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Téléfonica, Brightstar back Colombia fund

Venture firm Axon Partners Group has closed a $65m venture capital fund backed by Spain-based telecoms operator Téléfonica, US-based wireless company Brightstar, the Colombian small business bank Bancoldex and the Spanish fund for international development, AECID. The Amerigo Colombia Ventures fund has already closed five investments, the company said, and plans five more in 2013.… Continue reading Téléfonica, Brightstar back Colombia fund

D’Souza backs Quadriserv

Private investor Rohit D’Souza and hedge fund Renaissance Technologies have invested an undisclosed sum in financial services technology company Quadriserv, which has previously received corporate venture backing from the International Securities Exchange and Interactive Brokers. Venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners has also previously invested in the company, which has not disclosed the terms of… Continue reading D’Souza backs Quadriserv

BoSci backs Channel Medsystems

Boston Scientific, a US-based medical device maker, has led a $9.7m series B round for Channel Medsystems, a local medical technology company. Channel Medsystems also announced that Ric Cote, a former vice-president of sales at Conceptus, a medical technology company acquired by Bayer Healthcare in April, has taken over as chief executive. Venture capital firms… Continue reading BoSci backs Channel Medsystems

Time Warner sees promise in Joyus’ video shopping

Video shopping platform Joyus has raised an $11.5m series B led by Time Warner Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of the eponymous media business, and by Interwest Partners. Joyus uses short marketing videos to support an e-tailer platform that hosts around 600 brands. The company claims that the video retailing model gives a significantly increased… Continue reading Time Warner sees promise in Joyus’ video shopping

NeuroPhage builds with $6.4m investment

Mérieux Développement, the investment arm of the French biotech conglomerate Institut Mérieux, has led a $6.4m financing round for NeuroPhage, a life sciences company.  Existing investors Shire Pharmaceuticals also joined the round, which takes the total funding raised by the company to $35m. Neurophage is developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s… Continue reading NeuroPhage builds with $6.4m investment

CrunchFund’s Siegler jumps to Google Ventures

MG Siegler, a partner in CrunchFund, has stepped down to join Google’s corporate venturing arm Google Ventures.  Siegler, a columnist on the TechCrunch website until 2011, was one of a team that built  CrunchFund, the early-stage venture capital firm led by TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington after the site was sold to AOL. As at CrunchFund,… Continue reading CrunchFund’s Siegler jumps to Google Ventures