?	
?	VentureWire
	Wednesday, May 23, 2001		?
?	CONTENTS | COMPANIES | INVESTORS | ADVERTISE | TELL A FRIEND	VentureWire Index
		'VentureWire
		today: 736.2 ? -0.55%	?
? 		
		
		top stories
		
		  Thomas Weisel Closes Early-Stage Fund at $255M
		  Asera Names Former Tivoli Chief as New President & CEO
		  Groove Networks Cuts 8%; Will Target Larger Clients 
		 VantagePoint Forms $150M New York Fund
		
		
		TODAY'S FEATURES 
		Sun Cuts Investment Size, Looks to Earlier Stage Deals
		By Matthew Sheahan
		Sun Microsystems Venture & Strategic Investment fund has seen a dramatic drop 
in its average investment size, Brian Sutphin, vice president of strategic 
development, told VentureWire. more>>
		UPCOMING EVENTS 
		June 5-6: San Francisco
		 Mobile Outlook 2001
		
		George Davis, vice chairman and president of Aether Systems, will discuss how 
his company powers mobile and wireless data services for Charles Schwab, 
National Discount Brokers, the USPS, Office Depot, Nissan, and more. 
		With industry leaders such as George Davis planning to be at Mobile Outlook, 
why aren't you? Less than 2 weeks, register today! 
		
		
		Entrepreneurs and VC-backed company CEOs:
		* Where can you obtain FREE detailed information on the
		latest quarter'sventure funding by region, industry,
		round and stage of development?
		* Where are there FREE tools and templates for writing a
		business plan and securing venture funding?
		* And if you're a young tech company CEO, where can you
		hear other CEOs discuss the issues of the day?
		VISIT PricewaterhouseCooper's Entrepreneur Resource Center
		for this and more -->http://www.pwcerc.com
		
		
		
		Optivera Generates Telecom Buzz, Seeks $10 Million
		By Jonathan Shieber
		After raising $1 million in a January seed funding and generating buzz among 
big telecom operators, optical signaling platform developer Optivera is 
seeking a second round of $10 million, according to company director, Meir 
Burstin. more>>
		
		Motorola Investing In Fewer Deals
		By Matthew Sheahan
		Motorola Ventures, the venture capital unit of Motorola, will be investing in 
fewer deals this year due to a shift in investment strategy, according to 
managing director Matthew I. more>>
		
		Kagoor Networks Expanding To Europe
		By Amanda Briggs
		Kagoor Networks, a developer of applications for voice over IP networks, is 
beefing up its sales staff and intends to open a new office in Europe as part 
of its plan to attract global service providers and IP carriers, according to 
Opher Kahane, the company's co-founder, president and CEO. more>>
		
		
		
		
		new money
		
		  Atreus To Close $17 Million Series B
		  JavaBeans App Firm Compoze Gets $1.2 Million Series A
		  Outsourcing Firm French & Associates Gets $10M Round One
		  Skire Closes $17M Series B
		  Voice Commerce App Firm NetByTel Gets $18.1M Second Round
		  Financial Services Firm BUYandHOLD Secures $10 Million
		  Marketing Claims Software Firm Bridium Gets $3.5M Round Two
		  Performix Closes $10M Series B, Adds to Board
		  PromoOrder Gets $6 Million in Second Round
		  Video Software Developer Be Here Lands $6M in Series D
		  Ben Franklin Technology Partners Invests $450,000   
		 Open Solutions Raises $8.8 Million More in Mezzanine Round
		  Streaming Video Firm EyeWonder Secures $800,000 Bridge
		  Online Journal Publishing Firm ScholarOne Raises $3.7M
		  Newtek Capital Puts $2.7M in Group Management Technologies
		  Web-to-Print Tech Firm Megawheels Raises $5 Million, Cuts 14
		  Guardent Raises $20M Series C, Acquires DefendNet
		
		
		bad news
		
		  ClickThings Clicks No More, Shuts Down
		  PurpleYogi Cuts 10% Staff & Shifts To Enterprise Focus
		
		
		new products
		
		  Pharmagenesis, Tianjin Zhong Xin Forms AntiCancer Drug Firm
		  Info Management Firm Oingo Changes Name to Applied Semantics
		  Broadband Provider Salira Optical Network Systems Launches
		  Delta Pharmaceuticals Changes Name to Ardent Pharmaceuticals
		
		
		m&a
		
		  Atinera Acquires TraveLease in Asset Sale
		  CAT Technology Intends to Sell Services Unit 
		 Renaissance Interactive Holding Corp. Becomes Impressa 
		 IT Factory Acquires Knowledge App Firm Synergistics
		  eFS Network and Maverick Xchange Merge
		  AskJeeves Acquires Defunct eTour's Assets for Cash
		  Investment Club Firm Actifunds Buys Iclubcentral.com 
		 OneMade Acquires Collector Online in Stock Deal
		
		
		new directors
		
		  Biotech Firm Advanced Life Sciences Names New Director
		  Symmetry Communications Names Thales Group Exec. to Board
		
		
		new people
		
		  Nexterna Taps Ex-CellStar COO as President and CEO
		  Storage Tech Firm i-drive Names Arif Janjua New CEO
		  MEMS Firm InLight Communications Appoints President & CEO
		  IT Consultancy Endymion Systems Promotes COO to CEO
		
		
		vc fund news
		
		  e4e Names New Partner, Will Open Mid-Atlantic Region Office
		  IM Life Sciences Raising $100M Genomics, BioInformatics Fund
		  Munder Reopens Munder Netnet Internet Mutual Fund
		
		
		vc personnel
		
		  Jordan Edmiston Appoints New Managing Director
		
		
		vw corrections
		
		  Zight
		  Antrim Design Systems
		
		 TOP STORIES... NEW MONEY... BAD NEWS... NEW PRODUCTS... M&A... NEW 
DIRECTORS... NEW PEOPLE... VC FUND NEWS... VC PERSONNEL... VW CORRECTIONS
		
		
		top
		
		
		What do beige boxes have to do with data?
		Nothing, that's what. The future is wireless
		Palm pilots and cell phones and a huge
		percentage of research and development over
		the next few years will be devoted to figuring
		out how to tap into it.
		
