Category: News
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Nokia narrows loss in Q1 as sales continue to tumble
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Podcast: How the internet of things may make parents less worried but more neurotic
Parenting is tough. Not only are babies incapable of listening to your rationale pleas for sleep, but they are tiny, fragile things that require your constant vigilance and protection. Or at least that’s the messaging around parenting in the U.S. To support new parents an entire industry of products from baby monitors to sensors placed under the mattress have emerged. So of course someone decided to connect them.
In the latest podcast, I speak with Chris Bruce, the CEO of Sproutling, a company building connected devices that aim to help people be better parents. The first product is a sensor-packed ankle bracelet that tells parents how their baby is while it sleeps. It’s like the next generation of baby monitor without the static or murky video. In the interview we discuss how the internet of things could change parenting and when to give up surveillance of your kids. I also admit to keeping my newborn in my closet while I tried to get some sleep.
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Show notes:
Host: Stacey Higginbotham- The basics on Sproutling’s connected baby monitor
- What happens when the quantified self meets parenting?
- How data from connected devices could change our understanding of babies.
- This makes helicopter parenting looks positively neglectful. When do we take the sensors off our kids?
PREVIOUS IoT PODCASTS:
Podcast: Shark Week for the internet of things
What the Internet of Things can learn from Minecraft and Lemmings
Podcast: How IBM uses chaos theory, data and the internet of things to fix traffic
Electric Imp aims to make the Internet of Things devilishly simple
IoT podcast: When devices can talk, will they conspire against you?
What the internet of things can learn from Minecraft and Lemmings
Podcast: Why the internet of things is cool and how Mobiplug is helping make it happen
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.- GigaOM Research highs and lows from CES 2013
- Analyzing the wearable computing market
- The Internet of things: creating tomorrow’s health care
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Akram Joins DN Capital
Imran Akram has joined DN Capital as a principal. Previously, Imran was part of the founding team that started Fidelity Growth Partners Europe.
PRESS RELEASE
DN Capital, a leading media and technology growth capital and early stage investor, today announced that Imran Akram has joined the firm as a Principal.
Prior to DN Capital, Imran was part of the founding team that started Fidelity Growth Partners Europe. His investments there included Innogames (browser based online gaming), GoodData (hosted business intelligence software/SaaS), Seatwave (event ticketing marketplace) and Wahanda (health, beauty and wellness marketplace). He started his investment career with General Atlantic where he was part of the team that invested in GlobalCollect (online payments). Before that he worked at Bain & Company and in Citigroup’s securitisation team, after graduating with a First in Engineering, Economics and Management from Oxford University. At DN Capital, Imran’s focus is on software and digital media opportunities, primarily targeting growth equity deals in these segments. His arrival continues the expansion of the DN Capital investment team. Imran commented: “I am excited to join the DN Capital team and to support the firm’s growth equity expansion.”
Nenad Marovac, Founding Partner at DN Capital, commented:
“We are delighted that Imran has joined us at DN Capital. He has built an outstanding record of delivering excellent results through strong leadership, innovative thinking and sound investment judgement. Imran will continue to build our growth equity investing and brings a strong network across Europe.”
“DN’s team continues to grow in strength to the benefit of both our portfolio companies and investors.”ABOUT DN CAPITAL
DN Capital is a global early stage and growth capital investor in software, mobile applications, digital media and e-commerce companies with offices in London and Palo Alto. DN Capital’s objective is to identify, invest in and actively support its portfolio companies to become global leaders. Portfolio companies include Shazam Entertainment, Apsmart (sold to Thomson Reuters), Endeca Technologies (sold to Oracle), Datanomic (sold to Oracle), Eyeka, Performance Horizon, JacobsRimell (sold to Amdocs), Lagan (sold to Kana) Mister Spex, OLX (sold to Naspers), Airsense Wireless, MPME, Apsalar, Tbricks and windeln.de. The professionals at DN Capital bring over 50 years of private equity experience to their investments, and actively work with portfolio companies to steward their growth through the various stages of development. Additional information about the firm and its portfolio companies can be found at www.dncapital.com.The post Akram Joins DN Capital appeared first on peHUB.
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Nokia To Follow Samsung’s Lead By Launching A Phablet This Year, Along With 40MP Lumia PureView & Lighter Lumia 920, Reports FT
Rumours that Nokia is working on a Windows tablet, to supplement its line of Windows Phone-based Lumia smartphones, have been doing the rounds for well over a year, with extra fuel poured on the speculative bonfire last year when Microsoft announced its own line of tablet hardware. Earlier this year, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop told an Australian newspaper it was looking closely at the tablet market — and thinking about “what the right way to participate would be and at what point in time”. Well, if a story in the FT is on the money, Nokia may have decided that a phablet — rather than a tablet — is what it needs right now. (And with Windows tablet sales failing to make a huge impression so far, who could blame it?)
Phablets, for those fortunate enough to have avoided this most distressing of tech portmanteaus, stands for phone+tablet(=phablet). Phablets are typically classed as smartphones with screens of 5 inches or more on the diagonal, which can therefore function as small tablets. Phablets with 6+ inch screens are not now too unusual, pushing the category within touching distance of the mini tablet segment where screens tend to start at 7 inches.
