By Cal Chang Yocum, Special To LTW
Editor’s note: Research Triangle Beat is a regular feature on Thursdays.
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK - Application and information security software firm XActional has secured $2.5 million in its first round of venture capital financing.
The round was led by Durham-based Aurora Funds, with participation from Intersouth Partners and NextPoint Partners in Washington, D.C.
The funds, which the company says will last them approximately 18 months, will be used for product development, hiring software engineers, initial sales and marketing activities and expansion to new office space. It recently hired six new employees and plans to add another six by the end of the year.
"This will allow us to land on the beach, establish a beachhead and get some early customers," says David Logan, co-founder and president of XActional.
Logan adds that the company was fortunate to pick up a group of four programmers from a local company that was shutting down. "They're used to working together as a team, so they've been able to make significant contributions in the few days they've been with us."
XActional was founded last year by software executives Ken Gramley, David Motsinger and Logan, after six months of research and discussions with 30 to 40 enterprise companies and service providers. According to the startup, the research indicated that one of the biggest concerns companies share is the application security of Web applications and services, specifically Internet-scale kinds of attacks and espionage activities.
The company's strong management team, technology and market opportunity made XActional an attractive investment, says John Glushik, principal at Intersouth Partners, who has been in talks with XActional's founders before the company's inception. "The company worked with their investor partners to design an incremental capital strategy that minimizes exposure before the business model is proven and limits the capital requirements of the company. This is a great example of the right way for a true early-stage company to get venture financing."
The nine-employee company plans to deliver its first product early next year.
Hemocellular lands Biotech Center loan
Hemocellular Therapeutics, which has a patented technology for freeze drying platelets, has received a $150,000 small business research award (SBRA) loan from the N.C. Biotechnology Center. The research loan will fund dosage studies in preparation for Phase I clinical trials.
"This is a homegrown technology that sprang from Eastern Carolina University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill," says Barry Teater, communications director of the nonprofit N.C. Biotechnology Center. "The project has received good support from the tech transfer universities of both universities. There are big upside potentials."
The loan comes from the Biotech Center's Economic Development Investment Fund, which has made more than $8 million in loans to more than 60 early-stage biotech companies that have gone on to raise more capital from other sources.
Founded last May, Hemocellular is now seeking its first round of institutional funding. With enough support, Hemocellular says that in five years it could have a biotechnology facility in North Carolina employing up to 300 employees and generating $15 million in revenue.
Hemocellular's technology enables platelets to be stored for up to five years, rehydrated in a matter of seconds and subsequently infused. Currently, platelets are stored at room temperature and have to be discarded after five days. Approximately 15 to 20 percent of platelets are thrown away each year.
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