, headquartered in Redwood City, California. The company enables utilities (electric, gas, & water) to rapidly and cost effectively deploy a broad set of SmartGrid initiatives. The company raised an additional $105 MM in late Q4 2009. Participating in this Series E round were Google Ventures, Northgate Capital, Foundation Capital, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

Posted on 01/20/2010

Imagine knowing what a consumer is thinking when they view a product. One company has developed the technology to obtain this information, and help their clients get an advantage in marketing their products. This week we are going to take a look at the latest round for EmSense, Inc. closed in Q4 2009.

EmSense, Inc, headquartered in Monterey, California, was founded in 2004 by technologists from Hewlett Packard and MIT. The company is committed to bringing advancements in neuroscience to the market research community. Through their EmBand product, they allow marketers to measure brainwave cognition and emotion on a moment by moment basis as consumers are exposed to advertising, video games, movies, TV shows, and much more. The company raised additional capital in the amount of $9 MM in Q4 2009. Participating in this recent round were the Foundry Group and Technology Partners.

Posted on 01/13/2010

Everyone has heard of Twitter, but have you heard of Square, Inc.? Square, Inc. was co-founded by Jack Dorsey, a co-founder of Twitter, and the company first launched its services to the public in late Q4 2009. This week we are going to take a look at their first round of financing.

Square, Inc. was founded in San Francisco, California. The company provides a software application and card reader that plugs into a mobile device. The reader allows the user to swipe a credit card (or debit card) through it to process a payment transaction via a mobile device. The company has stated that it has raised $10 MM from Khosla Ventures.

Posted on 01/06/2010

Hope everyone had a great holiday! We are back in the office and ready for a new year. Recently we have received several requests for information on the latest round of funding announced by RockYou, Inc, so this week we are going to take a look at this latest round that was announced last quarter.

RockYou, Inc. (formerly netPickle, Inc.) is headquartered in Redwood City, California. The company creates and distributes web applications and widgets that users can use to customize their profiles across numerous social networking applications. The company announced in a press release in November 2009, that they had secured an additional $50 MM in funding from SoftBank.

Posted on 12/16/2009

Zynga Game Network, Inc. recently released a press release stating that Digital Sky Technologies (DST) and other investors, had agreed to purchase approximately $180 MM of the company’s securities. The name DST should ring a bell, since they made the last infusion of capital into Facebook, Inc. earlier this year. This week we are going to take a look at Zynga’s last filing for approximately $15 MM raised in November 2009.

Once called Presidio Media, Inc, Zynga Game Network, Inc. is located in San Francisco, California. The company develops games for social networking sites. Some of the games include “FarmVille”, “Mafia Wars”, and “CafeWorld”. The company raised approximately $15 MM last month with a Series B-1 Preferred stock offering. Participants in this round included Foundry Group, Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn), and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

Posted on 12/09/2009

Green building materials are receiving more and more attention these days. Last quarter was no exception when it came to raising capital. One company that has recently made a loud splash in this niche is Serious Materials, Inc. This week we are going to take a look at their recent closing of approximately $60 MM.

Serious Materials, Inc. is located in Sunnyvale, California. The company develops and manufactures sustainable green building materials. Products include eco-friendly drywall, windows, and specialty coatings. The company recently closed on an additional round of Series C Preferred, bringing this round total to approximately $60 MM. Some of the participants in this round included EnerTech Capital, New Enterprise Associates, Foundation Capital, Rustic Canyon Partners, Navitas Capital, and Mesirow Financial.

Posted on 12/02/2009

Facebook, Inc. recently filed a “Tenth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation” which details the new structure of the companies Common Stock. There has also been speculation as to whether this new filing is a precursor to a potential IPO for the company. This week, we are going to look at the filings for Facebook that have taken place since our July 2008 analysis.

Posted on 11/19/2009

There have been numerous search engines that have come and gone over the lifetime of the internet. These days there are the obvious (Google, Yahoo, Bing), and there are also others that you might not realize are still around (Cuil, Lycos, AltaVista). There is one company operating in “stealth mode” that is currently creating a new search engine . This week we are going to take a look at the latest round of financing for this company.

Blekko, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Redwood City, California. The company is developing an internet search engine. Recently they reported closing on a Series C round totaling approximately $14 MM. Participating in this round were U.S. Venture Partners and CMEA Capital.

Posted on 11/11/2009

Clean Technology continues to receive a great deal of attention from VC firms, and so was true with the Q3 2009 deals. One company that has raised a significant amount of capital in this space is Amyris Biotechnologies, Inc. This week we are going to take a look at their latest financing round.

Amyris Biotechnologies, Inc. is located in Emeryville, California. The company operates as a synthetic biology company developing renewable hydrocarbon biofuels. Last quarter, the company secured approximately $24.8 MM of a $62 MM Series C round. Some of those participating in this round were Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, TPG Biotech, Khosla Ventures, and Naxos UK.

Posted on 11/04/2009

Recently we have seen various reports released that discuss VC funding numbers for Q3 2009. One of the industries that continued to be at the top of the list with VC funding is Biotechnology. This week we are going to take a look at one of those Biotechnology companies that received some additional funding last quarter.

Alvine Pharmaceuticals, Inc is headquartered in San Carlos, California. The company develops therapeutics and diagnostics for Celiac disease and raised a Series A2 round last quarter, bringing in an additional $8.5 MM. Participating in this round were Sofinnova Ventures, Flagship Ventures, InterWest Partners, Prospect Venture Partners, and Panorama Capital.

Posted on 10/28/2009

This week we are going to take another look at how terms can affect returns. What if your company had raised $7MM in Series A and Series B rounds , but now you are looking to raise one last round. The problem is that this round will be a “Down Round” priced at $.75 per share as compared to the previous Series B round price of $2. So what would the effect be of Weighted Average Anti-Dilution vs. Full Ratchet Anti-Dilution for the founders and investors?

Posted on 10/21/2009

We have covered many of the up and coming or already “here” companies that provide social networking. One of the newest that has recently launched is not from California, yet rather they call the East Coast home. This week we are going to take a look at the first round of financing announced for FourSquare Labs, Inc.

FourSquare Labs, Inc. is headquartered in New York, NY. The company provides online mobile social networking services by using LBS (Location Based Service) application technology that allows users to receive information and entertainment services via mobile devices through a mobile network. The company recently just closed on a Series A round for just shy of $1.5 MM. Some of those participating in this round were Union Square Ventures and O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures.

Posted on 10/14/2009

Last week we discussed the impact that the Deal Terms have on Returns, and how tweaking some of them might help in negotiating a new round of capital. This is something that could be applied to both sides of the table. We previously showed how the Return would react when the Participation Cap is changed from 0 to 3×. This week we are going to look at a different term, the Liquidation Multiple, and see how it can affect the return.

Posted on 10/07/2009

As we have been demonstrating our new Portfolio Analysis Tool over the past couple of months, we have run into people from all sides of the business that have never really taken notice on how just one or two slight changes to the Deal Terms could effect their return. When it comes to negotiating a deal, both sides of the table are weighing the risks for the greatest return. We have heard some say that they did not take on funding due to they could not come to an agreement on the valuation. What if you could tweak one or two terms in the offer and keep the valuation, but still accomplish what you are trying to do? At the end of the day, everyone could go home happy…at least for now. The Deal Terms are what determine who gets what and how much. Just because you are putting in enough to gain a certain percentage of the company doesn’t necessarily mean that your return will reflect the same. What about all of the preferences (if any) that are in front of you? Using our new Portfolio Analysis Tool, we are able to show a small example of what tweaking terms might look like. This is old news to many, but it helps to get a refresher every now and then, and seeing this in a graphical representation helps bring a new light on things.

Posted on 09/30/2009

There has been a lot of news lately concerning Twitter, Inc. and their most recent round of financing , along with their new $1 BB valuation. We have had numerous inquiries from various media outlets seeking additional details on this latest round. There was one article by Bernard Lunn at ReadWriteWeb that was particularly interesting.

