VC watch: Decru wins $27 million
The security storage company lands $27 million...Arbor Networks raises $22 million...Flamenco scoops up $7.4 million.
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Recent Deals • Network storage security company Decru has raised $27 million in its second round of financing. The round included investments from venture capital firms Benchmark Capital, Greylock and New Enterprise Associates. In-Q-Tel, a U.S. Central Intelligence Agency-backed venture capital firm, also participated in the round. Redwood City, Calif.-based Decru was co-founded by former Electronics for Imaging Chief Executive Dan Avida and Stanford University associate professor Serge Plotkin. Decru has raised a total of more than $43 million in funding. The company said the money would be used for product development and sales and marketing.
• Network security software maker Arbor Networks said Monday that it closed $22 million in a second round of funding. Investors included Thomas Weisel Venture Partners, Cisco Systems, Battery Ventures, Comcast and IT services company Science Applications International. Arbor Networks has now raised a total of $33 million.
The company, based in Lexington, Mass., also said it has hired Thomas Arthur as its new chief executive. Arthur is the former president of ActivCard, a French developer of digital identity and certification technology. Arbor's software is designed to help Internet service providers, government agencies and other businesses protect their computer networks from denial-of-service attacks and other threats.
• Flamenco Networks announced Monday that it raised $7.4 million in a second round of funding. The round was led by new investor Flagship Ventures in addition to original investors Noro-Moseley Partners and Cordova Ventures. Flamenco Networks' product, the Flamenco Network, is available as a hosted service or under license. The software, which is based on peer-to-peer architecture, performs a range of functions from authentication and security to managing Web services connections between companies. The company, which has now raised a total of $14 million, will use the money for product development, business development and marketing.
• Trinity Convergence has raised $4.5 million in a second round of funding that included investments from Core Capital Partners, Intersouth Partners and Mid-Atlantic Venture Funds. The Raleigh, N.C.-based company develops software that enables the transmission of voice conversations over data networks. The company's VeriCall product is designed to help telecommunications equipment makers build Internet-based voice networks. Including the round announced this week, Trinity Convergence has raised $7.7 million.
Net-based phone calls may be a cheaper alternative to making calls through traditional phone carriers, such as AT&T, Sprint or SBC Communications.
• Software developer MCA Solutions said Thursday that it has raised $4 million in its first round of venture financing. The company's applications are designed to help manufacturers keep track of spare parts for cars, planes, factory equipment and other machinery that requires servicing. For instance, Cisco Systems is using the software to ensure service parts for its networking gear are available to customers, as well as to lower the cost of stocking the parts. Founded in 1999, MCA Solutions is headquartered in Philadelphia. Investors in the round included Longworth Venture Partners and Battery Ventures.
In similar news, Ford Motor announced plans late last month to reduce the cost of distributing spare car parts to dealers by using software from SAP.
• French software maker Wificom Technologies said Tuesday that it has raised $1.45 million in venture funding. Founded in 2000, the company develops software that helps high-speed Internet service providers with billing, authentication, roaming, pricing, content and network management for wireless services. The investment came from British venture capital firm 3i Group.
Access to wireless LANs (local area networks) using the 802.11b standard--also known as Wi-Fi--lets anyone with a laptop or PDA (personal digital assistant) and a modem wirelessly connect to the Internet when situated up to 300 feet from a wireless access point. Wireless LANs have spread into nearly 30 million homes and offices, and analysts say that figure may double in the next few years.