University of Wisconsin FluGen snaps up $12 mln Series A
FluGen Inc., a biotechnology company developing a novel “universal” influenza vaccine, has completed a $12 million Series A financing. Venture Investors LLC, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), the State of Wisconsin Investment Board, and other new investors participated in this first institutional financing of the company, along with many of FluGen’s existing investors led […]
Graftworx gets $500K from Maryland Venture Fund
Bel Air-based medical device company Graftworx received $500,000 from the Maryland Venture Fund, the state announced. With the new funding, the company announced the hiring of Lilip Lau, who invented a coronary stent while at Guidant. Graftworx is developing a stent to treat peripheral artery disease (PAD). The money will also be used to complete […]
Early investors set up dedicated funds as start-up valuations surge
Venture Capital (VC) firms such as Nexus Venture Partners, Kalaari Capital and Blume Venture Advisors are setting up independent investment vehicles for the sole purpose of investing in their winners such as Snapdeal, promoted by Jasper Infotech Pvt. Ltd, and Simplilearn Solutions. The firms are finding this necessary, given the surging valuations of some start-ups […]
VentureOhio studying feasibility for statewide $100M fund of funds to invest in outside VC firms
Members of VentureOhio are studying the feasibility of forming a private “fund of funds” of $100 million or more to invest in venture capital groups and thus draw investor attention to Ohio startups. “Having a fund of funds in Ohio will be really important in our ecosystem,” VentureOhio Executive Director Falon Donohue told me. I […]
University of Nottingham spin-out NuVision received £379k seed funding from Mercia Fund Management
The funding from Mercia will support the commercialisation of NuVision’s ground-breaking product, Omnigen™, an easy to use, dry, amniotic membrane-derived biological bandage that can be used to treat ocular wounds caused by scratches, blisters and burns, as soon as they occur, as well as more long-term, non-healing persistent defects. Omnigen is produced using a pioneering […]
European venture capital funds go in search of tech start-ups
As Europe’s tech companies such as Spotify, the music-streaming service, and King Digital, the maker of the Candy Crush franchise, have become global names, a series of new venture funds has sprouted in search of the next generation of European start-ups. Yesterday, Felix Capital, a new European venture firm, announced that it had raised $120 […]
Kleiner Perkins to Write Smaller Checks With $4 Million Fund – The New York Times
Most of the action in venture capital now is in so-called growth rounds, with billions of dollars flowing into established technology superstars like Uber and Pinterest. But Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, one of Silicon Valley’s best-known investment firms, is trying a different approach: focusing on early-stage seed rounds — and offering founders unusual terms. […]
Mercia investors warm to group’s approach to university start-ups
If only investors had it that easy: gaining some exposure to the next hot start-up without the risk that it might fail. Several University spinout groups such as Imperial Innovations and IP Group have had mixed fortunes as investors took fright after the 2008 financial crisis. Now, Mercia Technologies, which listed on Aim last December, […]
$2.9M in WA Life Sciences Discovery Fund (LSDF) grants announced
Celiac disease-safe wheat, premature infant pain detection, and new medicines to fight flu and cancer are among the ideas to receive $2.9 million in funding from Washington’s Life Sciences Discovery Fund (LSDF). The 10 new commercialization awards are part of LSDF’s $100 million portfolio, which features an impressive 7-to-1 ROI statewide—including $510 million in new […]
More mutual funds are investing in tech start-ups
Mutual fund giants aren’t just interested in putting money to work in publicly traded companies. Increasingly, they also want to own a piece of red-hot start-ups. Tech news site Re/code reported that Fidelity Investments is now in talks to buy a stake in meal-delivery start-up Blue Apron at a valuation of about $2 billion. But […]