This week we are going to take a look at all of the financing rounds that Twitter, Inc. has completed thus far.

Twitter, Inc., located in San Francisco, is a short messaging service that allows users to post everything from what they are doing to the latest breaking news. (You might even find this PEDC Buzz on Twitter.) As mentioned, the company recently announced a closing of a Series E round of financing at a reported amount of $100 MM. Based on information posted on the company website, the company publicly thanked investors Insight Venture Partners, T. Rowe Price, Institutional Venture Partners, Spark Capital, Benchmark Capital, and Morgan Stanley.

Posted on 09/23/2009

There has be en a large amount of money raised by companies that operate online social networking sites. One of those companies is Ning, Inc. This company has received over $100 MM in funding over the last two years. This week we are going to take a look at their most recent round of funding that was closed in July 2009.

Ning, Inc. (formerly known as 24HL, Inc.) is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. The company operates an online social networking site and provides online users free services that help them create, customize, and share their own social network. These free services offered by Ning allow the users to customize and brand their social network as their own.

The company closed on a $15 MM Series E round of financing in July 2009. This round was noted to be led by Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Posted on 09/16/2009

There were several media outlets reporting on a possible acquisition of Brightcove, Inc. by Google. The deal is reportedly valued somewhere between $500 to $700 MM. We thought we would take a look at the last activity by Brightcove and also at the last Post-Money valuation that we calculated.

Brightcove, Inc. is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company provides services and products to assist professionals in publishing and distributing online video. They are an online based distribution channel for television products. The company broke into the Japanese market in mid-2008 with $4.9 MM in new investments from market-leading partners in Japan that consisted of Dentsu, Inc, J-Stream, Inc., transcosmos, Inc., and Cyber Communications, Inc.

Posted on 09/09/2009

A123 Systems, Inc. was founded in 2001 and is based out of Watertown, Massachusetts. The company develops and supplies lithium-ion batteries using a proprietary Nanophosphate technology that was initially developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

The company filed an Amended S-1 yesterday, 09/09/09, setting its terms for a potential IPO. The terms were for the offering of just over 25 MM shares of common at a price between $8.50 and $9.50 per share. It is planning to trade on the NASDAQ under the ticker AONE, and has Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley serving as co-lead underwriters. The company originally filed an S-1 on 08/08/08, and so far they have raised over $300 MM in VC funding. There have been many investors in past rounds including North Bridge Venture Partners, GE Equity, CMEA Ventures, Motorola Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, AllianceBernstein Ventures, The Procter & Gamble Company, OnPoint Technologies, FA Technology Ventures, and YankeeTek Incubator Fund.

When reviewing an S-1 filing, there are many interesting facts revealed, such as the financials and the “Risk Factors”. The financials give the potential investors a look at the inner workings of the operation from a capital standpoint. One will run across interesting statements such as, “We have had a history of losses, and we may be unable to achieve or sustain profitability.” There are numerous vital details revealed, as there should be in any early prospectus. There was a mention of how they have experienced rapid growth in a short period, “We have experienced rapid growth in recent periods. If we fail to manage our growth effectively, we may be unable to execute our business plan, maintain high levels of service or address competitive challenges adequately.” The growth was expressed as an increase of revenue from $34.3 MM in 2006 to $68.5 MM in 2008, also as an increase in the number of full-time employees from 227 as of 12/31/06 to 1,672 as of 08/31/09. There are also statements that discuss how the demand for the lithium battery for transportation uses will be based on the pricing and dependence of fossil fuels.

If you haven’t already, you can view our previous coverage of A123 Systems, Inc. that was prior to their 08/08/08 filing, and you can view their latest S-1 filing at the SEC website.

Posted on 09/01/2009

In the past we’ve covered various companies that are providing online financial services, and this week we are going to follow up on one that has been getting quite a bit of attention. Mint Software, Inc. recently closed on additional funds that had a significant impact on their valuation and total funding amount.

Mint Software is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and the company provides an online suite of personal finance management solutions. The company’s web-based platform, Mint, is connected to thousands of financial institutions which provide daily updated account information to the users. The company recently closed on a Series C round of financing, bringing in approximately $14 MM.

Posted on 08/26/2009

Last week we gave a sneak peek of some “holy grail” data for a private, VC backed, US company; this week we are going to show you what the differences would be in proceeds for different classes of stock as it applies to a Trade Sale vs. an IPO.

Last week we reviewed a trade sale scenario, this week, using the the same data, we plug it into the VC Experts portfolio management solution, and see what an IPO scenario might look like at the same $500 MM.

Note also that this is real data, and we received several emails with guesses of the company from last week, but no one has guessed correctly yet.

Posted on 08/19/2009

Recently, the VC Experts analyst team came across some intriguing financial and capital structure data for some VC backed companies that previously had not been made public. This information, in addition to the type of data currently contained in the Private Equity Data Center on these companies, is considered by many in the industry to be the “holy grail”. One of these companies is a well known online social networking company. Since their expenses for Sales, Marketing, and Advertising in 2007 were approximately $106 MM, I would hope that a lot of people were familiar with them. Apparently many of you are aware of this company because at the end of 2007, their Net Revenue was $195 MM. Take out all of the expenses and taxes, and they were left with a Net Income of approximately $24 MM. This company has completed a couple of rounds of financing over the years with numerous investors. So what would a non-IPO exit at $500 MM look like? Who gets what and how much?

Posted on 08/12/2009

Software companies providing solutions to financial service firms (i.e. to hedge funds, etc.) continue to outpace other industry sectors in raising venture capital. One company that has been around for a while that fits in this niche is Integral Development Corporation. This week we are going to take a look at their recent round of financing that was closed in June 2009

Integral Development Corporation is headquartered in Mountain View, California. The company develops web-based trading systems for large financial institutions in need of extending and replacing their current infrastructure. Recently they closed on an $11 MM Series B round of financing. Participating in this recent round was Adams Street Partners LLC. The Deal Terms for this latest round were:

Posted on 08/05/2009

There is much talk these days about the H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu) and also recently there was a report of a new strain of HIV that was discovered. There are companies out there working night and day to develop treatments for these viral infections. This week we are going to take a look at one that recently closed on some additional funds with their Series B round of financing.

Presidio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is headquartered in San Francisco, California. They are a special pharmaceutical company that focuses on viral infections. The Company develops therapeutic modalities and small molecule compounds for the treatment of HIV-1, HCV and other chronic virus infections. Presidio is also developing small molecule inhibitors for HIV and other viral indications based on its Nuclear Exclusion Technology (NEXT) platform. The company recently closed on a Series B round of financing, bringing in an additional $27 MM. Participating in this round were Ventures West Management, Inc, Bay City Capital LLC, New Leaf Venture Partners LLC, Baker Bros. Advisors, Panorama Capital, Nexus Medical Partners, and Sagamore BioVentures.

Posted on 07/29/2009

Tesla Motors, Inc. has been in the news quite often lately. With all that is going on with them, we thought we would take a look at the most recent round.

Tesla Motors, Inc. is headquartered in San Carlos, California. The company manufactures luxury electric vehicles and is in receipt of a substantial loan in the amount of $465 MM from the US government. There was also the purchase of a 10% stake in the company from Daimler, with Aabar Investment buying up 40% of that stake. In a May 2009 filing, the company authorized approximately $261 MM worth of Series E Preferred shares. There was another filing that showed that Tesla had closed on $136MM which included $50 MM “in cash proceed” and $86.224 MM “of cancelled indebtedness”.

Posted on 07/22/2009

Identity theft continues to be a problem and concern for many. We have covered companies in the past that provide services to help individuals deter identity theft. One of the larger companies in this field is LifeLock, Inc. Earlier in Q2 2009, the company closed on a new round of financing for approximately $40 MM. This week we are going to take a look at this latest round.

