Tag Archives: Highland Capital
iZumi Bio and Kyoto University Partner To Exchange Pluripotent Stem Cells
iZumi Bio is a biotechnology company that focuses on cellular reprogramming and stem cell research. iZumi is based in the Bay Area of California and started in 2007 with backing from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers along with Highland Capital Partners. Now the company has signed an agreement with Kyoto University’s Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CIRA). CIRA will exchange part of their pluripotent stem cell lines with iZumi as part of the agreement. iZumi and CIRA will then determine which methods of cell lines are appropriate for drug screening and development.
Pluripotent stem cells tend to be embryonic which is different from adult stem cells. Inducing embryonic stem cells to perform certain functions is crucial for the advancement of stem cell research as a whole, but anti-abortion activists believes that this is a violation of human life. Induced pluripotent stem cells are made from adult stem cells, but have embryonic pluripotent characteristics so this would enable researchers to further conduct studies while avoiding ethical issues with anti-abortionists.
“The partnership between these two leading organizations is a critical step in furthering this research and turning stem cell research into therapeutic realities sooner,” stated former Vice President and Kleiner Perkins partner Al Gore.
[via Biz Times]
Another Day, Another Advertising Acquisition. AOL Eyeing Quigo For $300 Million.
In September 2006, the month that Pulse 2.0 was created, I pointed out that New York-based Quigo was beefing up their client list and that in terms of advertising, the company would be able to compete with Google AdWords. Quigo Technologies is known for their AdSonar product. AdSonar provides contextual advertisements based on keywords from any given website, similar to Google AdSense.
Currently, Quigo provides services to ABC News, Hollywood.com, ESPN.com, Forbes.com, FOXNews.com, CareerBuilder.com, and USAToday.com. In June 2007, Time Inc. decided to choose AdSonar to power the advertising for their websites as well. Time Inc. is a subsidiary of Time Warner Company. Time Warner Company owns America Online. Technically, its a situation where the client wants to become the owner.
America Online is currently putting together a deal to acquire the advertising company for $300 million. Kara Swisher of AllThingsD broke the news.
Quigo raised a total of $45 million in funding from Steamboat Ventures, Highland Capital, Glenrock Ventures, IVP, and Meritech Capital Partners. Time Inc. executives predict that Quigo will bring in $100 million in revenues over the next 3 years.
Metacafe Takes In $30 Million Funding Series C
Metacafe has over 25 million unique views per month. And yesterday the company officially announced that they have officially raised $30 million in Series C from Highland Capital, DAG Ventures, Accel Partners, and Benchmark Capital. While YouTube dominates traffic for online video, it seems that Metacafe has a more established business model since users are actually rewarded financially for their creativity.
“Metacafe is defining the next generation of online video, moving away from simple video sharing and hosting to delivering an exceptional entertainment experience for short-form content, said Richard de Silva, Partner, Highland Capital Partners. “Its sophisticated approach to audience-driven programming is unique in the industry.”
With this round of funding, Metacafe plans on supporting continuous operations and developing the Producer Rewards program further. The Producer Rewards program gives users a financial incentive to develop intriguing video content. For every thousand views a video gets on a site, the user will receive $5. The video has to reach a minimum of 20,000 views.
Highland Capital Partners’ Richard de Silva and DAG Ventures’ Tom Goodrich will join Metacafe’s Board of Directors. Metacafe is privately headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif. and has offices in Tel Aviv, Israel and NYC, NY.
References:
[1] alarm:clock: Video Site MetaCafe Hammers $30M Round