Quarterly review of the investment ecosystem in ... - Calibre One

8
Deal Highlights US
Name: bit.ly
Sector: Link Shortening Service
CEO: Andrew Cohen
Investors: RRE Ventures, AOL Ventures,
betaworks, O'Reilly Alpha Tech Ventures,
SV Angel, The Founders Fund,
Angel investors
Deal Value: $10 million
Name: Awarepoint
Sector: Wireless Communications
Equipment
CEO: Jay Deady
Investors: Silicon Valley Bank
Deal Value: $9 million
Name: SilkRoad
Sector: Employee Management Software
CEO: Andrew Filipowski
Investors: Intel Capital, Tenaya Capital,
Foundation Capital, Azure Capital,
SilkRoad Equity
Deal Value: $40 million
Name: Causes
Sector: Consumer Web
CEO: Joe Green
Investors: New Enterprise Associates,
The Founders Fund
Deal Value: $9 million
Name: PlayFirst
Sector: Gaming
CEO: Mari Baker
Investors: Mayfield Fund, Trinity Partners,
Doll Capital Management,
Rustic Canyon Ventures, Comerica Bank
Deal Value: $9.2 million
bit.ly is a URL shortening service that, in its role as the default
link shortening provider for Twitter, has grown exponentially
since its inception. The service allows users to take long,
cumbersome hyperlinks and convert them into much more
manageable and less character heavy links. With the advent
of the bit.ly pro service, users can now increase brand
awareness and engagement with every link through naming
part of the link in line with their organisation. Their position
as Twitter’s default link shortener suggests a bright future.
Awarepoint was founded in 2002 and offers Real-time
awareness and Real-time location services to hospitals.
The services offered allow medical facilities to track the
status and location of assets throughout a hospital such
as expensive medical equipment and patients that need
to be tracked. The RFID chips that are involved in this ensure
that anything that can be tagged, can be tracked. The data
that is provided from this tracking also allows hospitals
to streamline their processes and increase efficiency.
SilkRoad is an HR technology vendor that operates
a SaaS model to provide a complete suite of talent
management solutions. The firm services customers
in around 50 countries worldwide, reaching over 3 million
users globally. The investment will be utilised by SilkRoad
to grow and improve their worldwide direct sales and
marketing efforts, as well as allow strategic acquisitions
and further product development.
Causes, launched in May 2007, has closed $9 Million
in its Series C funding round from investors New Enterprise
Associates and The Founders Fund. Causes, which began
primarily as a Facebook application but is now run through
a standalone website, is a consumer focused site based
around helping social causes such as charities and religions.
Once a user creates or joins a social cause, this is highlighted
in their news feed for their friends to see. The investment
will be used primarily to increase the number of senior
staff working with Causes. The firm, which is a for profit
organisation, generates revenue through asking users for ‘tips’.
PlayFirst, a casual gaming firm, has closed a Series C
round of funding that will be used to expand into mobile
and social gaming. The firm has released titles such
as Diner Dash, Cooking Dash and Wedding Dash,
which have generated a combined total of around
100 million play sessions to date. The financing may
be used to fund potential acquisitions.
Calibre One : International Executive Search The Quarterly Transatlantic Tech Investment Review