According to the FT, which cites people with knowledge of Nokia’s plans, the former worldwide number one mobile maker (whose crown was snatched by Samsung) is planning several high end smartphones this year — including “a device that can work as a phone and a tablet [aka a phablet]… similar in size but with more advanced specifications to Samsung’s popular Galaxy Note”. The forthcoming phablet is described as the most “innovative” of Nokia’s planned smartphone releases this year, but there is no detail on exactly what features that will translate into (beyond obviously a bigger screen). The largest screened Lumia to date is Nokia’s current flagship, the Lumia 920, which packs a 4.5 inch pane.
Should Nokia be looking to launch its own phablet, hardware alone is unlikely to be enough to compete with Samsung. The latter arguably created the category with its original Galaxy Note (launched in 2011), and since then it has expanded its phablet efforts on both hardware and software fronts, creating apps and an SDK for its S Pen stylus, plus other phablet-specific software such as a split screen view feature. It has also expanded its phablet portfolio, with the Note II and a freshly announcing new (likely cheaper) pair of devices, under a new brand: the Galaxy Mega.
Nokia will need to pour in similar feature-focused effort to ensure that any Lumia phablet is not just a big Windows Phone — but adds new functionality that make full use of the extra size. To date, with Lumia, Nokia has focused on the camera/imaging function for flagship devices, as well as differentiating via colourful hardware — so perhaps image editing software is one area where it could look to make a Lumia phablet stand out. (Especially as the Windows Phone platform still lacks the popular Instagram app.)
We reached out to Nokia for comment on the phablet rumour and a company spokesman said: “Nokia does not comment on market rumour or speculation.”
Other planned launches in Nokia’s pipeline this year are the previously rumoured ‘true PureView’ Lumia — which the FT’s sources say will have a 40 megapixel camera plus flash, and may get a July launch — and “a lighter and more advanced version” of the Lumia 920, presumably responding to complaints about the device’s weight. “Another lower priced version” of the 920 is also pegged for a fall launch. Rumours of an aluminium Lumia coming this year have surfaced before. Any ‘true PureView’ Windows Phone would be a considerably hefty creature — so offsetting such bulk by expanding the portfolio to offer lighter Lumia alternatives would make sense. Expanding the range of mid-range Lumias is something Nokia has been focusing on this year.
When TechCrunch spoke to Nokia’s Elop back in February 2012 we asked about phablets, and he told us it was an area of interest to Nokia, saying: “Tablets are an opportunity, and smartphones up to a certain size are an opportunity. We are looking closely [at the mid-size tablet market] and looking to see whether it will catch on.” Adding that while he personally liked the form factor of the Lumia 800 best because he can reach across the whole screen with his thumb “different things for different people in different markets” is its philosophy.
And when asked in a second interview, in February this year, about what innovation Nokia could bring to tablets Elop said: “We, obviously we’re looking at this market very closely. Like right now there’s a lot of shifting and things going on with all of us getting our first exposure to Windows 8, both from a PC perspective and a tablet perspective and we’re watching that very closely and based on what we’re learning there – and correctly answering the question you asked, what innovation [could you bring] because just a tablet by itself? Ok, so there’s many other tablets and so we have to make sure that in the same way with Lumia we said no we’re going to stand out, we have to make sure we’re thinking about that. So we’re watching that market – but haven’t announced a thing.”
Nokia has played in the tablet/phablet space before. Indeed, it was an early mover, unboxing its N800 Internet Tablet (which looks more like a phablet by today’s enormo-phone standards) back in 2007, years before the iPad burst onto the scene. But since transitioning from Symbian to Windows Phone, Nokia has concentrated its mobile efforts on phones exclusively.
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Weekly Radar: Second-guessing Japan flows as global growth slows
Figuring out what was driving pretty violent market moves this week was trickier than usual – and that says something about how much the herd has scattered this year, with ‘risk on-risk off’ correlations having weakened sharply. Just as everyone puzzled over a potential “wall of money” from Japan after the BOJ’s aggressive reflation efforts, the bottom seemed to fall out of gold, energy and broader commodity markets – dragging both equity markets and, unusually, peripheral euro zone bond yields lower in the process. As dangerous as it may be to seek an overriding narrative these days, you could possibly tie all up these moves under the BOJ banner – something along these lines: the threat of a further yen losses pushes an already pumped-up US dollar ever higher across the board and undermines dollar-denominated commodities, which have already been hampered by what looks like yet another lull in global demand. Developed market equities, whose Q1 surge had been reined in by several weeks of disappointing economic data and an iffy start to the Q1 earnings season, were then hit further by a lunge in heavy cap mining and energy stocks. The commodities hit may also help explain the persistent underperformance of emerging markets this year. What’s more the lift to Italian and Spanish government bonds comes partly from an assumption any Japanese money exit will seek U.S. and European government bonds and relatively higher-yielding euro government paper may be favoured by some over the paltry returns in the core ‘safe havens’ of Treasuries or bunds. The confidence to reach for yield has clearly risen over the past six months as wider systemic fears have receded – something underlined in dramatic style this week by a huge lunge in gold, now lost almost 20 percent in the year to date.
While all that logic may be plausible, there have been dozens of other reasons floating around for the seemingly erratic twists and turns of the week.
The only truth so far is that everyone is still just guessing about the likely extent of a Japanese outflow and confidence about global growth has received another setback.