		Mobile Outlook is the convergence of hundreds of
		entrepreneurs and investors, all devoted to
		thinking outside the beige box. If you move data,
		you can't afford to miss it.
		
		Mobile Outlook 2001. Register today:http://www.mobile2001.net/register.asp
		
		
		
		 top stories 
		?
		Thomas Weisel Closes Early-Stage Fund at $255M
		 mail? top
		
		 SAN FRANCISCO (VENTUREWIRE) -- Thomas Weisel Partners, a merchant bank, 
announced that it closed its early-stage venture fund, Thomas Weisel Venture 
Partners (TWVP), at $255 million in March. Andy Sessions, one of the partners 
at Thomas Weisel, said the fund, started in September 2000, was originally 
targeted to close at $250 million. Mr. Sessions also said TWVP is to be 
invested over two years in 20 North American technology infrastructure 
companies in the communications, software, and Internet sectors. TWVP will 
make investments of between $2 million and $10 million. TWVP has already 
invested in Aligo, Bay Microsystems, and Santel Networks. Mr.Sessions also 
said TWVP was seriously evaluating two or three companies at present. Dave 
Crowder is the other partner responsible for TWVP, which will be managed out 
of Menlo Park, Calif. CalPERS, EFG, National Citibank, JDS Uniphase, Natxis, 
Raytheon, S.E. Banken, Siebel Systems, and Winterthur are among the limited 
partners in the fund.  TWVP is the second fund ! raised by Thomas Weisel 
Partners. The first fund, Thomas Weisel Capital Partners, closed in January 
2000 at $1.3 billion and is a later stage private fund.  
		http://www.tweisel.com
		
		
		Asera Names Former Tivoli Chief as New President & CEO
		 mail? top
		
		 BELMONT, Calif. (VENTUREWIRE) -- Asera, a provider of enterprise operating 
systems, said it has named David Murphy as president and CEO. He succeeds 
Warren Weiss, who will remain with the company as special advisor to the 
board through the third quarter of this year. Prior to joining Asera, Mr. 
Murphy was president of enterprise e-business software firm Tivoli Systems, a 
subsidiary of IBM. Additionally, Mr. Murphy joins as the ninth member of the 
company's board, which includes Vinod Khosla and Raymond J. Lane of Kleiner 
Perkins and Matthew Cowan of Bowman Capital. To date, Asera has raised 
approximately $175 million in funding from investors including AC Ventures, 
Amerindo Investment Advisors, Bowman Capital Management, BP Amoco, Capital 
Research Management, Cisco Systems, Crescendo Ventures, Crosslink Capital, 
Eastman Chemical, GE Capital Equity Group, Integral Capital Partners, Intel, 
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and others. 
		http://www.asera.com
		
		
		Groove Networks Cuts 8%; Will Target Larger Clients 
		mail? top
		
		 BEVERLY, Mass.  (VENTUREWIRE) -- Groove Networks, which provides 
peer-to-peer and peer-to-Web software and services, said it cut 19 people, or 
8% of its staff, on Monday as the company restructures to focus more on 
direct sales opportunities. Groove also said it was going to be targeting 
more large enterprise clients and moving away from focusing on small- and 
medium-sized business clients. The laid-off employees received severance and 
were concentrated in the marketing and indirect sales divisions. Groove, 
which currently employs 205 people, also said it had 13 open positions in its 
national sales division. The company also said it plans to raise a new round 
later this year. Groove Networks was founded in 1997 by Ray Ozzie and has 
raised $63 million in three rounds from Accel Partners, Intel Capital, and 
individual investors. 
		http://www.groovenetworks.com
		
		
		VantagePoint Forms $150M New York Fund
		 mail? top
		
		 NEW YORK (VENTUREWIRE) -- VantagePoint Venture Partners has announced a $150 
million fund, VantagePoint New York Fund (VP NY), with a $50 million 
investment from existing limited partner New York State Teachers' Retirement 
Systems. Other undisclosed limited partners also contributed to the fund. The 
venture capital firm may double the size of the fund over the next year, said 
partner Alan E. Salzman. VP NY will make 15 to 20 investments ranging from $5 
million to $25 million over the next two years. It will focus on early-stage 
companies based in New York or with substantial business activity in the 
area. VantagePoint, which currently invests about 85% of its funds in 
first-round deals, expects the same percentage of early-stage deals in its 
new fund. The fund will focus on the data networking, wireless, optical, 
communications, and semiconductors industry. Terms of the fund were not 
disclosed, though Mr. Salzman said the carried interest was greater than 20%. 
The firm, which currently has 14 par! tners, expects to add two to three 
partners over the next year. Yesterday VantagePoint opened its New York 
office, which is headed by John Kain, Ken Kharbanda, and William Marshall. 
VantagePoint, which closed a $1.6 billion fund in October 2000, has $2.5 
billion in committed capital.
		http://www.vpvp.com
		
		
		 new money 
		?
		Atreus To Close $17 Million Series B
		 mail? top
		
		 SANTA CLARA, Calif. (VENTUREWIRE) -- Atreus Systems, a Santa Clara, Calif. 
broadband service and delivery platform developer, is expected to announce 
today that it closed a $17 million Series B round of funding. Company 
co-founder and acting CEO Andrea Baptiste spoke with VentureWire before the 
closing and said the company would have a new CEO within the next quarter, 
increase the number of employees, and open a European office over the next 
year.  Softbank Venture Capital led the round, which was targeted for between 
$15 million and $20 million. Softbank Venture Capital executive managing 
director Gary Rieschel will sit on Atreus System's board of directors. The 
two previous VC investors from the company's $4.4 million Series A round -- 
San Francisco's Blueprint Ventures and Ottawa's Skypoint Capital -- also 
invested. "The Series B took us a month longer than we thought," said Ms. 
Baptiste, who added that the round was an up round.  "There was no pressure 
for a flat or down round," she said.  A! treus Systems, which has 95 
employees in nine offices throughout the U.S. and Canada, expects to have 140 
employees by the second quarter of next year. Most of those new employees 
will be put to work in research and development and sales and marketing 
positions. And some of those new employees will go overseas. Ms. Baptiste, 
who co-founded Atreus with company president Doug Bellinger, said she expects 
the company to open offices in Europe, probably beginning in the U.K.  Ms. 
Baptiste, who has been acting CEO since September of 2000 and held positions 
with Cambrian Systems, CrossKeys Systems, and Newbridge Networks, said that 
the company would likely be profitable by 2002.  She added that while the 
market was bleak for broadband carriers now, things would eventually change 
and the carriers will be in a position to expand and will need to purchase 
services that will help them generate revenue. "I'm optimistic that the 
market is going to recover in a reasonable amount of ti! me," she said. 
		http://www.atreus-systems.com
		