Headquartered in Tempe, Arizone, LifeLock, Inc. provides online identity management and theft prevention solutions. The company gives people control of their own information, giving them the ability to authorize every risky transaction such as address changes and opening of credit lines. Upon becoming a client, LifeLock will set alerts on all of its customer’s credit reports. The company recently closed on a Series D round of financing in May 2009, bringing in an additional $40 MM. Participating in this round was Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. The Deal Terms of this latest round were:

Posted on 07/16/2009

Many celebrity-related websites are reaping the benefits of increased site traffic and despite the difficult market for securing venture capital, several are still able to raise additional funds. This week we are going to take a look at one of those.

Posted on 07/02/2009

There have been a few IPOs in the last few months. In the spirit of the IPO for LogMeIn.com, this week we are going to take a look at a similar company that is still in the early stages of development.

CrossLoop, Inc. is headquartered in Monterey, CA. The company’s product is a free desktop sharing software application which allows users to remotely collaborate with others over the Internet. The company closed a Series B round in late 2008 for approximately $6 MM. Some of the participants in the round were Venrock Associates and El Dorado Ventures. The Deal Terms for this latest round were:

Posted on 06/25/2009

Ad revenue, both online and mobile, is still a viable part of income for many companies. There are some very large players in this market, and with the influx of apps for the iPhone and other mobile devices, this seems to remain a volatile sector. This week we are going to take a look at one of the companies involved in the mobile advertising sector.

Admob, Inc. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in San Mateo, California. The company states on its website that it is “…the world’s largest mobile advertising marketplace.” Earlier this year in a blog posting, Omar Hamoui the CEO & Founder of Admob, announced that the company had closed on an additional $12.5 MM extension of a previous round of financing that was taken in late 2008.

Posted on 06/18/2009

Where can all the waste go? Waste that is the result of construction and demolition projects. Waste that would, in the past, sit in a landfill and over time decay, or not, depending on what it was. There are several new companies that have seized opportunity and created the technology to make the most of this waste. This week we are going to take a look at one of these companies and their latest round of financing.

Posted on 06/11/2009

There has been an increase in the methods of payment for goods. One of the popular methods is the prepaid debit card. Ever wondered where they come from or how long they have been around? Green Dot Corporation states on their website that they invented the retail prepaid debit card service. There have been many followers, and more and more companies are issuing rebates and credits to customers via this method of payment. I recently received one from a phone carrier for a rebate on a new phone. This week we are going to take a look at Green Dot Corporation’s latest round of financing.

Posted on 06/04/2009

Clean Technology is still receiving a fair amount of money from investors this year. Although we are not seeing as many $100 MM investments into a single company, there are still several higher 8 digit deals being done. This week we are going to take a look at one of these Clean Technology companies that has received one of the largest investments, so far this year, for this sector.

Posted on 05/28/2009

Everyone has been speculating about the additional funds that Facebook, Inc. has been rumored to be seeking, and everyone wanted to know at what valuation. I guess the wait is over…$200 MM from a Russian investment group? That is the latest round of financing for Facebook, Inc. Many people have already seen the latest stories this week and some sat in on the call that discussed this latest investment. What will these funds do for the company? Previous investment rounds were quite “company friendly” pertaining to the terms. Were the terms the same for this round, or did they become more “investor friendly”? By comparison, be sure to review our previous coverage of the Facebook financing rounds. This week we are taking a look at the latest round.

In a press release posted earlier this week, Facebook, Inc. announced that it was receiving a $200 MM investment from global internet investment group Digital Sky Technologies (DST). DST has offices in Moscow and London, and per their website, they have invested over $1 BB in over 30 companies from 2005 to 2009. This $200 MM amount invested represents a 1.96% equity stake in the company at a $10 BB valuation. (Note that this valuation is based off of the preferred share price.) Along with the $200 MM investment, DST is said to be planning to offer to purchase a minimum of $100 MM worth of Facebook common stock from existing common stockholders. The Deal Terms of this round were:

Posted on 05/21/2009

Just how many applications do you think the iPhone will have by 2010? Of those, how many do you think current business professionals who have an iPhone utilize as part of their daily routine? Numerous companies have been able to secure venture funding that develop mobile applications. In this week’s buzz, we are going to take a closer look at one of these companies and how their venture financing was structured.

SoonR, Inc. is based in Silicon Valley and provides mobile access to PC-based information. The application enables its users to search, read and send email, schedule meetings, manage contacts and share files instantly. Most recently, the company received $3 million in a Series C round of financing. Investors in this round included Intel Capital, Clearstone Venture Partners (FKA: idealab! Capital Partners), Cisco Systems, Inc. and Sand Hill Capital.

Posted on 05/14/2009

A couple of weeks ago, the NVCA and Thomson Reuters released Q4 2008 Venture Capital Performance data. This data, coupled with the fact that 10 year performance figures will no longer include 1999 as part of the equation, will alter benchmarking statistics used by investors in their due diligence efforts. It could also lead to the emergence of some “investor friendly” terms that might generate a sparring match at the negotiation table.

Last week, we discussed the meaning of some common terms found in venture deals and the potential impact they carry for your company when seeking venture capital. In this edition of the Data Center Buzz, we are furthering that discussion by taking a closer look at some additional terms.

Posted on 05/07/2009

In today’s venture financing environment, knowledge of the deal process is vital to ensuring fair business practice between company founders and investors. Many times, deal terms are often agreed to by company founders without a clear and concise understanding of what the terms actually mean to their company.

One of the most common remarks we get about our database is “That information is available to me?” Some people are merely not aware that this amount of light can be revealed about a company’s specific terms. We now track approximately 13 different specific deal terms, as discovered by our analysts when pouring over a company’s regulatory filings. In addition, the documents that supply our analysts with this data are made available to our subscribers to validate the information being provided.

In this week’s buzz, we are looking at a couple of terms that, given the current state of venture funding, should be more prevalent in deal’s to come and what those terms mean should you see them in a term sheet.

Posted on 04/30/2009

Many of the latest headlines are focusing on the swine flu, as they should since it is a great concern to us all. This strand of influenza is being tracked very carefully as it moves its way into the U.S. This week we are going to take a look at a couple of companies that we have in the database that play a part in helping prevent and treat influenza.

Posted on 04/23/2009

These days, the Internet plays a large role in the world of commerce. We are seeing more goods and services being offered on the Web. With this comes the influx in people entering their personal information such as credit card numbers, bank account numbers, and social security numbers. With all of these transactions, and all of the personal data being entered, many companies have been able to capitalize on this opportunity and provide security, storage, and recovering tools for all of this data.

Posted on 04/16/2009

You have probably heard of Twitter. But have you ever heard of Spark Capital? Spark Capital is one of the investors in Twitter and several other digital media companies. This week we are going to take a look at some of the latest deals they have participated in.

Spark Capital is located in Boston, Mass. On their website they state, “We are focused on convergence and disruption – they generate each other”. The firm has invested in several popular web companies as of late and the media has made notice of some of these.

Posted on 04/09/2009

The economy is dragging and firms are looking for “quality” investments. The most used words these days seem to be layoff, cut back, and restructuring. In all of this economic turmoil, there are still many companies generating revenue on web advertising and services. Example, what about the sites that have anything to do with job placement, job reviews, job recruiting … you get the point. More and more sites are being created for assistance in finding employment opportunities locally, nationally, and internationally. The old days of searching the classifieds in a newspaper that was delivered to your door are becoming few and far between. These days, you fire up the computer, bring up a browser and go to “www.” and find a job site that fits your search criteria needs. Who are some of these job sites?

Posted on 04/02/2009

With a failed Twitter acquisition, lower-than-expected revenue projections and a CFO “out the door”, March 2009 wasn’t exactly a banner month for the social networking behemoth Facebook. Add in speculation looming about the company seeking an additional $100 million in debt financing just to stay afloat, the overall value of the company no longer whets the appetite of even the most daring investor.