It’s possible the BOJ focus may be a distraction from what looks likes the yet another Spring slowdown in the world economy – a worrying portent for Europe in particular where much of the continent is still in recession or semi-recession since late last year. Most forecasters and asset managers seem to retaining faith in the gradual recovery thesis, but they are nervous as economic surprises turn negative everywhere. Next week’s flash readings for April business surveys, or PMIs, may well be the number of the week as a result – with Q1 GDP from the US and UK also topping list of data releases too. Any fallout from this Friday’s G20 meeting in Washington could also set the tone early next week as yen moves may be discussed alongside growing doubts about the wisdom of austerity in recessions. Otherwise, it’s a big week for Q1 earnings on both sides of the pond.
Final day of IMF Spring Meeting Sun
Israel rate decision Mon
EZ April consumer confidence Mon
US March existing home sales Mon
Europe Q1 earnings Mon: Suez, STMicro
US Q1 earnings Mon: Halliburton, Texas
OECD Japan survey Tues
Global April flash PMIs Tues
Italy April consumer confidence Tues
UK March govt borrowing data Tues
US March new home sales Tues
Hungary rate decision Tues
US Treasury 2-yr auction Tues
Europe Q1 earnings Tues: Scania, SEB, Swedbank, Stora Enso
US Q1 earnings Tues: Amgen, DuPont, Xerox
NZ rate decision Weds
German April Ifo Weds
German 30-yr bond auction Weds
US March durable goods orders Weds
US Treasury 7-yr bond auction Weds
Europe Q1 earnings Weds: ABB, Credit Suisse, Barclays, Daimler, Ericsson, France Tel, GSK, Iberdrola, Nordea, Peugeot, Standard Life, Svenska Handelsbanken
US Q1 earnings Weds: Boeing, T Rowe Price, Qualcomm
UK Q1 GDP Thurs
Euro group’s Dijsselbloem at European Parliament Thurs
Europe Q1 earnings Thurs: Unilever, Astrazeneca, BAT, Bayer, Santander, Saab, Saint Gobain, Areva, Pernod Ricard, Volvo
US Q1 earnings Thurs: Exxon, Colgate-Palmolive, Coca Cola, Dow Chemical, Time Warner, UPS,
Japan March, Tokyo April inflation Fri
France’s Hollande in Beijing Fri
BOJ decision and presser Fri
French April consumer confidence Fri
EZ March credit/M3 Fri
SNB AGM Fri
US Q1 GDP Fri
US Q1 earnings Fri: Tyco
Malaysia/Iceland parliamentary elections Sat
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Nokia results: treading water for now, but Lumia sales are up
It’s still hard to tell how much Nokia’s fortunes have turned around. Following a surprise return to profitability around the end of last year, the Finnish handset maker’s latest interim quarterly report show a continuation of underlying profitability – but its shareholders are still losing money.
The company’s devices and services division managed to eke out a profit of €4 million ($5.2 million) in the first quarter of 2013, if you ignore “special items” during the quarter (namely, a €72 million restructuring charge, a €27 million boost from a cartel claim settlement and a €1 million hit associated with the purchases of Novarra, MetaCarta and Motally). That’s up from a €126 million loss in the same quarter of 2012, based on the same non-IFRS terms.
However, earnings per share were still -€0.02 for the quarter. That’s a loss of $0.03 per share, slightly better than analysts’ predictions of a $0.05 per-share loss, and significantly better than the $0.10 per-share loss in Q1 2012.
But let’s look at handset sales.
Nokia sold 11.1 million smartphones in the quarter — that’s 5.6 million Lumias (up from 4.4 million in the previous quarter), 0.5 million Symbian smartphones (down from 2.2 million in the previous quarter) and 5 million Series 40-based Asha full-touch devices (down from 9.3 million in Q4 2012, which is probably a combination of seasonality and the rise of cheap Androids in the emerging markets).
The average selling price of a Nokia “smart device” is up 34 percent year-on-year, from €143 to €191. This has helped the devices and services division hit underlying profitability for the second quarter in a row – overall, the group has now been profitable for an extra quarter on top of that.
Here’s what CEO Stephen Elop said:
“At the highest level, we are pleased that Nokia Group achieved underlying operating profitability for the third quarter in a row. While operating in a highly competitive environment, Nokia is executing our strategy with urgency and managing our costs very well.”
For the second quarter of this year, Nokia predicted a slight worsening of its devices and services operating margin from -1.5 percent to -2 percent, citing the reason as “competitive industry dynamics continuing to negatively affect the Mobile Phones and Smart Devices business units”.
In short, the turnaround remains far from complete, and Nokia still has to prove itself with the Lumia range. Perhaps the large-screen Lumia smartphone rumored by the FT on Wednesday might help. I imagine the lower-priced Lumias announced in February will also provide a boost.
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.- The big theme of MWC: How to live in a connected world
- What to watch in mobile in 2013
- Forecast: the converged mobile messaging market
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India’s deficit — not just about oil and gold
India’s finance minister P Chidambaram can be forgiven for feeling cheerful. After all, prices for oil and gold, the two biggest constituents of his country’s import bill, have tumbled sharply this week. If sustained, these developments might significantly ease India’s current account deficit headache — possibly to the tune of $20 billion a year.
Chidambaram said yesterday he expects the deficit to halve in a year or two from last year’s 5 percent level. Markets are celebrating too — the Indian rupee, stocks and bonds have all rallied this week.
But are markets getting ahead of themselves? Jahangiz Aziz and Sajjid Chinoy, India analysts at JP Morgan think so.