		
		JavaBeans App Firm Compoze Gets $1.2 Million Series A
		 mail? top
		
		 PHILADELPHIA (VENTUREWIRE) -- Compoze Software, which provides server-side 
enterprise JavaBeans software for business applications, announced it has 
closed $1.2 million in Series A financing. Robin Hood Ventures led the round, 
with participation from SeaCap Ventures, bHive, and individuals. Post-money, 
Compoze has a valuation of about $5 million. As a result of the round, Larry 
Brotzge of Robin Hood Ventures and Allen Paik of SeaCap Ventures join the 
board, bringing total number of directors to four. The company said it will 
use the funds for sales and marketing. The company said the funds are 
expected to last a year, at which point it expects to raise another round of 
financing. The company employs 14 now and anticipates expanding to 20 by the 
end of the year.
		http://www.compoze.com
		
		
		Outsourcing Firm French & Associates Gets $10M Round One
		 mail? top
		
		 DUBLIN, Ireland (VENTUREWIRE) -- French & Associates, which provides 
order-to-cash and accounts receivable outsourcing services, said it closed a 
$10 million first round with Accretive Technology Partners of New York. Sam 
Blyaker, Michael Klein, and Martin Muoto of Accretive will be joining the 
board of directors that now has seven people. French & Associates, founded in 
1987, also said it plans on adding industry experts as board members. The 
company said the financing would be used for expanding its presence in 
Europe, opening another U.S. office by the third quarter; hiring executive 
staff, including a new CEO to guide planned growth; and for research and 
development. French & Associates also has offices in Atlanta. 
		http://www.frenchassociates.com
		
		
		Skire Closes $17M Series B
		 mail? top
		
		 MENLO PARK, Calif. (VENTUREWIRE) -- Skire, which provides enterprise 
software, said it closed its Series B at $17 million led by new investor 
Walden International with participation by all past investors -- Hummer 
Winblad Venture Partners and Asset Management Company -- and new investor 
Acacia Venture Partners. The company would not disclose the valuation, but 
said it was an up round. It also said the money will be used to grow its 
customer base. Lip-Bu Tan, chairman and founder of Walden International, has 
become the fourth member of the board of directors. The company expects to 
add an independent director to its board soon. Hummer Winblad led Skire's 
first round in August 2000 and board seats were given to John Hummer, partner 
of Hummer Winblad, and Ben Dubin, partner of Asset Management. The company is 
advised by the Silicon Valley office of law firm Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison. 
According to a company spokesman, Skire began looking to raise this round two 
months ago. CEO Massy Mehdipour founded the com! pany in 1999. 
		http://www.skire.com
		
		
		Voice Commerce App Firm NetByTel Gets $18.1M Second Round
		 mail? top
		
		 BOCA RATON, Fla. (VENTUREWIRE) -- NetByTel, which provides voice commerce 
applications that connect online e-commerce systems and telephones using 
speech recognition as the interface, announced it has secured $18.1 million 
in its second round of funding led by new investor Lazard Technology 
Partners, who invested $5.6 million in the company. Other new investors in 
the round included Noro-Mosley Partners, Accenture Technology Ventures, and 
InCentive Capital Group. NetByTel's first round investors, Chelsea Capital, 
Mesco Limited and T-Ventures, also participated in the round. A spokesman for 
NetByTel said the round was over-subscribed and that the company eventually 
had to turn down offers. The company said it plans to use the funding to 
continue to build its infrastructure and to ramp up sales and marketing, the 
spokesman said. NetByTel currently has 58 employees, and expects to hire 22 
more people by the end of the year, he said. This latest round, which brings 
the total capital invested in NetByTel to $! 25 million, is expected to take 
the company to profitability, but the spokesman said he did not know when 
that would happen. Tom Fischer, a general partner at Accenture Technology 
Ventures; Steve Nussrallah, a partner with Noro-Mosely; and Russell Planitzer 
will join NetByTel's board of directors. The additions brings the total 
number of directors at the company to seven. NetByTel has 11 customers, 
including Office Depot and the State of Illinois. 
		http://www.netbytel.com
		
		
		Financial Services Firm BUYandHOLD Secures $10 Million
		 mail? top
		
		 NEW YORK (VENTUREWIRE) -- BUYandHOLD, which provides investment services and 
fractional share ownership to investors dedicated to the "buy and hold" 
investment strategy, announced it has secured an additional $10 million in 
financing from its existing investors, which includes Goldman Sachs, Dominion 
Ventures, APV Technology Partners, and TH Lee.Putnam Internet Partners. 
BUYandHOLD raised $42 million in its second round of funding last May. The 
company plans to use this latest round to expand its trading capabilities, 
enhance investment services and product offerings, and expand marketing 
initiatives for its online brokerage subsidiary. The recent financing is 
expected to take BUYandHOLD to profitability, a company spokeswoman said. 
Other investors in BUYandHOLD include The Bank of New York Company, Barnard & 
Company, Platform Ventures, and The Roman Arch Funds. CNN is also an investor 
in the company.  
		http://www.buyandhold.com
		
		
		Marketing Claims Software Firm Bridium Gets $3.5M Round Two
		 mail? top
		
		 ATLANTA (VENTUREWIRE) -- Bridium, which provides the financial services 
industry with marketing claims software, announced it has secured $3.5 
million in its second round of funding from its previous investor 
CyberStarts, an Atlanta-based holding company. The company said it will use 
the funding to launch new products, form strategic partnerships, and for 
operating costs. Bridium, formerly CyberASP, secured $5 million from 
CyberStarts in its first round last June. CyberStarts strategic investors 
include iXL Ventures, Wachovia Capital, Marh & McLennan Capital, and First 
Data.
		http://www.bridium.com
		
