• Ubiquisys

  Participated · Equity · Aug 2012

  Ubiquisys designs and sells femtocell and public small-cell devices that let carriers improve indoor cellular coverage by offloading traffic to broadband. Its products support 3G, LTE and WiFi and incorporate technology from Texas Instruments, Broadcom and Intel. The company has shipped 50,000 public small cells and sells to about 70 carriers worldwide, including Hutchison’s 3 (UK), Softbank (Japan) and SFR (France). Ubiquisys plans to put more development into its public small-cell hotspot business and to push a “smart” cell developed with Intel that moves rich content, cloud applications and core networking to the network edge. The company has raised a total of $81M to date and recently secured additional funding to expand its business and accelerate product development. Management cited the funding as important to capitalizing on the growing small-cell opportunity and to remain competitive with peers like ip.access and Mindspeed. Ubiquisys is a Swindon, UK–based developer of 3G femtocells that enable manufacturers to produce low-cost devices customised to mobile operator specifications. Its femtocell product, ZoneGate, constantly scans the radio environment and adapts frequency, transmit power and scrambling codes according to operator policies. In September 2010 the company completed a $5m second close of its first funding round led by Taiwanese investors SerComm Corporation, UMC Capital Corporation and Pacific Venture Partners, with participation from Advent Venture Partners, Accel Partners and Atlas Venture. In July 2010 it completed a separate $9m funding round led by 5 Continents Consulting Group with participation from Yasuda Enterprise Development Co., Advent, Accel and Atlas. The new capital will enable Ubiquisys to accelerate its expansion worldwide, particularly in the Americas. Existing investors Advent, Accel and Atlas participated in the new close and had also participated in the July round. Ubiquisys manufactures femtocells for consumer and enterprise use. Its femtocells are manufactured using Sony technology and are available as standalone units or integrated into residential gateways. Existing shareholders have provided a further $11m to the company. The company says the money will fund a range of consumer and enterprise products to be deployed globally over the coming year. Ubiquisys was recognized as a "technology pioneer" by the World Economic Forum in 2009. The CEO, Chris Gilbert, said the femtocell industry is entering a phase of aggressive growth with several operator launches expected that autumn, and the company also announced Alison Sparshatt will join as CFO. Ubiquisys develops femtocells—devices that convert a home broadband connection into a mini-3G base station. Its technology is being used in a British trial by O2 and could see a commercial launch within a year. Mobile carriers view femtocells as a way to extend coverage, enable in-home VoIP and new mobile services, and increase mobile revenues. Ubiquisys raised $25M seven months ago and recently received a strategic investment from T-Mobile Ventures. Other backers named in the coverage include Accel Partners, Advent Venture Partners, Atlas Ventures and Google. The company’s product could enable MVNOs or large web players to offer mobile services via femtocell deployments. UbiquiSys builds ZoneGate, a mobile access point that uses advanced femtocell technology to deliver high-quality, low-cost indoor 2G/3G coverage for consumers. The ZoneGate device is installed in users' homes and integrates with mobile operators' core networks so everyday GSM/UMTS handsets can be used reliably as in-house mobile replacements for landlines or VoIP. The product is positioned as an alternative to costly macrocell mast rollouts and aims to fix weak indoor signals without broad network expansion. UbiquiSys says ZoneGate enables operators to extend targeted coverage, reduce deployment costs, generate new revenue streams and speed up fixed-mobile substitution. CEO Chris Gilbert said the system delivers robust cellular coverage in the home at landline/VoIP rates, enabling operators to compete with fixed line and VoIP providers. An Accel partner noted ZoneGate's potential to revitalize the 3G business model and drive premium service take-up while preserving user experience.

• Topica Pharmaceuticals

  Participated · Series B · Oct 2011

  TOPICA Pharmaceuticals is a Palo Alto-based clinical research stage company developing luliconazole, a broad-spectrum topical antifungal agent for onychomycosis. The company raised $27M in a Series B to advance luliconazole toward late-stage testing. TOPICA plans a Phase 2b/3 trial of approximately 300 patients with mild-to-moderate distal subungual onychomycosis of the toenail. The trial is slated to start in the first half of 2012 and will involve about 20 U.S. centers. Greg Vontz serves as president and CEO, and Third Rock Ventures’ Charles Homcy will join the board in conjunction with the financing.

• Trevena

  Participated · Series B · Jul 2010

  Trevena is a King of Prussia, Pennsylvania-based pharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) biased ligands. Its lead molecule, TRV120027, is an angiotensin II type I receptor (AT1R) beta-arrestin biased ligand being developed for treatment of acute heart failure. The company completed a $35M Series B financing to fund its clinical program. The capital infusion will enable Trevena to complete a Phase 2 study of TRV120027 and to continue advancing its portfolio of GPCR biased ligands. The financing was announced on 14 July 2010.

No current team members are available.