Chinoy and Aziz acknowledge that India could shave up to $25 billion off its annual import bill if commodity prices do continue falling. They warn however:
Relying on falling global commodity prices – over which policymakers have absolutely no control — to alleviate India’s external imbalances is tantamount to living on a wing and a prayer. Falling commodities will undoubtedly help this year’s current account deficit but cannot be a “plan” or “strategy” for sustained reduction.
Further:
Even if the price correction sustains, this is unlikely to translate into an equivalent reduction of the deficit.
Why not? A closer look at some of the factors that are troubling JPM.
First, coal imports are on course to double from two years back as domestic output lags electricity generation, they note, adding that imports could rise another $3-4 billion over the coming year. Second, iron ore production and exports have collapsed due to mining bans in some Indian states — exports are estimated at $1.5 billion this year from $6 billion 3 years ago. Meanwhile, with no iron ore production at home, imports of scrap metal have almost doubled over 3 years.
Finally, JPM say there has been little attention paid to the rate at which foreign investors are repatriating profits from India. (see their graphic)
In itself this is not a sinister phenomenon — examples elsewhere show that as the FDI stock grows, repatriation of returns tends to weigh on the current account. What is worrying in India is the scale and pace of repatriation — Chinoy and Aziz point out that net profit repatriation from India has tripled from $4 billion in 2010 to $12 billion in 2012 and the deterioration in net investment income outflows has been almost 1 percent of GDP over the last 5 years. They add:
The non-linear manner in which (repatriation) has accelerated during the very years in which the investment climate has weakened, macroeconomic uncertainty has risen, and concerns about currency depreciation have renewed, suggests that it is related to the policy and investment climate in India…what’s more things could get worse before they get better.
In sum, they expect all these phenomena to widen the current account deficit by $14 billion, more than offsetting the savings made on oil and gold.
Chidambaram will be aware of all this. He told Reuters yesterday that his main aim now is to deal with the “last mile” bottlenecks — fuel supply, environment clearance, forest clearance, land acquisition — some of the factors plaguing the economy and FDI outlook. India-watchers will be praying he succeeds.
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Samsung Galaxy S4 available at Sprint for pre-order, ships by April 27
Two days after AT&T started taking pre-orders for Samsung’s Android flagship, US mobile operator Sprint has made the Galaxy S4 available for purchasers who wish to get their hands on the smartphone before the official sales day.If you pre-order a Galaxy S4 from Sprint, America’s third-largest carrier says that it will do its “best to get it to you by Saturday, April 27”. That’s three days before shipments start on AT&T. But what’s the damage on your credit card? On a two-year contract the Sprint-branded 16 GB Galaxy S4 — available in both Black Mist and White Frost — runs for $249.99, which is $50 more compared to what AT&T asks for the smartphone in the same 16GB storage trim.
If $249.99 for the 16GB Galaxy S4 is too steep for your taste, the mobile operator offers a solution — albeit one that won’t appeal to everyone. You can “save $100 on this phone when you bring your number to Sprint on a new line of service”.
“Galaxy S4 is packed with incredible new features that will benefit from unlimited data plans on the Sprint 4G LTE network”, says Fared Adib, Sprint’s senior vice president at Product Development. “Sprint encourages our customers to really use their smartphone to its full potential – from surfing the Web to listening to streaming music or watching YouTube videos – without worry about data caps, throttling or silly overage charges on their monthly bill. I know our customers will enjoy this device as much as I do”.
According to the results of our BetaNews poll, 20.78 percent of respondents answer they will pre-order the Galaxy S4. A significant 56.36 percent of the voters in the poll say that they will also purchase the smartphone once official sales start, a number not including those who will pre-order the Galaxy S4.
Only a mere 14.7 percent of respondents answered that they will not purchase the Galaxy S4 and even fewer still, 8.15 percent, are undecided on buying Samsung’s Android flagship.
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Clairvest Backs County Waste
Clairvest Group, Clairvest Equity Partners IV Limited Partnership and Clairvest Equity Partners IV-A Limited Partnership have announced a combined US$15 million investment in County Waste of Virginia. County Waste is a private regional solid waste management company based in West Point, Virginia.
PRESS RELEASE
Clairvest Group Inc. (TSX:CVG) (“Clairvest”), Clairvest Equity Partners IV Limited Partnership and Clairvest Equity Partners IV-A Limited Partnership (collectively, “CEP IV”) today announced a combined US$15 million investment in County Waste of Virginia LLC (“County Waste” or, the “Company”). County Waste is a private regional solid waste management company based in West Point, Virginia. The Company provides residential, commercial, and industrial waste collection, processing and transfer services in central and parts of south eastern Virginia. Clairvest’s portion of the investment is US$4 million.
Scott Earl, CEO of County Waste, is Clairvest’s former partner at Hudson Valley Waste Holding, Inc.; a successful investment Clairvest exited in 2011 that generated a 2.0x multiple of capital and an IRR of 88%. County Waste is Clairvest’s third investment in the solid waste management industry, a core domain for Clairvest since 2005.
“We look forward to our partnership with Scott who is an experienced and successful entrepreneur. Scott is a best-in-class operator and proven business builder who sees significant opportunities for County Waste. Our equity investment will support County Waste in pursuing growth opportunities and building a regionally dominant solid waste company,” said Michael Castellarin, Managing Director of Clairvest.