		
		Performix Closes $10M Series B, Adds to Board
		 mail? top
		
		 BURLINGTON, Mass. (VENTUREWIRE) -- Performix Technologies, which provides 
software to increase call center profitability, said it closed its Series B 
at $10 million from Dublin-based ICC Software Partner and private investors. 
The money will be used for expansion into the U.S. George G. Moore, founder, 
chairman, and CEO of Targus Information has joined the board of directors. 
According to the company, its valuation went from $26 million to $44 million 
as a result of this round. Performix is based in Dublin, where it opened in 
1998, and has U.S. headquarters in Burlington, Mass., that opened in October 
2000. The company employs a total of 35 people at both locations. ICC 
Software led the company's $6.5 million Series A in April 2000.  
		http://www.performixtechnologies.com
		
		
		PromoOrder Gets $6 Million in Second Round
		 mail? top
		
		 AUSTIN, Texas (VENTUREWIRE) -- PromoOrder, which provides the promotional 
products industry with Internet-based software systems, announced it has 
raised $6 million in its second round of funding led by its previous investor 
Polaris Venture Partners. G51 Capital, also a previous investor in 
promoOrder, participated in the round along with undisclosed individual 
investors. Polaris, which has two representatives on the promoOrder board, 
will take on an additional board seat. President and CEO Mike Linderman said 
promoOrder's valuation fell in this round, but added that the pricing 
accurately reflects the current market standards. Mr. Linderman said 
promoOrder expects the latest round to take the company to profitability 
during the third quarter of 2002. promoOrder has raised $12.5 million in 
funding to date.
		http://www.promoorder.com
		
		
		Video Software Developer Be Here Lands $6M in Series D
		 mail? top
		
		 LOS ANGELES (VENTUREWIRE) -- Be Here, a developer of video software and 
products, said it received $6 million in new Series D financing, bringing the 
total amount of capital raised since 1996 to $23 million.  Investors in the 
most recent financing include Snider Capital, Eastman Kodak, Intel Capital, 
Philips Electronics, Enterprise Partners, Totem Investment Partners, and 
Wasserstein Adelson Ventures. Snider Capital led the round, and was the only 
new investor. The company said that the funds will be used for sales, 
marketing, product development, and infrastructure expansion 
activities.        
		http://www.behere.com
		
		
		Ben Franklin Technology Partners Invests $450,000   
		mail? top
		
		 PHILADELPHIA (VENTUREWIRE) -- Ben Franklin Technology Partners, a venture 
network supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic 
Development's Ben Franklin Partnership, announced that it has awarded 
$450,000 in company investments for prototype and product development. The 
financing will be divided among three Pennsylvania-based companies: 
EnviroGrow Solutions, which provides composting technology for animal waste; 
iDayo Investor, a provider of financial content services for the investment 
community; and NetXentry, an Internet-based inbound and outbound calling 
platform for data collection. Ben Franklin Technology Partners currently 
maintains a portfolio of 140 companies representing over $14 million invested 
in southeastern Pennsylvania.
		http://www.benfranklin.org
		
		
		Open Solutions Raises $8.8 Million More in Mezzanine Round
		 mail? top
		
		 GLASTONBURY, Conn. (VENTUREWIRE) -- Open Solutions (OSI), a provider of data 
processing, Internet banking, and e-commerce financial services for community 
banks and credit unions, said it raised another $8.8 million as part of its 
mezzanine round, led by Key Principle Partners. Allianz of America also 
invested along with previous investors including Aetna Investments, Axiom 
Venture Partners, Connecticut Innovations, Crystal Internet Ventures, Menlo 
Ventures, and Webster Bank of Connecticut. The company raised $20 million in 
its mezzanine round last March. Open Solutions said it will close the round 
at $30 million. The company said it will use the additional funding to pursue 
strategic opportunities and acquisitions and for ongoing operations.  
		http://www.opensolutions.com
		
		
		Streaming Video Firm EyeWonder Secures $800,000 Bridge
		 mail? top
		
		 ATLANTA (VENTUREWIRE) -- EyeWonder, a developer of instant streaming video 
technologies for Internet and wireless advertising and communication, said it 
received $800,000 in bridge financing co-led by Eyevest, which led the series 
A round, and new investor Andojo I. EyeWonder said it expects to reach 
positive cash flow by July. The company also said it was expecting to raise a 
$6 million second round within the next three months. EyeWonder has raised a 
total of $3.7 million.
		http://www.eyewonder.com
		
		
		Online Journal Publishing Firm ScholarOne Raises $3.7M
		 mail? top
		
		 CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.  (VENTUREWIRE) -- ScholarOne, a provider of Web-based 
content management and production services for the scholarly publications 
market, said it closed its Series A round of funding with $3.7 million led by 
Tall Oaks Capital. Commonwealth Ventures, MV Management, Village Ventures, 
and Southside Rising also participated in the round. The company said it 
would use the funding to increase its technology, research, and development 
teams, and to expand marketing efforts in the U.S., Europe and Asia. 
Representatives from MV Management and Tall Oaks will join the company's 
board of directors. ScholarOne's Web-based applications enable publishers to 
manage the submission, peer review, production, and publication processes of 
scientific, technical, medical and other academic journals.
		http://www.scholarone.com
		
		
		Newtek Capital Puts $2.7M in Group Management Technologies
		 mail? top
		
		 NEW YORK (VENTUREWIRE) -- Newtek Capital, a publicly traded firm which 
invests in early-stage technology and Internet companies through seven 
capital companies in four states, said it invested $2.7 million in Group 
Management Technologies (GMT), a consulting firm providing financial, 
operational, and management services, located in West Palm Beach, Fla. 
Newtek's CEO Barry Sloane and CFO Brian Wasserman will be taking the third 
and fourth seats on GMT's board of directors. Newtek said the financing would 
be used for expanding GMT's marketing, corporate infrastructure, and for 
hiring additional employees. GMT currently provides its services to seven of 
Newtek's partner companies. Newtek made the investment through its Florida 
certified Capco and now owns a 50% equity stake in GMT. 
		http://www.newtekcapital.com
		
