Fall 2009 | Commonwealth Capital Ventures Newsletter
Greetings!
Welcome to the latest edition of the Commonwealth Capital Ventures Newsletter. As we enter the fall season, we would like to update you on our progress over the past few months. We completed a new investment in CloudSwitch, while our existing portfolio has been making news through acquisitions, new product announcements, and partnerships. You will find more details on these developments below. Despite the uncertain economic landscape, we continue to take pride in patiently backing companies that will create long-term value. If you have a company or an idea that you believe is poised for long-term success, we encourage you to come in and talk with us to see if we can be a good partner as you grow your business.
All the best,
The Commonwealth Capital Ventures Team
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New Investments
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CloudSwitch: Commonwealth led an $8M Series B round of funding for Cloudswitch, a Burlington, Mass.-based company that is providing an innovative software appliance that empowers enterprises to tap into the benefits of cloud computing by allowing legacy applications to run in the cloud seamlessly and without modification, thus reducing cost and improving responsiveness. Joining CloudSwitch as CEO is former Commonwealth Entrepreneur in Residence John McEleney. Previously, John was the CEO of SolidWorks Corporation. Existing investors Matrix Partners and Atlas Venture also participated in the round. Commonwealth General Partner Elliot Katzman has joined the board of directors. Click Here for the Press Release
Nova Scientific:
Commonwealth's portfolio company, Nova Scientific Inc.
(Woburn, MA) through its subsidiary, Nova Metrix, raised $13 million of new
equity in September and acquired Durham Geo Enterprises (DGSI) headquartered in
Stone Mountain, GA. DGSI is the leading
manufacturer and supplier of geotechnical material testing and ground water instrumentation,
which is used by civil and environmental
construction companies, consulting engineers and scientists to measure, test
and manage such things as tilt, displacement, pressure and strain in soil,
rock, concrete and steel structures.
Nova Scientific is focused on consolidating various segments of the
highly fragmented industrial and scientific instrumentation markets. Commonwealth's investment was made in
conjunction with co-investors Battery Ventures and Ascent Venture Partners.
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Liquidity Events
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Ounce Labs: In July, IBM announced that it acquired Ounce
Labs. IBM will integrate Ounce's software, which helps companies reduce the
risks and costs associated with security and compliance concerns, into its
Rational software business. The acquisition further enhances IBM's overall
security offering strategy. Click Here for the Press Release
BBN Technologies: In September, Raytheon Company entered into
an agreement to acquire BBN Technologies. The transaction is expected to close
in the fourth quarter of 2009. The acquisition will align BBN's deep scientific
and engineering expertise with Raytheon's commitment to excellence and
innovation in defense, homeland security, and other government markets
throughout the world. Following the acquisition, BBN Technologies will become
part of Raytheon Network Centric Systems (NCS). Click Here for the Press Release
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Portfolio Company News
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Reval,
a leading SaaS treasury software provider to the Fortune 1000,
announced in August that it has acquired FXpress Corporation, a smaller
competitor. The acquisition solidifies Reval's position as the leader
in global derivative risk management and hedge accounting software
solutions and services for corporate end-users of interest rate,
foreign exchange, commodity and credit derivatives. Additionally, Reval
closed $16 million in venture capital funding from Commonwealth and North Bridge Venture
Partners, bringing funding from both
venture capital firms to $44 million.
Antenna Software in
June announced it had completed the acquisition of Bothell, Wash.-based
Dexterra. The move represents the coming together of two leading
providers of mobile enterprise technology and applications. With
extensive operations throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific,
which support a vast network of global partners including Accenture,
ErgoGroup, Mincom and IBM, Dexterra brings Antenna a stronger global
presence, a proven channel-enablement strategy and established reseller
channels.
OneRiot in June launched its real-time web search API, allowing
third-party developers to incorporate real-time web search results into
their applications. In August, Commonwealth co-led a $7M
Series C investment in OneRiot, joining fellow existing investors
Appian Ventures and Spark Capital. OneRiot has gained extensive
attention from publications and media outlets including CNN, the New
York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, VentureBeat, TechCrunch,
and PC Magazine, among others. (Click here for links to these stories.)
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Partner Viewpoints
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In
recent activities, Commonwealth partner, Mike Fitzgerald, was featured in
articles appearing in ZDNet and e-Commerce Times, where he weighed in on
SaaS issues and on starting technology businesses. Additionally, Elliot Katzman served as a judge at the June 16th Massachusetts
Innovation & Technology Exchange (MITX) Awards.
VC Perspective:
Can Enterprise Software Companies Do SaaS?
Blog post from Michael Krigsman ZDNet, May 27, 2009
Waltham, MA -- Recent discussions questioned the
impact of established enterprise software companies in the software as a
service (SaaS) market. Therefore, I decided to seek the views of an experienced
venture capitalist, who is actively investing in SaaS, for another perspective.
Mike Fitzgerald, founder and Managing General Partner of Commonwealth Capital
Ventures, has been around the VC block quite a few times. His firm's conference
room is lined with mementos of companies in which it has invested, including
Aberdeen Group, Akibia, Centra Software, Compete, Constant Contact, Direct Hit,
i-Logix, Tally Systems, Zoom Information, and many others.
I asked Mike whether he thought enterprise companies,
such as Oracle, IBM, and SAP, could be successful selling SaaS software. Read Full Text of the Post
Mike Fitzgerald
Quoted in e-Commerce Times article
"So You Want to Start a Tech Business"
June
24, 2009 - Boston,
MA -- Funny thing about economic disasters: They tend to spawn a bevy of new
businesses. It's not that a recession is the best time for pie-in-the-sky
thinking; rather, it's when pie-in-the-mouth issues become most pressing.
This
is tricky business, finding the money. Seems the green stuff has slipped from
nearly everyone's grasp.
"Risk
capital is scarcer than it has been in a long time," Mike Fitzgerald, founding
partner of Commonwealth Capital Ventures, told the E-Commerce Times. "Venture
funds will husband their cash for their existing portfolios making new deal
funding tougher." Read Full Text of the Article
Elliot Katzman served as a judge
at the June 16th Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange (MITX)
Awards. The awards recognize innovative technologies developed in the New England area, as well as the individuals and organizations
responsible for driving these advancements. Click here to Read More
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Contact Information: Commonwealth Capital Ventures Bay Colony Corporate Ctr. 950 Winter Street Suite 4100 Waltham, MA 02451 | | |
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Commonwealth Capital Ventures is a leading venture capital firm focused on software & services, Internet & digital media, communications & wireless, and instruments & systems investments. Since its inception in 1995, the firm has invested in roughly 140 high-growth companies. Commonwealth currently manages more than $580 million of committed capital across four funds. To learn more about our team, click here. | |
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General Partners
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We developed this newsletter using a web-based application
from Constant Contact, a Commonwealth Capital Ventures
portfolio company.
To easily create, deliver, and manage email marketing campaigns,
visit the Constant Contact website for a free trial.
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