Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Slater doled out $3.1M to 11 R.I. tech startups in past 15 mos.

By Mass High Tech Staff

Rhode Island’s startup venture capital fund, the Slater Technology Fund, committed $3.1 million in funding to 11 technology ventures in the Ocean State during the fiscal year that ended June 30, it said this morning.
 
Four of the 11 investments were new investments for Slater, and the remaining seven were follow-on investments in ventures that Slater had previously funded. Five of those seven follow-on investments were made in conjunction with co-investors. In those deals, Slater pumped a combined $1.1 million into the companies, while co-investors contributed $2.3 million.

Companies that won their first funding commitments from Slater during fiscal 2008 included:
 
• P&H Therapeutics Inc., a drug discovery company co-founded by former Pfizer researchers developing next-generation small-molecule compounds for the treatment of hypertension and dyslipidemia, which received $500,000;
 
• MediaExchange Research Corp., a Providence-based startup that enables content creators/owners, publishers and advertisers to understand the value of media as it is consumed by a fragmented online audience, which got $350,000;
 
• ProThera Biologics Inc., a biomedical startup launched out of Lifespan research labs that is developing biologics known as natural serine protease inhibitors for the treatment of multiple life-threatening conditions, including sepsis, cancer and anthrax intoxication, which landed $250,000;
 
• Mofuse Inc., a Providence-based startup that helps bloggers and website owners launch and manage mobile versions of their sites, which got $100,000.
 
Companies that received follow-on funding commitments from Slater during fiscal 2008 included:
 
• Andera, a Providence-based financial technology company that offers a suite of integrated products and services for automated online account opening, funding, and cross-selling, which received $350,000;
 
• Creative Circle Advertising Solutions, a Providence-based provider of hosted solutions for media companies, focused on user-generated content and self-service advertising, which won $250,000;
 
• Cardiorobotics Inc., a Middletown-based company developing advanced robotic technologies that enable minimally invasive surgical procedures, which won $250,000;
 
• Genome Corp., a Providence-based developer of next-generation DNA sequencing technology designed for implementation in large-scale ‘sequencing factories’, which won $250,000;
 
• Public Display Inc., a Providence-based web application firm developing information-extraction software for consumers, web publishers and advertisers, which won $250,000;
 
• Location Inc., the Woonsocket-based publisher of the neighborhood search engine neighborhoodscout.com, which won $150,000;
 
• Tizra, a Providence-based developer of an innovative web publishing platform that helps businesses flexibly package and sell information online, which won $150,000. 
 
The Slater Technology Fund is a state-backed venture capital fund that invests in new ventures committed to basing and building their businesses in Rhode Island. According to officials, Slater typically invests at the inception stage in the development of a new venture, often based upon ideas and technologies originating in academic institutions and/or government research laboratories located within the region.