		
		Web-to-Print Tech Firm Megawheels Raises $5 Million, Cuts 14
		 mail? top
		
		 CALGARY, Alberta (VENTUREWIRE) -- Megawheels, a publicly traded company 
which provides Web-to-print technology as well as search engines for the 
automotive manufacturing and advertising sectors, announced it has secured $5 
million in funding led by Venture Investment Management Company. eLab 
Technology Fund, Royal Bank Capital partners, and undisclosed investors also 
participated in this round. The company plans to use the financing to 
accelerate global expansion and to execute its plan to be cashflow-positive 
by the end of the year. In conjunction with the funding, the company said it 
has eliminated 14 positions. 
		http://www.megawheels.com
		
		
		Guardent Raises $20M Series C, Acquires DefendNet
		 mail? top
		
		 WALTHAM, Mass. (VENTUREWIRE) -- Guardent, a digital security firm, said it 
has raised $20 million in Series C financing led by new investor Citigroup's 
e-Citi unit and acquired Providence, R.I.-based provider of managed security 
services DefendNet Solutions. New strategic investor Mercury Interactive 
joined all existing investors -- Charles River Ventures, New Enterprise 
Associates, and Sequoia Capital -- in this round. Kate Sullivan, COO for 
e-Citi, takes the sixth seat on the board of directors. Guardent declined to 
comment on post-money valuation. Series C funding will be used for the 
acquisition of DefendNet's technology and customer assets and for general 
business operations. The company expects to become cash-flow positive by the 
end of the year. Guardent acquired DefendNet for mostly stock and some cash. 
Details of the deal, which closed on Monday, were not disclosed. DefendNet, a 
security services firm that focused on outsourced operations at mid-tier 
companies, was backed by M/C Ventures. ! Approximately 20 DefendNet employees 
have joined Guardent, bringing staff size at Guardent to about 185. DefendNet 
president and CEO Vin Giordano has left the company, though he retains an 
equity stake in Guardent. Testa, Hurwitz advised Guardent in the deal. 
Guardent will retain DefendNet's Providence, R.I. office.
		http://www.defendnet.com
		http://www.guardent.com
		
		
		 bad news 
		?
		ClickThings Clicks No More, Shuts Down
		 mail? top
		
		 NEW YORK (VENTUREWIRE) -- ClickThings, a developer of technology that 
enables companies to build and manage Web sites, has taken down its Web site 
and is in the process of closing down the company. "They needed to raise a 
round and couldn't raise it," said board member Stephen M. Krupa of the 
Psilos Group. "They had an impressive technology and the sourcecode will 
probably be sold to somebody." Mr. Kubel said the company has laid off almost 
all of its approximately 30 employees. ClickThings received funding from 
China.com, Holden Capital, Paine Webber, and Psilos Group. Mr. Krupa said 
ClickThings recently received interest from some investors to commit capital, 
but not enough to raise a substantial round. 
		http://www.clickthings.com
		
		
		PurpleYogi Cuts 10% Staff & Shifts To Enterprise Focus
		 mail? top
		
		 MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.  (VENTUREWIRE) -- PurpleYogi, a creator of distributed 
information management software, said it laid off approximately 10 people, or 
10% of its 95-person workforce, three weeks ago as the company shifted its 
business strategy from focusing on Internet news services to enterprise 
software firms. The laid-off employees received severance. The company said 
it will continue to service its news service clients but will also be 
accelerating its development of products for large enterprises. PurpleYogi 
said it will begin beta-testing enterprise software this summer and will 
commercially launch its enterprise-oriented services in the fall. The company 
also said it was looking to expand its current 10-person sales force. 
PurpleYogi has raised over $33.1 million in four rounds from At India, H&Q 
Asia Pacific, Infosys Technologies, Intel Capital, Skyblaze Ventures, 
Softbank Venture Capital, and individuals.  
		http://www.purpleyogi.com
		
		
		 new products 
		?
		Pharmagenesis, Tianjin Zhong Xin Forms AntiCancer Drug Firm
		 mail? top
		
		 PALO ALTO, Calif. (VENTUREWIRE) -- Pharmagenesis, a privately held 
biotechnology company focused on anticancer therapies, announced its parent 
company, The Orchid Group, has partnered with Tianjin Zhong Xin 
Pharmaceutical Group, a publicly traded Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturer, 
to form a new company for the production of PG2, a cancer therapy drug that 
restores blood cells destroyed by chemotherapy. The new company, Tianjin 
Hualong Pharmaceutical Company, will build a new factory for the production 
of PG2. As part of the agreement, Pharmagenesis will hold a 70% share in the 
new company, and Tianjin Zhong Xin will hold the remaining 30%. Pharmagenisis 
is backed by Biomerieux-Pierre Fabre, The Dassault Group, insurance and 
investment group AXA, and an undisclosed Hong Kong-based investment group. 
Telephone 310-785-0515
		
		
		Info Management Firm Oingo Changes Name to Applied Semantics
		 mail? top
		
		 LOS ANGELES (VENTUREWIRE) -- Oingo, a provider of information-management 
technology, said it has changed its name to Applied Semantics. The company, 
which targets the domain registrar market, develops tools and applications 
that enable businesses to organize, manage, and retrieve digital information 
in Web-enabled, enterprise, and e-commerce environments. In conjunction with 
the change of name, Applied Semantics has announced the formation of an 
enterprise software division which will market tools that enable the 
automatic, enterprise-wide metatagging, categorization, summarization, and 
search of unstructured information. Applied Semantics is backed by Zero 
Gravity Venture Partners, Ridgestone, Spotideas, Lynx Technology Group, and 
law firm Brobeck, Phleger and Harrison. 
		http://corp.oingo.com
		