County Waste is Clairvest’s 39th platform investment and the eighth investment by CEP IV. The Clairvest/CEP IV co-investment pool is capitalized at $467 million and focuses on equity investments in growth companies.
About Clairvest
Clairvest Group Inc. is a private equity management firm which invests its own capital, and that of third parties through the Clairvest Equity Partners limited partnerships, in businesses that have the potential to generate superior returns. In addition to providing financing, Clairvest contributes strategic expertise and execution ability to support the growth and development of its investee partners. Clairvest realizes value through investment returns and the eventual disposition of its investments.
Contact Information
Clairvest Group Inc.
Maria Klyuev
Director, Investor Relations and Marketing
(416) 925-9270
(416) 925-5753 (FAX)The post Clairvest Backs County Waste appeared first on peHUB.
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Sponsored post: 100% Green 50% less cost. Renewable energy data center for HPC
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PowerbyProxi Raises $5m
PowerbyProxi has raised $5 million from investors including TE Connectivity in Germany to develop applications for wireless power technology, according to VentureBeat, writes Reuters. Existing investor New Zealand venture capital firm Movac also participated in the third round of funding for the company.
Reuters – PowerbyProxi has raised $5 million from investors including TE Connectivity in Germany to develop applications for wireless power technology.
Powering devices without cables has been the stuff of science fiction. But its practical benefits have been longed for, since wireless power can get rid of cables in the same way that Wi-Fi disposes of networking wires. That’s still not possible under the laws of physics, but PowerbyProxi has developed cool chargers that you can use to charge a smartphone or other devices simply by placing it in a box rather than plugging it into a wired charger. The device charges regardless of the position you place it in the box. Such devices have a short range, but they’re often more convenient than today’s methods.
Darmstadt, Germany-based TE, a $13 billion revenue industrial company with 90,000 employees, is taking an equity stake in Auckland, N.Z.-based PowerbyProxi, and existing investor New Zealand venture capital firm Movac also participated in the third round of funding for the company.
The technology for “contactless” wireless power has been gaining momentum in recent years as users tire of chargers and industrial companies find more users for the technology. The company was started in 2007 by Fady Mishriki and Greg Cross, who decided to commercialize technology developed by University of Auckland researchers John Boys and Patrick Hu. The university, which is also an investor, and PowerbyProxi have a total of 122 patents between them on loosely coupled wireless power.
Cross, PowerbyProxi’s executive chairman, said that the investment showed faith in the sector’s growth and the milestones the company has hit. He said PowerbyProxi will use it to expand international sales. TE and PowerbyProxi are making a miniature contactless charging system, the Ariso Contactless Connectivity Platform, for industrial machinery and equipment. TE is selling and marketing this line of “noncontact couplers” with PowerbyProxi’s Proxi-Wave technology.
In industrial applications, wireless charging is helpful because wired charging is can be hard on equipment, as it’s easy for wired devices to be damaged if a cord is pulled abruptly. The company’s dynamic harmonization control system is also designed to reduce overheating that plagues most wireless charging alternatives. Those other solutions often have to dial back the amount of power supplied to the devices. That means that battery charging takes longer. But PowerbyProxi can supply 5 watts of power, the same as a cable, and do so without overheating, the company says. On top of that, it doesn’t cost a lot of money and it allows for free positioning of the device being charged relative to the charger.
TE is making evaluation kits for customers to test the hardware. The companies say the system is 70 percent smaller than currently available wireless power systems. The TE work is one of 50 different projects that PowerbyProxi is working on with customers. To date, PowerbyProxi has raised $10 million.
Ulrich Wallenhorst, the chief technology officer of TE Industrial, said that the investment shows his company is committed to wireless power, and that PowerbyProxi’s technology complements his own company’s offerings. Rivals include Qualcomm and Qi Stanard. PowerbyProxi’s technology is different in that it can be miniaturized to the point where its receiver can fit inside a AA battery, making all sorts of devices wirelessly rechargeable.
The post PowerbyProxi Raises $5m appeared first on peHUB.
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Allecra Therapeutics Raises Funds
Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners has led the 5 million euro ($6.5 million) Series A financing of Allecra Therapeutics with its new fund BioDiscovery 4.
PRESS RELEASE
Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners announces the first investment of BioDiscovery 4, its fourth fund dedicated to Life Sciences, through its participation in the Series A financing round of Allecra Therapeutics, which it co-leads with Forbion Capital Partners. EMBL Ventures is also part of the syndicate.
Allecra was formed in 2013 in France and Germany, as a strategic partnership between Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Limited (Chennai, India), the founders – including Allecra’s CEO Nicholas Benedict – and the two lead investors. This Series A financing of €15 million euros will support early clinical development of two new antibiotic treatments designed to combat multi drug-resistant gram-negative bacteria.
Olivier Litzka, Partner at Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners and Board Director at Allecra commented: “Allecra’s strategic partnership with Orchid is an innovative collaboration bringing together Allecra’s strong development capability with Orchid’s track record in antibiotic research and manufacturing. Allecra is supported by a Scientific Advisory Board consisting of world-renowned experts and Allecra’s Board of Directors comprises key appointments of entrepreneurs and industrialists with records of success in this area.”
Olivier Litzka also added: “We are glad to see Allecra become the first investment of our fund Biodiscovery 4. After our successful experience in the anti-infectives space through the investment of the BioDiscovery funds in Novexel, we are convinced that Allecra has all the major ingredients for success.”
