Joanna Glasner
VCs apparently haven’t given up on Segway Inc., a Bedford, N.H.-based maker of two-wheeled, self-balancing vehicles. The company is seeking to raise $20 million through sales of Series C preferred stock, according to a recent regulatory filing with the SEC (and already has $10.2 million secured). Since 2000, Segway has received approximately $126 million in […]
The climates for venture fund-raising and Planet Earth followed similar paths in 2006. Both warmed up. U.S.-based venture funds raised $28.3 billion in 2006, up from $27 billion in 2005, according to preliminary data from Thomson Financial. Healthy fund-raising levels indicated a willingness by investors to overlook sluggish demand for VC-backed IPOs, while focusing on […]
In a plot typical of scientific breakthroughs, the discovery of conductive properties in organic polymers began with an accident. During the early 1970s, a researcher in the lab of Tokyo chemist Hideki Shirakawa mistakenly added 1,000 times the specified amount of catalyst to a reaction vessel. The reaction left a metallic-looking film that, upon further […]
For Kleiner Perkins, usually associated with high-return investments in Web giants, a six-figure stake in Platial.com last year barely put a dent in its current fund. Platial, which runs a website for making personalized maps, falls easily into the category of Web 2.0 startup. Like most of its ilk, Platial is relying on consumer adoption […]