		
		Broadband Provider Salira Optical Network Systems Launches
		 mail? top
		
		 SAN JOSE, Calif. (VENTUREWIRE) -- Salira Optical Network Systems, a provider 
of IP/Ethernet-based broadband systems, announced its official launch. The 
company, whose products are expected to be in customer trials with carriers 
by the third quarter of this year, develops optical systems that enable 
service providers to generate additional revenues from broadband voice, 
video, and data services for the local access markets. In September 2000, 
Salira received $6.9 million in Series A financing led by Vertex Management 
Partners, with participation from Trident Ventures, U.O.B. Singapore, and 
unnamed individuals. The company is currently seeking a Series B round of $20 
million, to close within the next few weeks. 
		http://www.salira.com
		
		
		Delta Pharmaceuticals Changes Name to Ardent Pharmaceuticals
		 mail? top
		
		 RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. (VENTUREWIRE) -- Delta Pharmaceuticals, a 
developer of novel therapeutics, said that it has changed its name to Ardent 
Pharmaceuticals. The company, which currently has three products in human 
trials, operates development programs in the areas of pain, urinary 
incontinence, cardioprotection and depression. In November 2000 Ardent raised 
$25 million in financing from China Industrial Development Bank of Taiwan and 
Elan Pharmaceuticals. Post-money, the company has a valuation of 
approximately $85 million.  
		http://www.deltapharmaceuticals.com
		
		
		 m&a 
		?
		Atinera Acquires TraveLease in Asset Sale
		 mail? top
		
		 SAN FRANCISCO (VENTUREWIRE) -- Atinera, which develops travel software and 
technology applications, said it acquired Seattle-based TraveLease, which 
provides automation tools to small- to mid-sized tour operators. Full terms 
of the deal were not revealed, only that it was an asset sale. TraveLease 
will retain its eight employees in its Seattle office. Atinera is an equal 
partnership joint venture between Amadeus Global Travel Distribution, founded 
in 1987, and Fourth Dimension Software, founded in 1983. Announced in 
December 2000, Amadeus provides funding and worldwide marketing assistance, 
and Fourth Dimension Software provides technology and continued support. 
TraveLease held one round of funding in August 2000 and raised $500,000 from 
individuals. TraveLease is advised by the Seattle-based law firm Grahm & 
Dunn. 
		http://www.collectoronline.com
		
		
		CAT Technology Intends to Sell Services Unit 
		mail? top
		
		 LOS GATOS, Calif. (VENTUREWIRE) -- CAT Technology, which provides Internet 
infrastructure equipment procurement services, said it signed a letter of 
intent to divest its managed services business unit to eOnline, an enterprise 
application service provider based in Cupertino, Calif. CAT said it expects 
the deal to be finalized in 10 days. Financial details of the all-stock deal 
were not disclosed. eOnline will operate the 20-person managed services unit 
out of CAT's Los Gatos headquarters. CAT said the divesture was part of a 
realignment strategy and also said it had approached eOnline. CAT also said 
it expects to reach a point of positive cash flow in this quarter and has no 
plans for new funding. In January 2000 CAT raised a $4.8 million first round 
from individual investors. In October 2000 CAT acquired the managed services 
consulting firm Aptia and also received additional funding from Aptia's 
investors AVI Management Partners, Sutter Hill, and Trident Capital. eOnline 
has raised over $73.5 million! from Access Technology Partners, Affiliated 
Computer Services, Comdisco, Dell Computer, GM Investment Management, Morgan 
Stanley Dean Witter Venture Partners, Trident Capital, and individuals.  
		http://www.cattech.com
		
		
		Renaissance Interactive Holding Corp. Becomes Impressa 
		mail? top
		
		 ATLANTA (VENTUREWIRE) -- Renaissance Interactive Holding Corp has merged its 
two companies, Impressa, which provides software for small to mid-sized 
businesses, and Renaissance Interactive, which develops Web applications and 
provides professional services. The new company will now offer existing 
services under one name, Impressa. Since the former Renaissance Interactive 
Holding Corp functioned as the executive team for both companies, no changes 
have been made to its management team. Impressa closed a $16 million round of 
funding in March 2000. It is backed by Thayer Capital, Winston Partners, EGL 
Holdings, Dauphin Capital, and Robinson-Humphrey Capital Partners. Impressa's 
board of directors includes Scott Andrews, Doug Gilbert, Rich Cannon, Tom 
Daly, and Joe Grimaud.
		http://www.impressa.com
		
		
		IT Factory Acquires Knowledge App Firm Synergistics
		 mail? top
		
		 BOSTON (VENTUREWIRE) -- IT Factory, a supplier of software tools and 
business application objects, said it has acquired Cincinnati-based 
Synergistics, a provider of knowledge-enabled collaborative applications, for 
an undisclosed amount. IT Factory plans to retain all Synergistics managers 
and employees. Lewie Miller, president of Synergistics, will become executive 
vice president of applications. Factory's investors include 2M Invest, 
BankInvest, Den Danske Bank, and Gilde. 
		http://www.itfactory.com
		http://www.syner.com
		
		
		eFS Network and Maverick Xchange Merge
		 mail? top
		
		 CHICAGO (VENTUREWIRE) -- eFS Network and Maverick Xchange, which were 
preparing to launch independent foodservice networks, have merged and will be 
based in Chicago. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. A new name of merged 
companies has yet to be determined but is expected within three months. No 
office closings or layoffs will occur, said an eFS spokesman. Former 
president of Nabisco's Foodservice Company and recently appointed eFS CEO 
Hank Lambert will become the CEO of the joined companies. Christopher Thorne, 
who founded Maverick, will become president. Pete Levangie, COO of eFS, will 
continue in that role. eFS and Maverick will also merge select members of 
each company's board of directors. In August 2000, Chicago-based eFS was 
founded by investments from McDonald's Corporation through eMac Digital, 
which is an Accel-KKR company; Sysco Corporation; Tyson Foods; and Cargill. 
It raised an disclosed amount of capital in its Series A in the fall of 2000, 
in which eMac was the only ven! ture capital participant. In April 2000 New 
York-based Maverick launched and was co-founded by ten foodservice 
distribution companies. 
		http://www.efsnetwork.com
		http://www.maverickxchange.com
		
