VC Buzz – $333+ Million in Today’s Deals

NEW YORK– bigchalk.com Inc., a new Internet education company dedicated to supporting the entire K-12 learning community on the Web, closed a $55 million first round of financing. The round was led by a joint venture of Goldman Sachs Capital Partners II and Blumenstein/Thorne Information Partners II. Also participating in this round were Patricof & Co. Ventures Inc. and Core Learning Group LLC. The compan

y was formed when Infonautics Inc. and Bell & Howell Company agreed to combine their K-12 education business units.

MENLO PARK, Calif.– Collabria Inc., provider of an e-business solution for the printing and publishing industry, secured more than $46 million in investment funding. Leading this round of funding is ABS Ventures, with additional funding from Charter Ventures, Comdisco Ventures, Mitsui Corp., Sands Brothers and several private investors. Original investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Weiss, Peck & Greer and Internet Capital Group have also increased their investment in Collabria. Collabria’s service-based system enables print buyers, printers and print resellers to conduct all aspects of e-business via the Internet.

PORTLAND, Ore.– Webridge Inc., a supplier of enterprise eBusiness application software, closed a mezzanine round of venture funding totaling $22 million. Led by Meritech Capital Partners, the new funds enable Webridge to continue marketing and sales expansion worldwide. Earlier-round investors Sevin Rosen, Worldview Technology Partners, Olympic Venture Partners, and Intel also participated in this round. Webridge Express solutions use a customizable object-oriented transactional framework.

OMAHA– ECOM Worldwide, a provider of business-to-business e-commerce solutions, acquired $15 million in venture funding. Existing investors that contributed additional capital include Campfire Family LLC, Burns Capital LP and Stolberg Equity Partners LLP. New investors include Greenhill E.W. Holdings LLC, Thompson Clive Venture Capital, Benjamin Rosen, Tucci G.N. Investment Trust, The Affiliated Companies and Stanford University. ECOM Worldwide’s solution, known as the Integrated Information Exchange IIE, allows companies to exchange critical business information with thei

r partners and customers without the investment in expensive hardware and software solutions or the adoption of standard data formats.

SEATTLE– TeamOn.com Inc., a new e-services company for growing businesses, completed a $14 million in second-round financing, led by Internet Capital Group and Madrona Venture Group. TeamOn.com’s business-focused service, scheduled to launch in February, integrates Web-based professional e-mail solutions with customer-interaction management capabilities. Internet Capital Group’s managing director Sam Jadallah will join TeamOn.com’s board of directors.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — CareThere.com, a comprehensive online resource for family caregivers, closed on $14 million in equity capital from ComVentures, Johnson & Johnson Development Corp., Telos Venture Partners and B.J. Cassin. Each of the investors shares the company’s vision of leveraging Internet technologies to improve the quality-of-life for family caregivers and the individuals under their care. Michael Rolnick, ComVentures general partner, Bruce Bourbon, general partner with Telos Venture Partners and B.J. Cassin will join CareThere’s board of directors.

MELBOURNE, Fla. — USBid, a company specializing in e-commerce solutions, received $10 million in first-round venture capital financing. The company’s end-to-end inventory solution enables electronics manufacturers to sell excess inventory. The infusion of capital came from Spectrum Equity Investors and Brinson Partners.

MENLO PARK, Calif.– MongoMusic Inc. completed a $6.3 million round of financing, led by new investors Nokia Ventures and Sony Music Entertainment. MongoMusic.com also received financing from returning investors Angel Investors Inc

., Argus Capital, and Draper Richards. MongoMusic.com’s technology will enable listeners to identify and expand upon the types of music they enjoy. The site is expected to launch during the first quarter of 2000.

SAUSALITO, Calif. – Mslide Inc., a provider of Web-based photo broadcasting applications, completed a $4 million round of funding from Canaan Partners and Rembrandt Venture Partners. John V. Balen, general partner, Canaan Partners will join Mslide’s board of directors. Mslide is a free, Web-based application that enables users to upload digital photos, add music and text, and build a streaming slideshow.

GOTHENBURG, Sweden– Network security experts AppGate announced that T-Venture, the corporate venture capital subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, has taken a 10% equity stake in the company. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. AppGate has developed a security solution beyond the firewall that only allows designated users to specific applications and data. It will secure any network from intruders that get past the firewall. AppGate incorporates authentication and encryption methods, and combines a rules-based system to manage personal access to specific applications.

ck.

