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VC watch: Midstream wins $26 million

Midstream Technologies raises $26 million...Dune Networks collects $24 million ...Adexa grabs $15 million.

CNET News staff
5 min read
Which companies will be the trendsetters of the future? The following list is the latest news from start-ups here and abroad that have received venture funding. This page is updated frequently. Keep checking back for the latest.

Has your company just completed a round of financing or received other venture capital support? E-mail the editors at CNET News.com.

Recent Deals

 Midstream Technologies has raised $26 million in a third round of financing, led by Canaan Venture Partners. Bellevue, Wash.-based Midstream, which has raised a total of $48 million, develops computer equipment designed to let consumers instantly view movies and other programming available from their cable companies upon request. Other investors in the third round included Frazier Technology Ventures, Proven Private Equity, and The University of North Carolina.

Midstream's server hardware and software products are being tested on cable operators, many of whom are beginning to introduce video-on-demand services. The company, founded in 1997, said it has appointed cable veteran Mark Mangiola to its management board. Mangiola ran Excite@Home's @Home Solutions division and managed a division of Time Warner called Kblcom.

 Semiconductor company Dune Networks has raised $24 million in its first round of funding, the company announced Wednesday. The round was co-led by Aurum-SBC Ventures, Jerusalem Venture Partners and Pitango Venture Capital and includes investments from Alta Berkeley Venture Partners and Elwin Capital Partners. The Agoura Hills, Calif.-based company, which outsources its chip manufacturing, plans to use the money for development as well as marketing its first generation of products.

 Software maker Adexa said Tuesday that it has raised $15 million in a fifth round of venture capital financing. The Los Angeles-based company, which sells business applications designed to help companies plan the production of manufactured products, has raised a total of $54 million in venture capital funds. Leading the most recent round of financing was Wasserstein Venture Capital. Also investing were BEV Capital, Mitsubishi, Sutter Hill Ventures, Information Technology Ventures, J & W Seligman, and DRW Venture Partners.

Adexa, founded in 1994, was a takeover target last year for online auctions firm FreeMarkets. The companies cancelled their planned merger when the market for e-business applications began to decline

 Chipmaker Peregrine Semiconductor scooped up $14 million in its first round of funding, the company announced Wednesday. The round was led by Morgenthaler Ventures and Wasserstein Ventures. Other investors included APAX Partners, CSK Ventures, CDIB Ventures, H&Q Global Alliance, Intel Capital, Needham Capital Partners and Roser Ventures. Peregrine makes chips for wireless, satellite and broadband cable markets. The company plans to use the money to build the business and help it reach profitability.

 Wireless security company Fortress Technologies has raised $13 million in a sixth round of funding, the company announced this week. The funding was from private equity investment firm Liberty Partners and a group of individual investors. The company, which has in the last year refocused its business plan specifically on wireless security, plans to use the money to expand sales and marketing. Fortress Technologies has raised a total of about $50 million.

 Intel spin-off Tarari made its debut Wednesday and announced a $13 million initial round of funding. The San Diego-based company, spun off from Intel's Network Processing Group, received the funding from Crosspoint Venture Partners and XMLFund, with Intel holding an equity investment in the company. Tarari will make specialized chips designed to speed up network-based software applications used in network security and Web services.

 Security software firm Cenzic has raised $8 million in an initial round of funding, the company announced this week. The investors include venture capital firm Mohr, Davidow Ventures; and strategic investor Symantec, a consumer and business security firm. Campbell, Calif.-based Cenzic licenses software that analyzes a client's networks, systems, applications and services, and determines weaknesses and vulnerabilities.

 Software company Relativity Technologies has raised $4.5 million in a fourth round of funding led by the company's management team, Relativity announced Wednesday. The Cary, N.C.-based company said the management team invested $1.2 million, in addition to contributions from previous investors Noro-Moseley Partners, Wakefield Group, Intel Capital and Nichimen Computer Systems. The company, which has raised a total of $16.5 million, creates software that modernizes legacy computer systems.

 ShieldIP announced Wednesday that it received a $4.2 million first round of funding from Charter Ventures. The New York-based company sells software designed to protect a company's digital rights.

 Software and consulting services company Cigital raised $4 million in an initial round of funding led by Mid-Atlantic Venture Funds, the company announced Friday. Also participating in the round were Blue Water Capital and the Washington Dinner Club. Dulles, Va.-based Cigital develops software and provides consulting services that identify and analyze clients' software to pinpoint security vulnerabilities and reliability.

 Data profiling company Evoke Software has raised $4 million in a fifth round of funding led by current investors RRE Ventures, Tudor Ventures and Wheatley Partners, the company announced Friday. San Francisco-based Evoke, which has raised a total of $55 million, plans to use the money on sales efforts and to reach its goal of becoming cash-flow positive by the first quarter of 2003. Reflecting the general downturn in spending, Evoke has recently expanded and repackaged its data profiling software, which essentially cleans data of inconsistencies and redundancies, to work with smaller projects.

 Information technology services company Exenet Technologies raised $4 million in a third round of funding led by the New York Technology Consortium, the company announced this week. The New York-based company, which has raised a total of more than $30 million, plans to use the money to expand its services in storage, enterprise security and network support. The company's software package and services are designed to help customers manage their computer systems, including data availability, enterprise-wide IT security and network/system integration and management.

 Safeweb, a maker of networking hardware, has raised $4 million in a third round of financing, the Emeryville, Calif. company said. Safeweb's products are designed to help people access their corporate networks from the Web, allowing them to connect to e-mail, network files and other applications when outside the office.

The company, which has raised a total of $13 million, uses the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol, embedded in most Web browsers, to authenticate people's identity before letting them through a network firewall. Investors in Safeweb's third round include Chilton Capital Management and Kingdon Capital Management, both of whom invested in the company's prior rounds of financing.

 Vigilos has received an additional $2 million toward its first round of funding, bringing the round to a total of $7.6 million, the company announced Monday. Northwest Venture Associates and Highway 12 Ventures contributed to the latest financing, which bolstered the $5.6 million received in March. Seattle-based Vigilos develops software and services designed to manage security information from any location.

The company also appointed a new board member and two sales executives.