		
		AskJeeves Acquires Defunct eTour's Assets for Cash
		 mail? top
		
		 EMERYVILLE, Calif.,  (VENTUREWIRE) -- Ask Jeeves, a publicly traded provider 
of an online question answering technology, said it acquired the assets of 
eTour, a direct marketing and Internet media company that matched sites with 
users' preferences, for an undisclosed amount of cash. Earlier this month 
eTour announced it was closing down and selling its assets. The assets 
AskJeeves acquired include eTour.com Web property, with 4.5 million 
registered users; a direct Web site delivery engine; a direct e-mail 
marketing technology with 2.2 million newsletter subscribers; a registration 
system; 230 vertical Web site "tours"; and an advertiser base. Ask Jeeves 
said it will integrate some of the technology into its site and continue to 
operate the eTour.com Web site. eTour had raised $45 million in equity and $5 
million in media-for-equity financing from Barnstable Broadcasting, the 
Beasley Broadcasting Group, eHatchery, Imlay Investments, Jefferson Pilot 
Communications, Monarch Capital Partners, NeoCarta Ventures, ! and 
Susquehanna Radio. Individual investors Jeff Arnold, the founder of WebMD, 
and Burt Ellis of iXL also backed the company. Wayne Walker & Associates 
served as the assignee for selling eTour's assets.  
		http://www.askjeeves.com
		http://www.etour.com
		
		
		Investment Club Firm Actifunds Buys Iclubcentral.com 
		mail? top
		
		 CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (VENTUREWIRE) -- Actifunds, which develops technology for 
investment clubs, said it acquired Iclubcentral.com, an investment club 
community site, in a mixed cash-and-stock deal of undisclosed value. 
Actifunds, which approached iclubcentral.com about the acquisition, said it 
will integrate iclubcentral.com's offerings into its own Web sites. Douglas 
Gerlack, the founder of iclubcentral.com, will be joining Actifunds as a 
senior contributing editor. Actifunds said what would become of the staff at 
iclubcentral.com's New York offices has not yet been determined. Actifunds 
has received an undisclosed amount of funding from FGII, Hall Skywire, Marc 
Kaschky Investments, and individuals. Actifunds received legal counsel from 
Goodwin Procter.
		http://www.iclub.com
		
		
		OneMade Acquires Collector Online in Stock Deal
		 mail? top
		
		 ALBANY, N.Y. (VENTUREWIRE) -- OneMade, an online arts and crafts 
marketplace, said it has acquired Burlington, Vt.-based Collector Online, 
which operates an online antique mall, in an all-stock deal. Terms of the 
deal were not disclosed, but OneMade chairperson Liavan Mallin said OneMade 
valued the acquisition based on Collector Online's site traffic and customer 
base. Law firm Hutchins Wheeler advised OneMade in the deal, while Gravel & 
Shea advised Collector Online. OneMade will retain the brand name Collector 
Online, the online mall, and the office in Burlington, Vt. Four of the eight 
former employees of the acquired company have been retained. Collector Online 
was backed by Aggregate Capital and individuals. OneMade is backed by Eircon, 
U.S. Technologies, and individuals including former president of Excel 
Communications Jack McLaine.
		http://www.collectoronline.com
		http://www.onemade.com
		
		
		 new directors 
		?
		Biotech Firm Advanced Life Sciences Names New Director
		 mail? top
		
		 WOODRIDGE, Ill. (VENTUREWIRE) -- Advanced Life Sciences, a developer of 
therapeutic compounds to fight infection, inflammation, and cancer, announced 
the appointment of Rosalie Sagraves to its board of directors. Ms. Sagraves 
is president of AphA-APRS, a member of the America Pharmaceutical Association 
Board of Trustees, and serves as dean and professor of the college of 
pharmacy at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She joins as the third 
member of the seven-seat board, which currently has four seats avalable. 
Currently backed by individuals and Small Business Innovation Research 
grants, Advanced Life Sciences is currently seeking between $25 and $50 
million in a second round of venture and strategic capital, which it hopes to 
close by the year's end. 
		http://www.advancedlifesciences.com
		
		
		Symmetry Communications Names Thales Group Exec. to Board
		 mail? top
		
		 SAN JOSE, Calif. (VENTUREWIRE) -- Symmetry Communications Systems, which 
provides mobile data and voice technology, announced the appointment of John 
Hughes to its board of directors. Mr. Hughes, who is CEO of information 
technology and services for the Thales Group, joins as the company's eighth 
director. The board also includes Thomas Huseby of Seapoint Ventures and 
David Walrod of Oak Investment Partners. Symmetry Communications Systems is 
backed by Acer Technology Venture Fund, API Venture, Seapoint Ventures, and 
VenGlobal Capital Partners. Based in San Jose, Calif., the company maintains 
R&D and technical support offices in Taiwan.
		http://www.symmetrycomm.com
		
		
		 new people 
		?
		Nexterna Taps Ex-CellStar COO as President and CEO
		 mail? top
		
		 OMAHA, Neb. (VENTUREWIRE) -- Nexterna, which provides wireless applications 
for the rail, trucking, and field service industries, said Richard M. Gozia 
has been appointed CEO and president. Mr. Gozia replaces Lynden Tennison, who 
had served as CEO since 1998 and has now been promoted to a senior position 
in the information technology group at Union Pacific. He also holds a seat on 
the board, replacing Mr. Tennison. Prior to Nexterna, Mr. Gozia served as 
president and COO at CellStar, a wholesale distributor of wireless 
telephones. He was introduced to Nexterna through mutual industry contacts. 
Nexterna is backed by Fenix, an incubator formed by Union Pacific Corp.
		http://www.nexterna.com
		
		
		Storage Tech Firm i-drive Names Arif Janjua New CEO
		 mail? top
		
		 SAN FRANCISCO (VENTUREWIRE) -- i-drive, a provider of storage technology for 
communication service providers, announced the appointment of Arif Janjua as 
chief executive officer. Mr. Janjua will succeed company co-founder Tim 
Craycroft, who will return to his position as chief technology officer of the 
company. Most recently, Mr. Janjua led wireless services strategy and 
acquisition for InfoSpace, where he previously served as president of the 
company's consumer services division. i-drive's software products enable 
access to files and distributed information management from 
Internet-connected devices. To date, the company has raised approximately $30 
million in three rounds of funding. Backers include Draper Fisher Jurvetson, 
Global Retail Partners, Hikari, Information Technology Ventures, Partners 
Group of Switzerland, and ZDNet. Strategic investors include Philips and EMC. 
http://www.idrive.com
		