Nicholas Benedict, Co-Founder and CEO of Allecra added: “The formation of Allecra comes at a time when governments, non-governmental agencies and the medical community are crying out for urgent and decisive action to tackle “the epidemic of antibiotic resistance. Our mission at Allecra is to develop new treatments which overcome selected bacterial resistance and which can be used to treat patients whose infections may otherwise have disastrous consequences.”
About Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners
Paris-based Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners is the private equity affiliate of the Edmond de Rothschild Group which is specialized in asset management and private banking (EUR 130bn under management, 2,900 employees and 30 offices throughout the world). Founded in 1953, the Group has been chaired since 1997 by the founder’s son, Baron Benjamin de Rothschild.
Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners is dedicated to minority investments into privately-owned companies. It has currently close to €1 billion under management which is being invested primarily as life sciences venture capital and growth capital.
Its Life Sciences Team of eight professionals brings together over 60 years of experience in the Life Science industry and more than 100 years of private equity and venture capital experience. The team has €355 million under management through its Biodiscovery franchise.
BioDiscovery Funds, including BioDiscovery 4, are venture capital funds registered via the fast-track procedure. These funds are not authorized by the Autorité des marchés financiers and may adopt special investment rules. BioDiscovery 4, a Capital Venture Funds registered via the fast-track procedure, invests mainly in private companies, which involves specific risks such as a risk of capital loss, a discretionary management risk and a liquidity risk.
For more information please visit: www.edrip.fr.
About Allecra Therapeutics
Allecra, established in 2013, is a biotechnology company focused on the development of novel treatments to combat multi drug-resistant bacterial infections. It is based on a strategic partnership between its founders, Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (Chennai, India) and its lead investors, Forbion Capital Partners and Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners. ALLECRA’s mission is to contribute towards the global effort to combat antibiotic resistance by developing new treatments which overcome emerging resistance mechanisms, thereby saving lives of patients whose infections may otherwise be inadequately treated. ALLECRA is located in the European BioValley Life Sciences cluster, located in the Upper Rhein valley, encompassing northwest Switzerland, southeastern Germany and the Alsace Region of France.Contacts
Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners
Olivier Litzka
[email protected]
+33 1 40 17 27 46 or +33 1 40 17 27 69Allecra Therapeutics GmbH
Nicholas Benedict, Founder & CEO
+41 79 592 2005
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Riverside Acquires TerraSim
The Riverside Company has added Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based TerraSim to its Bohemia Interactive Simulations platform. Bohemia develops and provides games for training technology and interactive simulation systems for defense, emergency and mission-critical customers.
PRESS RELEASE
Add-on Expands Military Simulation and Virtual Training Specialist Bohemia Interactive
The Riverside Company has added Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based TerraSim, Inc. to its Bohemia Interactive Simulations s.r.o. (Bohemia) platform. Bohemia develops and provides games for training technology and interactive simulation systems for defense, emergency and mission-critical customers.
TerraSim delivers to Bohemia its elite capabilities in automated terrain generation software, which is a highly specialized niche. Bohemia customers will benefit immediately from this infusion of new technology, while the company will gain a platform for expanding both in its current defense markets and in new markets.
“TerraSim builds the world’s best terrain generation software,” said Riverside Partner Dr. Martin Scott, who leads Riverside’s Software and IT specialization in Europe. “This acquisition accelerates Bohemia’s technical capabilities and should open new opportunities for the company.”
Bohemia plans to retain operations at TerraSim’s Pittsburgh office, using existing software and database engineers and leadership while integrating the companies and capitalizing on the enhanced software capabilities for Bohemia’s products and services.
Bohemia makes fully interactive, three-dimensional training and simulation systems for military or commercial training and experimentation purposes, particularly for tactical training and mission rehearsal scenarios.
Bohemia was founded in 2001 in Australia, and has a central sales office in the U.S., part of the Team Orlando area of excellence for military simulation technology. In addition, Bohemia has major sales and operations offices in the UK, Australia, Czech Republic, and Poland, with plans for further international expansion.
Riverside has completed more than 20 software investments, and has a dedicated team of experts in the technology field.
“We were considering acquiring TerraSim even before the Riverside acquisition,” said Bohemia CEO Pete Morrison.“ They’re an exceptional company that brings outstanding technical knowhow. This immediately makes Bohemia a stronger and more capable company.”
Working with Scott on the transaction for Riverside were Principal Adam Pietruszkiewicz, Vice President Ludek Palata and Vice President Marcin Goszyk.
Lape Mansfield & Nakasian, LLC along with McGladrey, LLP advised Riverside on the investment.
The Riverside Company
The Riverside Company is a global private equity firm focused on acquiring growing businesses valued at up to $250 million (€200 million in Europe). Since its founding in 1988, Riverside has invested in more than 300 transactions. The firm’s international portfolio includes more than 75 companies.Media enquiries:
CitySavvy
Soraya Atmani
+00 44 (0)20 7936 9161
[email protected]The post Riverside Acquires TerraSim appeared first on peHUB.
