Monday, January 19, 2009

CRV backs Calif. genealogy site

By Mass High Tech staff

Charles River Ventures, a Waltham VC firm, has added to its existing investment in California-based Geni Inc., a private genealogy website, with a $5 million Series C funding round, according to published reports.

Charles River Ventures was joined in the Series C funding by fellow return backer Founders Fund of San Francisco, website PE Hub reports.

Founded in 2006, Geni had raised $11.5 million before the most recent financing round.

Founded in 1970, Charles River Ventures has approximately $2.1 billion under management. Among the companies in CRV’s portfolio are Cedar Point Communications Inc. of New Hampshire and Nantero Inc. of Woburn. CRV has had its share of successful tech industry exits, including the July 2007 IPO of Marlborough-based Netezza Corp. (NYSE: NZ) for $108 million, and the September 2007 sale of Lowell’s Acopia Networks Inc. for $210 million.