This week, the VC Experts analyst team decided to go behind closed doors and, again, look further into some of the raw numbers affecting Facebook’s valuation.

Posted on 03/26/2009

Recently there has been a considerable amount of coverage by the media concerning real estate. Whether it be a single family house or the availability of retail space, with all of the talk about mortgages, foreclosures, and toxic assets, people are hearing about real estate more and more. This week we are going to take a look at a couple of companies that provide real estate assistance on the internet.

Trulia, Inc. is headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company operates a real estate search engine that assists both consumers and real estate professionals by providing real estate information on the local level. The company closed on a Series D round of financing in mid 2008.

Location, Inc., headquartered out of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, specializes in relocation software. The company’s products assist employees, families, and businesses with location selection needs. The company raised a Series A round in mid 2008, bringing in approximately $840K. For the full report on these deal terms and valuations…

Posted on 03/19/2009

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has moved to web-only, and with talks of other larger publications possibly moving to web-only, the mornings of walking out in your housecoat and slippers to get the daily newspaper seem to be coming to an end. There are numerous web outlets now that people can access to get the latest news and headlines. One of the popular news and opinion sites is TheHuffingtonPost.com.

TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. operates as an online news site and political blog. Outside of the initial seed funding, the company has had three rounds of venture financing, with the latest occurring late last year.

Posted on 03/12/2009

Life Science companies, encompassing Biotechnology and Medical Devices, have historically been popular choices for investors in recent quarters. There was no difference in Q4 2008, with approximately $1.5+ Billion being raised in this area. This week we are going to take a look at a couple of companies involved in Life Sciences that received additional funding.

Tengion, Inc. is headquartered in East Norriton, Pennsylvania. The company is a clinical stage biotech company that develops bioengineered organs and tissues based on experiments on autologous tissue engineering technology and optimal biomaterials. The company recently closed on some additional Series C shares for approximately $21 MM.

The Deal Terms for this round were:

• Filing Date – 10/15/2008
• Liquidation Preference for the Current Round – Pari Passu with other Series Preferred
• Round of Financing – Series C
• Round Direction – Flat Round
• Multiple of the Liquidation Preference – 0 – 1x
• Type of Preferred Stock – Participating Preferred
• Capped Participating Preferred – No
• Anti-Dilution Protection – Weighted Average
• Redemption at Investor’s Option – Yes
• Pay-to-Play Provisions – No
• Cumulative Dividends – Yes
• Dividend Rate – 8%
• Price Per Share – $1.82
• Amount Raised in Current Round – $21 MM

Posted on 03/05/2009

Khosla Ventures is a prominent VC firm based out of Menlo Park, California. Recently, the WSJ noted that the firm had announced it was raising its first fund with CALPERS, indicating no signs the venture firm is scaling back, even with a bleak economic outlook. Many of their investments have been in the areas of Clean Technology, the Internet, and mobile technology. This week we are going to take a look at a couple of recent deals that they participated in that covered a couple of different industries.

Some of you might use a product from AliphCom, Inc. You might know them as "Jawbone" or "Aliph". The company is located in San Francisco, and they develop noise cancellation technology that eliminates background noise for use in products for the mobile market. In early 2008, the company closed a later round of financing totaling approximately $30 MM. Participating in this round along with Khosla Ventures were Sequoia Capital and Mayfield Fund.

The Deal Terms for this round were:

• Filing Date – 12/21/2007
• Liquidation Preference for the Current Round – Senior to other Series Preferred
• Round of Financing – Series E or greater
• Round Direction – Up Round
• Multiple of the Liquidation Preference – 0 – 1x
• Type of Preferred Stock – Conventional Convertible
• Anti-Dilution Protection – Weighted Average
• Redemption at Investor’s Option – No
• Pay-to-Play Provisions – No
• Cumulative Dividends – No
• What was the Dividend Rate? – 8
• Price Per Share – $1.3519
• Total Amount Raised in Current Round – $30 MM

Posted on 02/26/2009

The creation and use of open-source software is becoming more and more popular. With companies cutting costs, the popularity of services and applications offered via open-source seems to gain momentum. This week we are going to take a look at a couple of young open-source companies.

Dimdim, Inc. operates out of Massachusetts, and has quickly become a choice for many individuals and companies looking to cut costs. The company provides open-source Web conferencing products and services. Mid way through 2008, the company closed a Series B round of approximately $6 MM. Participating in this round were Draper Richards LP, Index Ventures Management SA, Nexus India Capital.

The Deal Terms for this round were:

• Filing Date – 07/09/2008
• Liquidation Preference for the Current Round – Pari Passu with other Series Preferred
• Round of Financing – Series B
• Round Direction – Up Round
• Multiple of the Liquidation Preference – 0 – 1x
• Type of Preferred Stock – Participating Preferred
• Capped Participating Preferred – No
• Anti-Dilution Protection – Weighted Average
• Redemption at Investor’s Option – Yes
• Pay-to-Play Provisions – No
• Cumulative Dividends – No
• Dividend Rate – 8%
• Price Per Share – $6.57
• Total Amount Raised in Recent Round – $6 MM

Posted on 02/19/2009

Based on data from the Q4 2008 PWC MoneyTree Report, two investors placing capital last quarter were Foundation Capital and RockPort Capital Partners. Foundation Capital is headquartered in Menlo Park, CA and RockPort Capital Partners is headquartered in Boston, Mass. This week we are going to take a look at one deal from each of these firms.

Chegg, Inc. is headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The company’s website allows students to rent and/or sell textbooks. The company recently closed a later stage round for approximately $25 MM.

The Deal Terms for this round were:

• Filing Date – 12/09/2008
• Liquidation Preference for the Current Round – Pari Passu
• Round of Financing – Series D
• Round Direction – Up Round
• Multiple of the Liquidation Preference – 0 – 1x
• Type of Preferred Stock – Conventional Convertible
• Anti-Dilution Protection – Weighted Average
• Redemption at Investor’s Option – No
• Pay-to-Play Provisions – No
• Cumulative Dividends – No
• What was the Dividend Rate? – 8%
• Price Per Share – $1.16587
• Total Amount Invested in Current Round – $25 MM

Posted on 02/12/2009

It seems that everywhere you read there is another new latest and greatest web application, particularly for your phone. With that in mind, we have taken a look at a couple of companies that develop these applications and that also received funding last quarter.

Trilibis, Inc. is headquartered in San Mateo, California. The company develops online and mobile phone application technology. They provide application solutions to content providers, marketers, and online communities. You may have used there technology and not even have notices on a blog, poll, or message board. The company closed on approximately $5.7 MM in additional funding in October with a Series B round.

The Deal Terms for this round were:

• Filing Date – 08/06/2008
• Round of Financing – Series B
• Type of Preferred Stock – Conventional Convertible
• Liquidation Preference for the Current Round – Pari Passu
• Multiple of the Liquidation Preference – 0 to 1x
• Round Direction – Up Round
• Anti-Dilution Protection – Weighted Average
• Redemption at Investor’s Option – No
• Pay-to-Play Provisions – No
• Cumulative Dividends – No
• Dividend Rate – 8%
• Price Per Share – $.75
• Total Amount Raised in Round – $5.7 MM

Posted on 01/29/2009

This week we are taking a look at a couple of Venture Capital indicators, and offering a free sneak peek at a tool currently in development. Many of you are aware of the “Cost of Capital Benchmark” tool, which tracks the deal term-based cost-of-investment to portfolio companies. Be sure to register a free account to receive access to all of our analytical tools and to stay abreast of new releases.

Based on your requests and the spirit of the Cost of Capital Benchmark, the “Valuation Index” tracks valuation trends in venture-backed companies. Given the economy, this is an increasingly important metric to track. As expected, there is a mostly inverse correlation between the deal term data (Cost of Capital Benchmark) and the valuation data (Valuation Index). As valuation tends to decrease, the use of "investor friendly" deal terms tends to increase. Want to take a guess on how things look?