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LinkedIn releases revamped Android and iOS apps
Popular business-oriented social network LinkedIn has unveiled new mobile apps for Android and iOS, touting a “brand new mobile phone experience, completely revamped with the general professional and everyday use case in mind”. This comes a day after LinkedIn updated its Windows Phone 8 app, with major new features.However, unlike the Windows Phone 8 app which offers a similar user experience as before, LinkedIn for Android and iOS sports an overhauled UI (User Interface) that is both more modern as well as better looking. Gone are the darker colors of before as lighter ones take their place instead.
“We want to make it easier for our members to quickly discover and engage with the rich professional insights being shared across LinkedIn to help them make smarter decisions from wherever they may be working”, says LinkedIn’s Tomer Cohen. “We’ve designed the new LinkedIn mobile phone app for every professional, with a richer and more engaging stream and more personalization features”.
LinkedIn for Android and iOS is designed to provide users with “more relevant and timely professional insights” in the stream, which the social network hopes will lead to a higher level of engagement. Users can now directly comment and like on a post on LinkedIn straight from the “vibrant and visual” stream.
The mobile apps promise a higher level of personalization through the new navigation page which can be triggered by swiping the main homepage to the right. It preloads a number of features which are “handiest on-the-go”.
LinkedIn has also provided an interesting insight concerning its users’ locations. According to the social network, 64 percent of users reside outside of the US. That is a very important number which explains the expanded language support. LinkedIn for Android now supports Dutch, Norwegian and Turkish while its iOS counterpart also works in Dutch and Norwegian.
LinkedIn promises that further improvements will be made to personalization options and search further down the road this year. Hopefully, LinkedIn is aware that the best move right now is to also update its apps on BlackBerry 10 and Windows Phone 8 to reflect the aforementioned changes and features.
LinkedIn for Android is available to download from Google Play.
LinkedIn 6.0 for iOS is available to download from Apple’s App Store.
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HitecVision Acquires Deep Sea Mooring
HitecVision has acquired Deep Sea Mooring. Deep Sea Mooring was established by Odfjell Drilling in 2008.
PRESS RELEASE
HitecVision is pleased to announce the acquisition of 100% of Deep Sea Mooring.
Deep Sea Mooring (DSM) was established by Odfjell Drilling in 2008. DSM has been
developed from an in-house mooring service provider to one of three providers of
mooring services to E&P companies and rig owners in Norway. The company offers
rental equipment, pre-lay mooring solutions and ancillary services and serves the
market through its locations in Mongstad and Kristiansund.
Simen Lieungh, CEO of Odfjell Drilling states: For 40 years Odfjell Drilling has been a
pioneer in the offshore drilling industry with a proven track record of establishing
and developing new businesses. We are proud of having developed Deep Sea
mooring to a stage where it has a strong potential on a stand-alone basis. We
believe in the future of the company, product and service portfolio and its competent
and dedicated team of people. Under HitecVision’s ownership, Deep Sea Mooring can
certainly become a potent player in the international mooring industry. We believe
HitecVision are the right owner to develop Deep Sea Mooring in the international
mooring industry.
Gunnar Halvorsen, Senior Partner of HitecVision, comments: “We are impressed by
the development of Deep Sea Mooring under Odfjell’s ownership, and are pleased to
have been entrusted by Odfjell to become the new owners of the company.”
Deep Sea Mooring, being a niche supplier of critical services to the oil and gas
companies, is a typical investment for HitecVision. We have followed and invested
in this segment before, and believe Deep Sea Mooring has great future potential. We
look forward to working with the company’s management to develop it further.
Åge Straume, Vice President of Deep Sea Mooring, adds: “We have had a great cooperation
with Odfjell as owner and customer, and look forward to a continued close
relationship. HitecVision as a new owner is welcomed by both Deep Sea Mooring
management and employees. We know HitecVision as a leading investor for our type
of company, with a strong track record in this segment, and we have noted the
success of previous investments. With this strong investor backing, we will be able
to grow Deep Sea Mooring further as the preferred supplier of high quality mooring
equipment, pre-lay mooring solutions and services to the oil and gas industry.
The transaction is subject to approval from relevant competition authorities
Contact persons:
Gunnar Halvorsen, Senior Partner HitecVision, mobile +47 91 83 39 06
Kjell Erik Endresen, Senior Partner HitecVision, mobile +47 98 20 66 53
About HitecVision
HitecVision is a leading investor in the international oil and gas industry with offices
in Stavanger, Oslo and Houston. The investment focus is on middle market
investments in oilfield services and technology companies, and exploration and
production (“E&P”) companies across the oil and gas value chain. HitecVision
manages four funds with more than $ 3 billion in assets under management.
About Odfjell Drilling
Odfjell Drilling is a privately owned international drilling, well service and
engineering company. We have been in involved in international drilling operations
since the early seventies. The company has 3000 employees and operates in 20
countries worldwide.The post HitecVision Acquires Deep Sea Mooring appeared first on peHUB.
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Fits.me Secures Series A Funds
UK-based Fits.me has announced total Series A investment in the company of close to 5 million pounds ($8 million). Series A investment has been subscribed by existing investor SmartCap, with new participation from Conor Venture Partners, Fostergate Holdings Limited and The Entrepreneur’s Fund.
PRESS RELEASE
Fits.me today announced total Series A investment in the company of close to £5 million. Series A investment has been subscribed by existing investor SmartCap, with new participation from Conor Venture Partners, Fostergate Holdings Limited and The Entrepreneur’s Fund.
Previously, in May 2009 and August 2010, the company received total seed and early-stage investment of just under £1.75m from Smartcap and angel investors, and £0.5m in grants.
