Subject: Venture News, Friday, November 10, 2000
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Date: Fri, 10 Nov 2000 01:20:00 -0800 (PST)

ICG Cuts Staff by 35%, to Spin Off Japanese and Euro Units  

WAYNE, Pa. (VENTUREWIRE) -- Publicly traded Internet Capital Group (ICG), 
which funds and supports business-to-business Internet commerce companies 
through a network of partner companies, said it laid off 35% of its 
workforce. The layoffs came with the company's third quarter report, in which 
the company reported losing $263.9 million. The company said it would 
intensify its focus on its top 15 companies. The firm will also spin off its 
European and Japanese units into independent companies in which ICG will 
retain a substantial equity stake. ICG also said it sold its equity stake in  
technology platform company Centirmed to Global Health Care Exchange for an 
undisclosed amount. ICG portfolio companies include AssetTrade.com, Delphion, 
eCatalogs, e-Chemicals, Onvia.com, PaperExchange, USgift.com, and Vivant! 
http://www.internetcapital.com

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X.com Shuts Down Online Banking, Continues Payment Services
?PALO ALTO, Calif. (VENTUREWIRE) -- X.com said it is shutting down its online ?financial services, including the Internet banking unit of First Western ?National Bank, to focus on online payment systems. X.com said there will not ?be any lay-offs resulting from the change. The company's financial services ?will close on December 1st and will stop taking deposits on November 20th. ?The company said its online payment business has consistently outshined its ?financial services, a situation exacerbated by the company's merger with ?online payment company PayPal in March. X.com is backed by Credit Agricole, ?Deutsche Bank, Digital Century Capital, Goldman Sachs, Hikari Tsushin, ?idealab! Capital Partners, J.P. Morgan, Madison Dearborn Partners, Qualcomm, ?and TAMC. ?http://www.x.com?______________________________________________________-??Venture Capital Investment Down in Third Quarter, Report Says??Venture capitalists curbed first-time investments and focused on existing ?portfolio companies in the third quarter, leading to a slight drop in venture ?funding across the country and in Texas, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers' ?MoneyTree report.  In Houston, venture capital investing grew 178 percent ?from the second quarter to $142.3 million, fueled mainly by the record $90 ?million raised by online research company Questia Media.??Nationwide, venture investing dropped from $19.8 billion in the second ?quarter to $17.6 billion in the third quarter, but was still almost twice the ?$8.9 billion recorded in the third quarter of 1999.  In Texas, the figure ?dropped from $1.084 billion in the second quarter to $1.013 billion in the ?third quarter, but was still more than the $519 million reported for the ?third quarter of 1999.??"People have the money to invest but are reluctant to be first with a new ?company," said Charles Szalkowski, an attorney with Baker Botts. "There's ?been lots of follow-on money for a company that's seen investments in the ?past, but there's not a hurry to be the first with a new, unproven company."??Houston outpaced the $51.4 million raised in the second quarter of 2000 and ?the $42.9 million reported for the third quarter of 1999.??In addition to the record venture capital raised by Questia, other local ?companies that received money included e-commerce company ECOutlook ($25.2 ?million), oil-field services firm OneOffshore ($15 million), radiology ?network management firm HealthHelp ($3.5 million) and medical device company ?Interferometrics ($1.5 million).?____________________________________________________??Analytical Modeling Software Developer Raises $4.2 Million?
LONDON (VENTUREWIRE) -- Autonomics, which develops analytical modeling 
software, raised GBP 3 million ($4.2 million) in its initial funding. The 
round was secured from Billam, a publicly traded U.K. venture capital 
investor recently formed from the shell of an industrial company. Billam said 
the company will use the funding to take its product to market, ramping up 
development and marketing activities. As a result of the investment Billam 
will place a representative on the Autonomics board of directors. Telephone 
+44-207-702-5544.
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Wireless Firm Blue Wireless Raises $6 Million First Round
?BURLINGAME, Calif. (VENTUREWIRE) -- Blue Wireless, a developer of ?voice-enabled applications for wireless services, said it has raised $6 ?million in its first round of financing from co-leads Storm Ventures, ?DaimlerChrysler Venture, and CMEA Ventures and the rest from Season ?International and undisclosed individuals. Tae Hea Nahm, a general partner at ?Storm Ventures, and Tom Baruch, a general partner at CMEA Ventures, will join ?the Blue Wireless board as its fourth and fifth members. Blue Wireless said ?it will use the funds to develop partnerships and to integrate its product ?with mobile technology.   ?http://www.bluewireless.com?____________________________________________??ASP for Legal Service Industry Gets $1.3 Million Seed Funds?
SAN FRANCISCO (VENTUREWIRE) -- eJur, which provides Web-based infrastructure 
to law firms, corporate legal departments and government counsel through a 
subscription-based application service, announced that it has raised $1.3 
million in seed financing from individual investors.  The company used the 
funds for product development, hiring, and to form strategic relationships. 
eJur will begin beta testing by the end of the year.  
http://www.ejur.com
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Corrent, Semiconductor Developer, Launches With $9.5 Million
?TEMPE, Ariz.  (VENTUREWIRE) -- Corrent, which develops semiconductor ?technology, said it launched with a $9.5 million first funding. Battery ?Ventures is the sole investor in the company. Corrent is developing network ?security chips for securing virtual private networks and e-commerce ?transactions at fiber optic speeds over the Internet. The company currently ?employs 18 and is developing a 12,000 square foot headquarters in Tempe, with ?plans to expand to 70 employees over the course of the next year. ?http://www.corrent.com??___________________________________________??Israeli Wireless Company WaveIP Gets $5 Million First Round?
TEL AVIV, Israel. (VENTUREWIRE) -- WaveIP, an Israeli-based fixed wireless 
company that designs, manufactures and markets digital networking 
transmission products and services, said it has raised $5 million in its 
first round of funding led by VAL Investments Group, an affiliate of 
Verticality Investments Group. The company said it will use the funds to grow 
the company.   
http://www.verticality.com