Posted on 01/22/2009

Based on various reports, private Software and IT Service companies received somewhere in the neighborhood of $2 Billion in funding last quarter. This was a considerable decrease from previous quarters. Surprising? Not really.

Not wanting to submit just yet to all of the doom and gloom of the current economic circumstances, we are happy to report that there are still sizeable investments being made. The amounts invested are spread across the board, with some of the higher amounts close to $75 MM. Below are a few of the Software and IT Service companies that received funding in Q4 2008.

Some reports are saying that there was a record decrease in funding for the Software and IT Services industries this past quarter. $2 Billion is still a good deal of money, but will this amount continue to decrease with VC firms tightening their belts?

Posted on 01/15/2009

Earlier this week, Stanford University announced the launch of a $100 MM energy institute for CleanTech research and teaching. Clean Technology seems to continue to do quite well when raising capital, even through this time of economic uncertainty for many. The analyst team is still in the process of reviewing Q4 2008 deals, and we have noticed that CleanTech is still a strong field when raising capital. Below are a couple of deals that we have analyzed.

So far the terms that we are seeing with many of the Q4 deals from the CleanTech companies are more "Company Friendly" with the Up Rounds and the Conventional Convertible Preferred. How long will these terms stay with these companies? We will see.

Posted on 01/08/2009

Q4 2008 has come and gone. Not surprisingly, the data is starting to show a clear trend—a drop in the number of new VC deals, the deals that are getting done are follow on rounds (often flat or down rounds) and those deals have more onerous deal terms as compared to previous quarters. The analyst team at VC Experts has reviewed numerous deals from last quarter, and the results are interesting so far. We will have more in the next few weeks on the overall Q4 Deal Term trends.

One of the trends we are seeing is more use of Pay-to-Play provisions. This requires existing investors to participate in a subsequent round. The result of the Pay-to-Play penalty is usually a conversion of the investor’s Preferred Stock to Common or to a less valuable series of Preferred Stock (Shadowed Preferred). This is one of the terms that may become more popular with the increase cases of Down Rounds. Are these the type of deal terms that we will need to get used to seeing?

Posted on 12/18/2008

There was approximately $1.4 Billion invested in companies in the Biotechnology industry in Q3 2008. Approximately 16% of those companies received $25+ MM each. In this week’s PEDC Buzz, we have listed the Deal Term stats from Q3 2008 Biotechnology deals, and we have also given the analysis of a couple of specific Biotech companies that received some of this funding.

Type of Preferred Stock:

• Participating – 61%

• Conventional Convertible – 39%

Cumulative Dividends:

• No – 61%

• Yes – 39%

Capped Participation:

• No – 74%

• Yes – 26%

Posted on 12/11/2008

Where will all the CleanTech funding go? U.S CleanTech companies received a record amount of $1.75 Billion in funding this past quarter (Q3 2008). With oil trading lower at around $40 a barrel rather than $140, gasoline as low as $1.40/gal in some areas, and natural gas falling sharply off of its highs, how long will the CleanTech startups continue to receive these large funding amounts? Will we see a new record of funding in this sector in Q4 2008, or will investors take a second look based on the declining energy costs? Below we have taken a look at just a couple of companies that received part of this record funding.

For consumers, the falling fuel/energy prices are a welcome sight. It might not be such a welcome sight though for companies involved in the search for clean technology. Will the demand in this sector remain as high as it has been in the past quarters? From a consumer standpoint, some will tend to relax and change back to their “old” spending habits before the great fuel spike occurred. Some of the large power companies are even issuing refunds to their customers due to the lowering of their fuel adjustment charges as a result of declining natural gas prices. How long will we see a decline in oil and natural gas prices? Some analysts say that we will see $1/gal gas in the near future, and others say that we will see $140 barrel oil next year. Either way, Clean Technology companies will still be needed for both economic and environmental reasons.

Posted on 12/04/2008

What if you were Reece Witherspoon and anxious to promote the release of your new holiday comedy, “Four Christmases?” How about if you were Trace Adkins ready to dazzle the audience with a heartfelt performance of your hit single, “Muddy Water,” off of your recently introduced album, X? Try this one: what if you were John McCain and the polls clearly show you are in desperate need of more air time before the big November 4^th election? Would you opt for a seat on the plush leather couch next to Jay Leno’s desk on the Burbank, California set of The Tonight Show, or would you prefer to walk out in front of a New York City backdrop to the accompaniment of Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra as your name is announced by David Letterman on The Late Show? Do you go to the East Coast with its sophisticated, cosmopolitan reputation or travel to the West Coast for a more casual and contemporary experience?

Companies seeking capital, just as celebrities who are pursuing fame and fortune, desire the most receptive and welcoming audience. While there are television personalities and venture capital firms who will look out for your best interest, don’t forget that they will be looking out for themselves, too. When David Letterman got word in September that McCain was canceling his scheduled appearance on The Late Show he joked, “I think someone’s putting something in his Metamucil.”

Fortunately, for companies seeking venture capital who are trying to decide whether the most investor friendly terms can be found on the East Coast or the West Coast, we have generated a very interesting and timely analysis that is just for you! Read the most recent Buzz for a comparison of terms from VC Experts’ early glimpse at an analysis of East Coast venture deal terms for Q3 2008 to Fenwick & West: Trends in Terms of Venture Financings in the San Francisco Bay Area (Q3 2008).

Posted on 11/20/2008

Recently we have had numerous inquiries on how the recent economic storm will effect the valuations of private companies. There have been a plethora of articles written and plenty more to be written on this. Using one of our latest tools, the VC Experts’ “Valuation Ticker”, we have shown how some of the larger private VC backed companies might have faired if they were public.

What is the VC Experts’ “Valuation Ticker”?

The Valuation Ticker is a venture capital valuation tracking tool that utilizes the average daily close prices of public companies in particular industries. Each of these companies received venture capital or private equity funding prior to their IPO. Utilizing averages from 1999 to present, these daily figures are then applied to the most recent post-money valuation of a private, venture-backed company within the same industry, as calculated by VC Experts, to simulate the movement of that company’s valuation on a daily basis. Additional data is utilized as a comparative measure, including the NASDAQ and S&P 500 indexes.

Facebook, Inc.

Starting with one everyone has asked about, Facebook, Inc. What if they had gone public? Where would they be today? About a year ago, the company announced that it was worth $15 Billion.

However, based on VC Experts’ valuation methodology, we found the valuation to be closer to $12.4 Billion. Other sources have the valuation at that time at approximately $9 Billion. So where would it be today? Based on the average daily close prices of industry comparable public companies, Facebook, Inc. might be down as much as 61% from our valuation of $12.4 Billion as of 12/31/2007. This would put the valuation as of November 18, 2008 at approximately $4,825mm.

Posted on 11/13/2008

The search for a renewable energy source is still on going. There are more and more new companies coming about in search of the best answer for this issue. This week we are going to look at one in particular that received a substantial amount of funding in September 2008.

Solazyme, Inc. is headquartered in San Francisco, California. They have been around since 2003, and use microalgae to create clean and scalable bioproduct solutions for the energy/industrial industry as well as the healthcare industry. One of these products is a renewable energy source. The company received its latest rounds of financing in 2007 and 2008.

Key Investment Trends:

Financing Date: May 11th, 2007

• Series B Up Round

• Total Amount Raised in Round: $8.6 MM

Financing Date: September 29, 2008

• Series B Up Round

• Total Amount Raised in Round: $53.9 MM

Posted on 11/06/2008

Every week the PE Data Center Buzz focuses on deals, and reveals the terms of deals. A couple of weeks ago we posted our “”http://pedatacenter.com/pedc/mailing/link/1/0/rss">1^st Half 2008 Venture Capital Terms Report". The feedback, quite simply was astounding. Entrepreneurs in particular, stated that they did not understand the economic effect that certain deal terms could have on the return. Others stated that certain deal terms were “expected” due to the region and/or industry.

