Category: Finance
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Report Outlines U.S. Competitive, Innovation Roadmap
The U.S. Department of Commerce released today a report to Congress on “The Competitiveness and Innovative Capacity of the United States” called for by the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010. Secretary of Commerce John Bryson (pictured left) discussed the report’s main findings in a briefing at the progressive think tank Center for American Progress…
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Cleantech Investment Volume Up, Deal Numbers Down in 2011
Global investment dollars in clean technologies increased in 2011 from the previous year, but the number investment deals declined somewhat, according to the industry research company CleanTech Group in San Francisco. Clean technologies, as defined by Cleantech Group, include renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, as well as energy efficiency, pollution control, infrastructure…
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Ophthalmology Drug Delivery Start-Up Gets $4M Investment
An Atlanta-based start-up, Clearside Biomedical, has received a $4 million venture capital investment from Hatteras Venture Partners in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Clearside Medical is commercializing technology developed at Emory University and Georgia Tech that delivers drugs to precise locations in the eye using hollow microneedles. Research behind the Clearside Biomedical technology was conducted…
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Electronics Show to Feature Science Start-Up Exhibits
The 2012 CES in Las Vegas, the world’s largest consumer electronics trade show, will feature an exhibit of start-up companies and technologies emerging from research and development, including small businesses funded by National Science Foundation. The exhibit, called Eureka Park, is a collaboration of the National Science Foundation (NSF), Startup America Partnership, CNET, and UK…
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Cellulosic Biomass Sugars Developer Gains BASF Backing
Renmatix Inc., a developer of biofuel sugars from cellulosic feedstocks in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, has secured a $50 million investment round led by German chemical manufacturer BASF. The BASF subsidiary, BASF Biorenewable Beteiligungs GmbH, contributed $30 million to the investment round, joined by new and existing investors. Renmatix has devised a technology platform called…
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Fewer Venture-Backed Companies Gain Liquidity, Get More Cash
Dow Jones VentureSource says in 2011 fewer U.S. companies backed by venture capital gained liquidity than in 2010, but those companies that left start-up status raised a good deal more capital in the process. The venture capital industry research service reports the 522 mergers, acquisitions, buyouts, and initial public offerings (IPOs) represent a 14 percent…
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Challenge Seeks Combat Emergency Rescue Device
A new challenge on InnoCentive calls for a concept and design of a device that enables a rescuer to quickly and safely transport an injured person away from a combat site. The contest has a prize of $15,000 and a deadline of 28 February 2012. InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts is a company that conducts open-innovation…
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Biofuels Start-Up Adds BP as Investor
Cool Planet BioFuels in Camarillo, California says BP Technology Ventures has made an investment in the company’s C round — the third series of equity investments after start up. The amount of the investment by BP’s venture capital division was not disclosed. Current investors in Cool Planet Biofuels also include General Electric, Google Ventures, ConocoPhillips,…
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Global Semiconductor Investment Drops in November
A report from the Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) shows investment in semiconductor companies worldwide dropped for the month of November 2011 compared to the same month in 2010, and for the year-to-date. The number of mergers and acquisitions in the industry also decreased for the year so far, but in November a number of new…
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Industry Consortium to Fund Fracturing Pollution R&D
A consortium of businesses, universities, and national labs has made funds available for research on technologies to address environmental and safety concerns of hydraulic fracturing — a.k.a. fracking — methods to extract natural gas from shale rock. The $35 million in funding from the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA) is now open…