Fits.me develops, markets and operates virtual fitting room solutions on a software-as-a-service (SaaS) basis for online clothing retailers, helping them to overcome the problems of low online conversion rates and high garment returns rates caused by doubt over fit and poor fit respectively.
The company counts many well-known retailers among its clients, including Adidas, Avenue32, Barbour By Mail, Boden, Ermenegildo Zegna, Hawes & Curtis, Henri Lloyd, Hugo Boss, John Smedley, L.K.Bennett, Mexx, Nicole Farhi, Otto, Pretty Green, Superdry and Thomas Pink.
Fits.me will use the new funding to support accelerated Sales and Marketing programmes – including international expansion into the France, Germany, other EU countries and the USA – and to continue to scale up its Operations to meet predicted demand.
Conor Venture Partners’ Manu Mäkelä said: “While large swathes of retailing already takes place online, there are sectors for which the real online growth has yet to come. Apparel is chief among those sectors, primarily because buying clothes is such a subjective process – most obviously when it comes to ‘fit’. Fits.me has a sophisticated solution that works, delivers provable results, is easy for retailers to deploy and has been signed up by a growing band of respected retailers and brands, on an international basis. From an investor’s point of view, there is tremendous growth potential.”
In February 2013 the company launched Fit Advisor, a complementary version of the company’s flagship Fits.me Virtual Fitting Room solution which delivers fit information and recommendations without the need for photography.
Heikki Haldre, co-founder and chief executive at Fits.me, said: “We are in a market that has started to move very quickly as retailers look to overcome their high street difficulties by focusing on online performance. It should be clear to everyone that we mean to do very good business by helping online clothing retailers to solve one of their most pressing problems.”
[ends]
About Fits.me
Fits.me’s virtual fitting room solutions helps boost the revenues and the profitability of online clothing retailers by enabling them to overcome the online fit problem, increasing conversions and reducing garment returns.
The subjective nature of “fit” as it applies to clothing and fashion has inhibited online apparel sales for years – in 2012 the overall proportion of garment sales from online channels was still only 14-15%. The essential problem is the inability of shoppers to try on clothes to check the fit before they choose their size, while ‘fit’ is a matter of personal preference rather than mathematics. According to Mintel, widespread inconsistencies in sizing between different brands and retailers make online clothes shopping a challenge for six in ten shoppers.
At the heart of Fits.me’s software-as-a-service solution are sophisticated robotic mannequins, both male and female, with artificial muscles that enable it to mimic any size or shape of body. To populate the database of any given brand or retailer, these mannequins are dressed in representative items from the retailer’s range, in each available size. Each permutation of garment/size is then photographed while the robotic mannequin morphs through thousands of body shapes, whether for a dress or a shirt. The output of this process is a comprehensive image database – and, for each image, the precise dimensions of the mannequin are recorded.
On a retailer’s site, Fits.me displays the photograph from the database that shows exactly how the garment the shopper is looking at will fit their body size and shape, simply by asking that shopper for a few common measurements.
With further clicks, the shopper may check how they will look wearing other sizes, before choosing the size that fits them the way they like it. The Fits.me Virtual Fitting Room will even alert the shopper to where the fit of the chosen garment may be wrong – for example, in arm length or collar size – just as a shop assistant would do in a bricks-and-mortar store.
Data from online clothing retailers using Fits.me shows an improvement in conversion rates of up to 62% compared to shoppers using a traditional size chart and a reduction in returns for reasons of fit of up to 77%.
# # #The post Fits.me Secures Series A Funds appeared first on peHUB.
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Metaio predicts augmented reality chips in devices by end of 2013
Metaio, the Germany augmented reality firm, says it expects to have its dedicated chips in mobile devices by year-end, despite the collapse of its one big announced customer, ST-Ericsson. The outfit has also revealed the opening of a new R&D lab in Dallas, Texas.
The company announced the ST-Ericsson deal at Mobile World Congress in February. ST-Ericsson’s future chipsets were to include a dedicated augmented reality (AR) processor using Metaio’s designs – much as is the case with the dedicated GPUs we find in mobile devices today, the benefit of a dedicated AR chip is to cut down the power-draw required by specific functions, in this case augmented reality, so people can fire up applications using those functions without worrying about their phone or tablet dying too quickly.
However, less than a month later STMicroelectronics and Ericsson announced the end of their chipset joint venture, along with the cancellation of the ST-Ericsson NovaThor chipsets that were also announced at Mobile World Congress. Nonetheless, Metaio told me at the time that it was still in talks with both STMicro and Ericsson about the use of its technology.
According to Metaio spokeswoman Anett Gläsel-Maslov, these talks are still underway, as are negotiations with other (undisclosed) companies. What’s more, she said, the company is near-certain that it will see its “AR Engine in devices by the end of the year”.
To develop its AR Engine designs further, Metaio is to open a new research facility in Dallas, the company said on Wednesday. Metaio already has an office in San Francisco, so it’s not a matter of getting closer to potential customers – instead, Gläsel-Maslov told me, the firm hopes to scoop up engineers who might be at a loose end following Texas Instruments’ winding-down of its OMAP mobile processor business.
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.- Analyzing the wearable computing market
- The future of mobile: a segment analysis by GigaOM Pro
- Report: Mobile Augmented Reality Today and Tomorrow
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