This week, in response to some of the questions and inquiries, we highlight a few examples of trends (East Coast vs. West Coast or Biotech vs. IT) and as always, leave it open for thought and discussion from you, the reader.

Some Key Questions:

• Does the location (East Coast vs West Coast) dictate which deal terms to expect?

• Does industry effect the Deal Terms?

We provide this data free to our user base, but please note this is just the tip of the iceberg, with the premium data including the most comprehensive database of thousands of private company valuations, company information and economic deal terms. So if you are looking for objective data and not just what the big law firms are saying, join the full discussion.

Posted on 10/30/2008

Greylock Partners has offices on both coasts and also in India and Israel. You are probably familiar with some of their investments that we have covered in previous Buzzes (EX: Facebook, Cuil, LinkedIn). There are a few more companies that are becoming well-known names, and they have also received financing from Greylock. In this week’s Buzz, we are going to take a look at a few of the other companies that have recently received additional funding thanks to the participation of Greylock Partners.

Be sure to read the full report of the deal terms and valuations breakdown at the Private Equity Data Center blog.

Digg, Inc. is located in San Francisco. The company runs a user driven website, where all of the content is submitted by its users. If a users content is viewed enough (receives enough “Diggs”), then it is moved to the front of the site. The company closed a round last month totaling approximately $28 MM.

• The total amount raised following this round was approximately $28.7 MM

• VC Experts calculated a Post-Money Valuation of $163,634,404

Imperva, Inc. (formerly WebCohort, Inc.) is headquartered in the U.S. in Redwood Shores, California. Imperva develops application data security and protection solutions. There was a total of an additional $20 MM in financing closed earlier this year.

• The total amount raised following this round was approximately $20 MM

• VC Experts calculated a Post-Money Valuation of $237,519,187

Located in Santa Clara, California is Kickfire, Inc. The company has taken a dramatically different approach to achieving fast database query performance. They have developed the first easy-to-use and affordable high-performance analytic appliance for the MySQL market. The company closed on an additional $20 MM in July of this year.

• The total amount raised following this round was approximately $20 MM

• VC Experts calculated a Post-Money Valuation of $59,992,581

Posted on 10/23/2008

This week, the Private Equity Data Center analysts compiled a breakdown of the deal terms used in U.S. Venture Capital financings from Q1 2008 and Q2 2008 compared to Q1 – Q4 2007. Data was collected from the Key Investment Trends database that includes closed venture financings from both the East and West Coasts. The questions appear in a format similar to that posed to the financing participants.

We have included a brief sample of this report below, but be sure to read the full report of the deal terms breakdown at the Private Equity Data Center blog.

Highlights from the 1st Half 2008 Venture Capital Terms Report

Is the liquidation preference for the current round senior, pari passu, etc?

Most financings had a liquidation preference for the most recent round that was at least pari passu with previous rounds. In another significant trendline difference from 2007, the senior liquidation preference decreased to a 40% average with the latest round senior to previous rounds.

Be sure to read the full report of the deal terms breakdown at the Private Equity Data Center blog.

Posted on 10/16/2008

Due to the financial roller coaster that we are all on, everyone can probably use a little assistance in moving and managing their money. With that in mind, the VC Experts analyst team has taken a look at a couple of financial service companies that received additional funding earlier this year.

Read the full report of the valuations and deal terms at the Private Equity Data Center blog.

Obopay, Inc. (formerly Ultralight FS, Inc.) located in Redwood City, California, provides mobile payment services in the U.S. The company has mobile applications that allow users to send and receive money directly from their mobile phone. Users can also manage their accounts directly from their phones. The company closed a Series D round of financing earlier this year.

• The total amount raised following this round was approximately $20 MM

• VC Experts calculated a Post-Money Valuation of $209,823,185

Mint Software Inc. is headquartered in Mountain View, California. The company provides free online personal financial management solutions by allowing users to link all of their financial accounts to one location online. The company closed a Series B round of financing in Q1 of this year.

• The total amount raised following this round was approximately $12.1 MM

• VC Experts calculated a Post-Money Valuation of $46,357,293

Posted on 10/09/2008

So far this year, New Enterprise Associates is leading VC firms in amount invested in private venture backed US companies with approximately $358 MM, and second to Draper Fisher in the number of deals. The VC Experts analyst team has reviewed a few of the deals that New Enterprise Associates has participated in so far this year.

SiBeam, Inc. (formerly Silicon Microwave Systems) is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. The company is a leader in developing semiconductor solutions for wireless platforms. Earlier this year, the company closed a round totaling approximately $40 MM.

• The total amount raised following this round was approximately $40 MM

• VC Experts calculated a Post-Money Valuation of $137,975,000

Located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, CVRx, Inc. is a developer of implantable devices designed to control hypertension. The company received additional funding totaling approximately $84 MM from several different participants in July 2008.

• The total amount raised following this round was approximately $84 MM

• VC Experts calculated a Post-Money Valuation of $423,623,945

DreamFactory Software, Inc. is located in Mountain View, California. A developer of customization and integration technology for On Demand software systems, the company closed a round of funding totaling approximately $3 MM in March 2008.

• The total amount raised following this round was approximately $3 MM

• VC Experts calculated a Post-Money Valuation of $24,106,245

Posted on 10/02/2008

People use them everyday to share information, add personality to their web pages, and do just about anything else you want to do with them. What are they? Widgets … they are popping up everywhere from social networking sites to popular news and media sites. Everyone from Main Street to Wall Street is using them. The VC Experts analyst team has taken a look at a couple of deals from companies that assist users in designing and promoting widgets. and the full report of the valuations and deal terms can be seen at the Private Equity Data Center blog.

What are widgets? Widgets are chunks of code that can be embedded into a website and/or mobile platform. These little chunks of code assist in the displaying of information and also get users to participate in various applications.

Widgetbox, Inc. is a company in San Francisco, California that has an online community of web widgets.

• The total amount raised following this round was approximately $8 MM

• VC Experts calculated a Post-Money Valuation of $61,902,870

Gigyat, Inc. has an office in the U.S in Palo Alto, California. The company allows users to create and distribute content using their proprietary technology.

• The total amount raised following this round was approximately $9.5 MM

• VC Experts calculated a Post-Money Valuation of $25,991,692

Posted on 09/25/2008

So unless you live under media blackout (not sure how you would read this), then you know about the investment bank “meltdown” that is going on around us all. Goldman Sachs is one of the names that has found its way in the media quite a few times recently. The analyst team at VC Experts has taken a look at just a few deals that Goldman has participated in this year, and the full report of the valuations and deal terms can be seen at the Private Equity Data Center blog.

Fingerhut Direct Marketing, Inc. is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. The company is a retail company that provides private label and brand name merchandise through its print catalog and website.

• The total amount raised following this round was approximately $55.9 MM

• VC Experts calculated a Post-Money Valuation of $132,922,186

Located in Tempe, Arizona is LifeLock, Inc. The company provides security from online identity theft and also offers theft prevention solutions.

• The total amount raised following this round was approximately $25 MM

• VC Experts calculated a Post-Money Valuation of $221,756,075

Veoh Networks, Inc. is located in San Diego, California. The company provides access to TV and various video content on the internet, and is an open platform for content publishers wishing to reach television audiences on the internet.

• The total amount raised following this round was approximately $30 MM

• VC Experts calculated a Post-Money Valuation of $138,091,595

Posted on 09/18/2008

Fluidigm Corporation has filed registration paperwork and plans to start trading publicly this week. The company has received close to $200 MM in funding while private. The analyst team has taken a look at the most recent round of financing, which closed in late 2007. A summary of the findings is below, and the full report of the valuations and deal terms can be seen at the Private Equity Data Center blog.