		
		MEMS Firm InLight Communications Appoints President & CEO
		 mail? top
		
		 FREMONT, Calif. (VENTUREWIRE) -- InLight Communications, which provides 
microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technologies and subsystems that extend 
the capabilities of broadband networks, said it appointed Steve Tobak as 
president and CEO. He is the first person to hold this position. Prior to 
this appointment, the company was headed by acting general manager Keith 
Love, who will continue as the company's vice president of operations. Most 
recently, Mr. Tobak served as senior vice president of marketing and sales at 
Tessera Technologies, a semiconductor intellectual property company. Mr. 
Tobak has also joined as the fifth member of the board, which included Teddy 
Shalon of Shalon Ventures, Erel Margalit of Jeruslelum Venture Partners and 
Ajit Shah of Worldview Technology Partners. To date, InLight Communications 
has raised more than $15 million from investors including Jerusalem Venture 
Partners, Shalon Ventures, and Worldview Technology Partners. Post-money, the 
company is valued at $28 million. 
		http://www.inlightcommunications.com
		
		
		IT Consultancy Endymion Systems Promotes COO to CEO
		 mail? top
		
		 OAKLAND, Calif. (VENTUREWIRE) -- Endymion, an information technology 
consultancy, announced it has promoted current COO and president Steve King 
to CEO. Mr. King replaces Fred Phares, who has stepped down as CEO but 
remains chairman. Mr. King will also continue as COO and as a board director. 
Endymion Systems has raised $15 million in Series A funding from meVC and 
Ticonderoga Capital, and expects to reach profitability in the third quarter.
		http://www.esicom.com
		
		
		 vc fund news 
		?
		e4e Names New Partner, Will Open Mid-Atlantic Region Office
		 mail? top
		
		 SANTA CLARA, Calif. (VENTUREWIRE) -- Global technology holding company e4e 
has named a new partner and is in the process of expanding its offices to the 
Mid-Atlantic region, VentureWire has learned. The firm, which focuses on 
Internet infrastructure service companies, said it named Kevin Moore to the 
position of vice president. Mr. Moore will focus on the networking services 
and wireless spaces. He comes to the firm from Deutsche Banc Alex Brown, 
where he specialized in telecommunications and Internet infrastructure 
services equity research. He will head up the firm's McLean, Va. office, 
which will launch at the end of May. 
		http://www.e4e.com
		
		
		IM Life Sciences Raising $100M Genomics, BioInformatics Fund
		 mail? top
		
		 LONDON (VENTUREWIRE) -- IM Life Sciences said it has formed to raise the 
Next Generation Genomics and Bioinformatics Fund, targeted at $150 million, 
with a cap of $150 million and a floor of $40 million, according to IM Life 
Sciences' Neil Swift. Iregent, a Hong Kong investment group, has invested in 
the new firm. Mr. Swift said the fund will typically invest between $3 
million and $5 million in a company's first round of institutional funding. 
The fund, set to close in August or September, will focus on the genomics, 
proteomics, and bioinformatics sector in Europe and Israel. 
		http://www.imlifesciences.com
		
		
		Munder Reopens Munder Netnet Internet Mutual Fund
		 mail? top
		
		 BIRMINGHAM, Mich. (VENTUREWIRE) -- Munder Capital Management, investment 
advisor to The Munder Funds, said the Munder NetNet, an equity mutual fund 
that also invests in privately held Internet- or intranet-related businesses, 
will reopen today. The company said it is reopening the fund, which 
originally closed last April, to take advantage of lower valuations. 
Portfolio companies include Northville, Mich.-based Nanovation Technologies, 
a developer of photonic integrated circuits for the telecommunications 
market; San Francisco-based Cidera, which provides satellite-based delivery 
of Internet content; and WebCT, a Lynnfield, Mass.-based provider of 
integrated Internet learning systems for the higher education market.  
		http://www.munder.com
		
		
		 vc personnel 
		?
		Jordan Edmiston Appoints New Managing Director
		 mail? top
		
		 NEW YORK (VENTUREWIRE) -- The Jordan Edmiston Group, a media investment 
bank, announced that Roger L. Krakoff has joined the company and its 
affiliated venture capital fund, JEGI Capital, as managing director. Prior to 
joining Jordan Edmiston, Mr. Krakoff served as a managing director of Veronis 
Suhler, responsible for directing their business information and new media 
group. JEGI Capital invests in early-stage Internet, digital communications, 
and e-commerce companies. http://www.jegi.com 
		
		
		 vw corrections 
		?
		Zight
		 mail? top
		
		 NEW YORK (VENTUREWIRE) -- An item in Tuesday's VentureWire about Colorado 
MicroDisplay, which changed its name to Zight and adjusted its executive 
management team, incorrectly spelled the name of the company's president and 
CEO. It is Kenney Roberts.
		
		
		Antrim Design Systems
		 mail? top
		
		 NEW YORK (VENTUREWIRE) -- Due to incorrect information provided by an 
investor, an item in Tuesday's VentureWire misstated the total investment 
raised by Antrim Design Systems. The company, a provider of electronic data 
automation software for semiconductor chips, has raised $36 million to date.
		
		
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		investor index
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		Acacia Venture Partners, Accenture Technology Ventures, Aetna Investments, 
Allianz of America, Asset Management, Axiom Venture Partners, bHive, Chelsea 
Capital Partners, Connecticut Innovations, Crystal Internet Venture Funds, 
CyberStarts, Eastman Kodak, EnerTech Capital Partners, Hummer Winblad Venture 
Partners, ICC Software Partners, InCentive Capital Group, Intel Capital, Key 
Principle Investing, Lazard Technology Partners, Menlo Ventures, Mesco 
Limited, Noro-Moseley Partners, Robin Hood Ventures, Royal Philips 
Electronics, SeaCap Ventures, Snider Capital, T-Venture, Totem Investment 
Partners, Walden International Investment Group, Wasserstein Adelson 
Ventures, Webster Bank of Connecticut
		
		
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