WASHINGTON — GreenTravel.com, a Web site for extraordinary travel, agreed to merge with AdventureQuest.com. The integrated company, Away.com, will host a large network of pre-screened tour operators offering extraordinary travel experiences. Corporate headquarters for Away.com will remain in Washington. Tom Tracy, AdventureQuest.com president, will lead Away.com’s travel services division from AdventureQuest’s existing offices in Portland, Maine. A major expansion of the site will launch as Away.com (http://www.away.com) next month. Greentravel.com is backed by Gannett Co. Inc. and New World Ventures.

NEW YORK — Virtual China Inc., a provider of comprehensive daily business, finance, technology and cultural coverage of China for non-Chinese speakers, acquired all shares of China Buzz Inc., the Beijing-based parent company of ChinaBuzz.com. The two-year-old ChinaBuzz.com is an English-language web site offering news, information, and feature coverage of China’s growing popular music scene and entertainment industry. The site is also home to BuzzRecords, the largest mainland China-focused record store on the Internet. The acquisition provides Virtual China with a Beijing base for future China operations in both editorial and e-commerce.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Business Engine Software Corp. of San Francisco, Calif., completed the acquisition of its European joint venture with ExpertEyes. Business Engine Software is a provider of Internet-based professional service automation software for information technology, research and development and professional service organizations. ExpertEyes, a “venture catalyst” with offices in Bru

ssels, Belgium and Mountain View, Calif., helps emerging U.S. Internet and enterprise software and services companies expand their business into Europe. The joint venture with Business Engine Software, 95 percent funded by ExpertEyes, produced sales of more than $7.5 million in its second calendar year of operation. As part of the joint venture agreement, ExpertEyes returned control to the U.S. company at a pre-established time, allowing Business Engine Software to consolidate its international operations.

HONG KONG– iAsiaWorks, a PanAsian Internet solutions company, acquired Web Professionals, a Silicon Valley Web hosting firm, for an undisclosed combination of cash and equity. Web Professionals provides dedicated server hosting and co-location services for multinational corporations, dot.coms, and small, medium and large businesses around the world. iAsiaWorks investors include Bechtel Enterprises; BT/Alex Brown; Enterprise Partners; Generation Partners; Hambrecht and Quist; Institutional Venture Partners; Korea Technology Banking Corp.; Morgan Stanley Dean Witter; Newbridge Asia; New Enterprise Associates; Salomon Brothers; Samsung Corp.; the Sprout Group; Walden Group of Funds; Zesiger Capital; and Internet Elite Limited (a subsidiary of Pacific Century CyberWorks, a Hong Kong-listed company controlled by Richard Li).

BOSTON– Polaris Venture Partners LP, announced the closing of Polaris Venture Partners III, an $800 million venture capital fund. Polaris III, like its predecessor funds, will target early-stage investments in new economy companies, particularly the Internet, networking, and life sciences.

ANDOVER, Mass.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.– CoSine Communications, a provider of next generation IP service delivery platforms, announced that Steve Goggiano joined the executive management team as chief operating officer. Prior to joining CoSine, Goggiano served as senior vice president and general manager of SGI’s server and supercomputer division. CoSine has raised $94 million from the following investors: Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Norwest Venture Partners, Communications Ventures, Crescendo Ventures, Worldview Technology Partners, Lucent Venture Partners, BCE Capital Inc., Anschutz Investments and Wilson Investors, Technology Crossover Ventures, Charter Growth Capital, Capital Research Company, Tudor Investment Corporation, Amerindo Investment Advisors, Telesoft Partners, Goldman Sachs, Hambrecht & Quist, AT&T Ventures, Rader Reinfrank & Co. and Singapore Telcom.

BOSTON– WorldStreet Corp., an application service provider for the financial services industry, announced the appointment of Tim Walker as vice president of worldwide sales. Previously, Walker worked as senior vice president, capital markets with StreetFusion. Recently, the company completed a $17 million third round of financing, with backing from J.P. Morgan, Hambrecht & Quist and Deutsche Bank.

Do you think YOUR cool company ought to be featured in a VC Watch column?

Then go here …

… and tell us all about yourself.

VC Buzz, that is.

The latest buzz on the daily deals coming down in the femtosecond pace of the Venture Capital world

VC Buzz brings you the latest on who’s gotten their funding and from whom, what’s happening at the VCs and who’s just swallowed whom in the maniacally fast, deadly serious Darwinian scramble for Internet success and dominance.

Don’t get trampled by the herd … stay ahead with VC Buzz, delivered every business day to your e-mail box.