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Fluidigm Corporation (formerly Mycometric Corporation) is headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company was founded in 1999 and develops and distributes systems based on integrated fluidic circuits for research in the life science market. The company’s latest venture round was a Series E round with several closings totaling close to $60 MM. Some of the many participants in the Series E round were Cross Creek Capital, AllianceBernstein L.P., Lehman Brothers, Inc, EuclidSR Partners, and Lilly Ventures.

• Type of Preferred – Conventional Convertible

• Dividends – Non Cumulative at a rate 10.75%

• Liquidation Multiple – 1X

• Liquidation Preference – Senior

• Anti-Dilution Protection – Full Ratchet

• Pay-to-Play Provisions – None

• Price Per Share – $4

• The total amount raised following this round was approximately $35.1 MM

• VC Experts calculated a Post-Money Valuation of $298,440,160

Posted on 09/11/2008

Just about everyone has a specific search engine that they always return to for their internet searches. Google and Yahoo being the largest, there are several that are coming into play and are working on giving these companies a run for their money. One of the latest search engines to go live was Cuil, Inc.. This week the VC Experts analyst team is going to take a look at a couple of rounds of financing that Cuil, Inc. has recently gone through. We have broken down a summary of the latest round below, but the full report of the valuations and deal terms can be seen at the Private Equity Data Center blog.

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Cuil, Inc. is headquartered in Menlo Park, California. One of the company’s founders is a former employee of Google, where she was the architect of their large search index, TeraGoogle. Cuil is focusing on giving users a wider range of more detailed results.

The company filed for incorporation on November 30, 2006, under the name of Cuill, Inc. The company has closed on a Series A round and a Series B round within the last year. Some of the participants in the most recent Series B round were Greylock Partners, Tugboat Ventures, and Madrone Capital Partners.

The details of the Series B round were:

• Type of Preferred – Conventional Convertible

• Dividends – Non-Cumulative at a rate of 8f%

• Liquidation Multiple – 1x

• Liquidation Preference – Pari Passu with other Series Preferred

• Anti-Dilution Protection – Weighted Average

• Pay-to-Play Provisions – None

• Conversion Rate – 1 to 1 (preferred to common)

• Price Per Share – $10.55

• The total amount raised following this round was approximately $25 MM

• VC Experts calculated a Post-Money Valuation of $200,929,516

Posted on 09/04/2008

Clean Technology continues to be an investment focus for many VC firms. Many of the investments into these clean technology companies are not small. There were several companies in Q2 2008 that received more than $50 MM. We have taken a look at a couple of these, and the full report of the valuations and deal terms can be seen at the Private Equity Data Center blog. Although only time will tell, there continues to be a disparity in the cost of capital based on location or industry, with East Coast firms and information technology-related companies generally receiving more company favorable terms.

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Powerspan Corporation is located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The company is the process of developing and commercializing their proprietary multi-pollutant control technology for the electric power industry. The company’s latest financing round brought in approximately $50 MM. Some of the participants in this Series D round were NGEN Partners LLC and Calvert Social Venture Partners, L.P. The shares were Conventional Convertible with a 1.5x Liquidation Multiple. The VC Experts team found the post-money valuation to be $213,350,127.

Brightsource Energy, Inc. (formerly Luz, Inc.), headquartered in Oakland, California, is a clean technology company with a focus on solar energy. Using its proprietary solar technology that converts sunlight to electricity, the company develops utility-scale solar power plants. The company brought in approximately $115 MM in its latest Series C round of financing. A few of the participants in this round were Draper Fisher Jurvetson, VantagePoint Venture Partners, Morgan Stanley Private Equity, DBL Investors, and Chevron Texaco Technology Ventures LLC. The shares of this round were Conventional Convertible with Non-Cumulative dividends of 8%. The team found the post-money valuation to be $346,363,698.

Posted on 08/28/2008

This week we are going to take a look at a few biotechnology companies since this industry continues to be one of the top investment focuses of many VC firms. There were several biotech deals in Q2 2008 that brought in more than $20 MM each. The VC Experts analyst team has reviewed a few of the top Biotech deals from Q2 2008, and the full report of the valuations and deal terms can be seen at the Private Equity Data Center blog.

Posted on 08/21/2008

You have probably already seen in the press that EDF Ventures subpoenaed TheFunded.com, due to someone having left some not-so-nice comments about EDF Ventures at The Funded website. One of the comments mentioned “Very harsh deal terms…” The analyst team at VC Experts has taken a look at some the deals in our database that EDF Ventures has participated in to see if we could get a sample of “Very harsh deal terms…” What we found was that the deal terms were actually, overall fairly average. There was nothing too out of the ordinary or harsh.

EDF Ventures is a venture capital firm out of Ann Arbor, Michigan. The firm’s main focus is investing in early-stage healthcare companies. They have also supported several IT companies. EDF Ventures has been around since the mid 1980s, and there are approximately twenty-six companies in their portfolio.

The full analysis of EDF Ventures deals and deal terms can be found at the the Private Equity Data Center blog.

Posted on 08/14/2008

A123 Systems, Inc. has been in the press lately concerning their filing for an IPO. Based out of Watertown, Massachusetts, the company was founded in 2005 and is backed by some of the better venture firms in the industry. With its proprietary nanotechnology, the company has become a world leader in the development and supply of high-power lithium ion batteries.

The VC Experts analyst team has reviewed some of their latest regulatory filings leading up to this event. The team’s findings are below for the most recent Series E round and it is yet another example of a venture-backed company with a post-money valuation of over a billion dollars. The Private Equity Data Center blog contains the complete investment and valuation history of A123 Systems, Inc.

In June 2008, the company filed its “Ninth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation”. The results of this filing were:

• Increase in the number of authorized shares of “Series E Preferred Stock” to 6,152,554

• Some of the investors in this round included OnPoint Technologies, Alliance Bernstein L.P., Masthead Venture Partners, and GE Equity.

• The Deal Terms of this Series E round were as listed below:

  • Type of Preferred – Participating

  • Dividends – Non-Cumulative

  • Liquidation Multiple – 1x

  • Liquidation Preference – Pari Passu with other Series Preferred

  • Anti-Dilution Protection – Weighted Average

  • Pay-to-Play Provisions – None

  • Conversion Rate – 1 to 1 (preferred to common)

  • Price Per Share – $16.5923

  • The total amount raised following this round was approximately $102 MM

  • VC Experts calculated a Post-Money Valuation of $1,069,419,629

Posted on 08/07/2008

If you’ve ever used a social networking site, chances are that you have either used or seen widgets from Slide, Inc. Their widgets can be found on numerous social networking sites. The VC Experts team has analyzed several rounds of financing from this company, and the findings of the most recent round are below.

We are providing, for FREE, the complete investment and valuation history of Slide, Inc.

Slide, Inc., headquartered in San Francisco, was launched in 2005. The company develops widgets that allow people to create customized slide shows and add personality to their websites, desktops, and/or profiles. The company received its most recent round of financing in January 2008. This Series D round brought in approximately $50 MM from T. Rowe Price and Fidelity Investments. The deal terms of this Series D round were:

• Type of Preferred – Conventional Convertible




• Dividends – Non-Cumulative at a rate of 7%




• Liquidation Multiple – 1x




• Liquidation Preference – Senior to other Series Preferred




• Anti-Dilution Protection – Weighted Average




• Pay-to-Play Provisions – None




• Conversion Rate – 1 to 1 (preferred to common)




• Price Per Share – $4.5628




• The total amount secured for this round was approximately $50 MM




• VC Experts calculated a Post-Money Valuation of $545,257,246

Posted on 07/31/2008

Have you ever used LinkedIn? This week the VC Experts analyst team is going to take an in depth look at some of the particular regulatory documents filed by this popular company. Our findings of the most recent financing round are listed below.

We are providing, for FREE, the complete investment and valuation history of LinkedIn, Inc.

In May 2007, the company filed its Fourth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, which split every one (1) share of outstanding and issued common and preferred stock into three (3) shares of common and preferred stock.

