Boston-Power Banks Big Bucks, Follica Sprouts From Stem-Cell Science, NetApp Nabs Onaro, & More
Rebecca Zacks1/7/08Leave a Comment
The new year got off to a good start last week for Boston-area tech firms. Even with the abbreviated work week there were plenty of deals for us to discuss.
—Needham, MA’s HiWired announced it has raised $9 million in a Series B financing led by North Hill Ventures and joined by Sigma Partners and Kodiak Venture Partners. The company plans to use the cash to expand its base of consumer and small-business customers for its IT support and services offerings.
—Analog Devices (NYSE: ADI) closed the $184 million sale of its CPU voltage regulation and PC thermal monitoring business to Phoenix’s ON Semiconductor.
—Boston-based Gelesis, a stealthy startup focusing on obesity, raised $16 million in its first institutional financing. OrbiMed Advisors of New York led the deal; Australia’s Queensland BioCapital Funds and others joined.
—Cambridge, MA-based Tempo Pharmaceuticals, a startup developing nanoparticle-based treatments for cancer and autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, raised $8.1 million in Series B financing from the likes of Bessemer Venture Partners, Polaris Venture Partners, Venrock, and Lux Capital.
—Boston-Power of Westborough, MA, closed a third round of venture funding totaling $45 million. The deal, led by Oak Investment Partners and joined by Venrock, Granite Global Ventures, and Gabriel Venture Partners, will help Boston-Power scale up production of its more-efficient laptop batteries.
—Follica, a Boston-based startup developing potential treatments for baldness and other hair-follicle problems, raised $5.5 million in a Series A round led by Interwest Partners and joined by founding investor PureTech Ventures. For more on the startup’s technology (and more hair jokes that you can shake a comb at) see Bob’s profile of the firm.
—Spark Capital of Boston invested $5 million in 5min, an Israeli company developing an online portal for how-to videos. 5min will use some of the cash to relocate to New York.
—California data management firm NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP) announced it would acquire Boston’s Onaro; the deal is reportedly worth $120 million.
—Newton, MA-based peer-to-peer (P2P) video distribution startup PeerApp reportedly raised $3 million in new venture funding from Pilot House Ventures, Evergreen, and Cedar Fund.
