Friday, July 15, 2011

Polaris's $375M fund supporting 10 investments in 2011, so far

By Kyle Alspach, Boston Business Journal

Polaris Venture Partners said Thursday it has made 10 investments so far in 2011 from its $375 million fund that closed last year, including rounds for at least two Massachusetts startups.

The Waltham-based venture capital firm did not disclose the sizes of the investments. Polaris general partner Terrance McGuire said it would be up to the individual companies about whether to discuss the funding sizes.

One of the startups, Biff Labs, is located at the Polaris-run Dogpatch Labs incubator in Cambridge, McGuire said. Biff Labs is “a stealth technology startup focused on structuring social data,” according to the Polaris press release announcing the investments.

A second company, Xtuit, will also be located in the Boston area, most likely in Cambridge, McGuire said. The company is working to bolster drug therapy by improving the translation of cancer drugs from animal models to human studies, according to the release. Xtuit’s scientific founders include “a team that Polaris has worked with before,” and Polaris partner Alan Crane will serve as chairman, the release said.

The release disclosed just seven of the 10 companies that have received investments. Along with Biff Labs and Xtuit, the companies include ReadyForZero of California; DeNova Care of Connecticut; Seamless Receipts of New York; Neuronetics of Pennsylvania; and DigiCert of Utah.

Polaris said in the release that the new investments comprise five in technology, four in life sciences and one in growth-equity. The investments come out of Polaris Venture Partners Fund VI LP.