The most recent filing was the Fifth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation which was for their last round of financing filed in June 2008. This Series D round was for approximately 10 times the amount they raised in November 2003. This filing created the fourth series of Preferred Stock (“Series D Preferred Stock”) that would consist of 6,800,349 authorized shares at a price of $11.47 per share. Investors that participated in this round included Bain Capital, Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners, and Bessemer Venture Partners. The total amount that was secured for this round was approximately $53 MM. The Deal Terms of this “Series D Preferred Stock” round were:

• Type of Preferred – Conventional Convertible

• Dividends – Non-Cumulative at a rate of 8%

• Liquidation Multiple – 1x

• Liquidation Preference – Pari Passu with other Series Preferred

• Anti-Dilution Protection – Weighted Average

• Pay-to-Play Provisions – None

• Conversion Rate – 1 to 1 (preferred to common)

• Price Per Share – $11.47

• The total amount secured for this round was approximately $53 MM

• VC Experts calculated a Post-Money Valuation of $1,037,546,447

Posted on 07/24/2008

There has been a lot of talk lately about Facebook, Inc. With everything that has been written in blogs, posted on message boards, and talked about on the news, we decided to take a look at the regulatory filings to see if we could shed some additional light on the financing and valuation discussions that have been so vast and full of questions. Below is a summary of the results of our analysis of particular regulatory documents filed by Facebook, Inc.

We are providing, for FREE, the complete investment and valuation history of Facebook, Inc., which has come a long way since that first $500K investment by Peter Thiel in 2004.

Most recently, in October 2007, there was a Sixth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation that would split (again!) every Common Stock and Preferred Stock share at a rate of 1 to 4. Following this second 1 to 4 Stock Split, there was the filing of the Seventh Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation that created the fourth series of Preferred Stock (“Series D Preferred Stock”) that would consist of 19,153,600 authorized shares at a price of $37.06227 per share. Within this same time is when Microsoft announced a $240 MM investment into Facebook for a 1.6% stake of the company at a $15,000,000,000 valuation. The investors in this round included Li Ka-shing, the European Founders Fund (Samwer Family), and Microsoft. The Deal Terms of this “Series D” round were:

• Type of Preferred – Conventional Convertible

• Dividends – Non-Cumulative at a rate of 8%

• Liquidation Multiple – 1x

• Anti-Dilution Protection – Weighted Average

• Pay-to-Play Provisions – None

• Conversion Rate – 1 to 1 (preferred to common)

• Price Per Share – $37.06227

• The total amount raised following this round was approximately $315 MM (NOTE: Due to limited regulatory filings of this Series D round, the amount raised is a best estimate)

• VC Experts calculated a Post-Money Valuation of $12,446,170,304

Posted on 07/17/2008

Whether you are an active blogger, YouTube fan, internet radio DJ or avid email user, it’s clear that digital media has revolutionized the way we create and consume content. Depending on who you are speaking with, some consider Digital Media its own industry, where others feel that it is more of an “industry application”. Either way, Digital Media is receiving more and more attention from VC firms. Below are the findings of some the investments that we analyzed from Q1 2008 for Digital Media companies.

Thumbplay, Inc.

Investment: $18mm
Post Money Valuation: $313mm

Company-Friendly Deal

Radar Networks, Inc.

Investment: $13mm
Post Money Valuation: $33mm
Company-Friendly Deal

Yardbarker, Inc.

Investment: $6mm
Post Money Valuation: $18mm
Company-Friendly Deal

Posted on 07/10/2008

The software industry continued its run into Q1 2008 with being one of the top investment focuses for many VC firms. We have analyzed a few of these deals and below are the findings that our staff uncovered:

Automattic, Inc.

Investment: $30mm
Post Money Valuation: $232mm
Company-Friendly Deal

SignalDemand, Inc.

Investment: $20mm
Post Money Valuation: $99mm
Investor-Friendly Deal

Sipera Systems, Inc.

Investment: $2mm
Post Money Valuation: $59mm
Investor-Friendly Deal

Posted on 06/26/2008

We are back in the home office for this week’s PEDC Buzz. Last week, we looked at Sequoia Capital, this week our analysts take a look at some of the deals of Q1 2008 that Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers participated in. Below are the findings:

LifeLock, Inc.

Investment: $25mm
Post Money Valuation: $222mm
Investor-Friendly Deal

TherOX, Inc.

Investment: $30mm
Post Money Valuation: $125mm
Investor-Friendly Deal

Corventis, Inc.

Investment: $20mm
Post Money Valuation: $53mm
Company-Friendly Deal

Posted on 06/19/2008

In this week’s Buzz, we are going to take a look at some of the deals from Q1 2008 that Sequoia Capital participated in. Below are the findings from the analysts here at VC Experts.

Globallogic, Inc.

Investment: $29.5mm
Post Money Valuation: $186mm
Investor-Friendly Deal

AliphCom, Inc.

Investment: $30mm
Post Money Valuation: $197mm
Company-Friendly Deal

Dash Navigations, Inc.

Investment: $30mm
Post Money Valuation: $174mm
Investor-Friendly Deal

Posted on 06/12/2008

VC Experts has compiled their findings of some of the Biotech deals for Q1 2008. Below is what they uncovered:

Range Fuels, Inc.

Investment: $130mm
Post Money Valuation: $277mm
Investor-Friendly Deal

Alimera Sciences, Inc.

Investment: $30mm
Post Money Valuation: $128mm
Investor-Friendly Deal

Crown Bioscience, Inc.

Investment: $16mm
Post Money Valuation: $39mm
Investor-Friendly Deal

Posted on 06/05/2008

Software has been one of the top industries to invest in for several quarters now. Q4 2007 was no different. Below are the findings that our staff uncovered from some of the Software deals of Q4 2007.

Endeca Technologies, Inc.

Investment: $25mm
Post Money Valuation: $405mm
Investor-Friendly Deal

Dataupia Corporation

Investment: $16mm
Post Money Valuation: $56mm
Company-Friendly Deal

SugarCRM, Inc.

Investment: $14.5mm
Post Money Valuation: $134mm
Company-Friendly Deal

Posted on 05/29/2008

Nanotechnology is a field that is getting a lot of attention these days. We have uncovered a few of the top Nanotechnology deals for Q4 2007, and here is what we found.

BioScale, Inc.

Investment: $20mm
Post Money Valuation: $59mm
Company-Friendly Deal

BIND Biosciences, Inc.

Investment: $16mm
Post Money Valuation: $38mm
Company-Friendly Deal

CardioMEMS, Inc.

Investment: $10mm
Post Money Valuation: $166mm
Company-Friendly Deal

Posted on 05/22/2008

Clean Technology has quickly become one of the top investment focuses for many investors. Below are some of the findings that the PEDataCenter.com business intelligence team uncovered concerning some of the top Clean Tech investment deals of Q4 2007:

Boston-Power, Inc.

Investment: $45mm
Post Money Valuation: $153mm
Company-Friendly Deal

Purfresh, Inc.

Investment: $25mm
Post Money Valuation: $88mm
Company-Friendly Deal

Energy and Power Solutions, Inc.

Investment: $20mm
Post Money Valuation: $24mm
Investor-Friendly Deal

Posted on 05/14/2008

Have you ever wondered how top-tier venture firms value and structure their investments? The PEDataCenter.com business intelligence team conducted exhaustive research on some of the top Biotech deals of Q4 2007. Some of our findings include:

Ambit Bioscience Corporation

Investment: $49.3mm
Post Money Valuation: $105mm
Investor-Friendly Deal

REVA Medical, Inc.

Investment: $42mm
Post Money Valuation: $128mm
Company-Friendly Deal

Cogentus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Investment: $40mm
Post Money Valuation: $154mm
Company-Friendly Deal

Fluidigm Corporation

Investment: $34.1mm
Post Money Valuation: $312mm
Investor-Friendly Deal