N.C. Reaches $108M in Deals for 2003

In a pattern that in recent weeks has become as steady as the rising and setting of the sun, North Carolina has gone through another week with another venture deal.

This time, it was Charlotte software developer NuTech Solutions doing the honors. The company tapped existing angel investors for another $2 million round.

Also, LocalTechWire is adding to the list this week smaller deals by iReadyWorld, Noverant and Coventor that closed in the first quarter and were recently included in the quarterly MoneyTree Survey figures.

The most notable of the three is the $650,000 raised by iReadyWorld of Charlotte. Company Vice President Anu Mantha says it is part of a $3.5 million round that likely will be closed in the next month or two.

The additions brings the North Carolina total for venture capital for the year to $108 million in 20 deals. By this time a year ago, the state had seen 26 deals for almost $130 million.

Here is LTW’s exclusive list of North Carolina venture deals, ranked according to the size of the investment:

Company; Sector; Amount (Round)

Investors: MacAndrews & Forbes (lead), Cephaton and Novo Nordisk A/S

2. Targacept, Winston-Salem; Biotech; $14 million (2nd)

Investors: Nomura International Healthcare Private Equity Group (lead), Bison Capital, Cogene Biotech Ventures, JAFCO, Oxford Bioscience Partners and Rock Castle Ventures

3. TranS1, Wilmington; Medical devices; $12 million (2nd)

Investors: Advanced Technology Ventures (lead), Cutlass Capital, Delphi Ventures and Sapient Capital

4. Arsenal Digital Solutions, Cary; IT services; $10.5 million (4th)

Investors: Covestco, Southeast Interactive Technology Funds and Southern Cross Capital

5. Ephinay, Charlotte; IT services; $10 million (1st)

Investors: Chrys Capital

6. StemCo Biomedical, Durham; Biotech; $9.8 million (2nd)

Investors: Aurora Funds (co-lead), Intersouth Partners (co-lead), BD Ventures, Tall Oaks Capital and Trelys Venture Partners

7. Venetica, Charlotte; Software; $7 million (1st)

Investors: Charles River Ventures and General Catalyst Partners

8. Oculan, Raleigh; Networking; $5 million (4th)

Investors: Soros Equity Partners

9. MediaSpan Group, Durham; IT services/software; $4.5 million (1st)

Investors: Covesco-Seteura, Rustic Canyon Group and Southeast Interactive Technology Funds

10. Relativity Technologies, Cary; Software; $2 million (4th)

Investors: Noro-Moseley Partners and Wakefield Group

10. AvidXchange, Charlotte; Software; $2 million (2nd)

Investors: Charlotte Angel Partners, Piedmont Angel Network and and individuals

10. NuTech Solutions, Charlotte; Software; $2 million (3rd)

Investors: Individuals

13. RSS Solutions, Greenville; Software; $1.6 million (1st)

Investors: EdgeStone Capital Partners

14. LiveWire Logic, Morrisville; Software; $1.5 million (3rd)

Investors: Gray Ventures and Research Triangle Ventures

14. Trinity Security, Charlotte; IT services; $1.5 million (1st)

Investors: Venture Capital Solutions

16. iReadyWorld, Charlotte; IT services; $650,000 (4th)

Investors: Total Technology Ventures

17. Metabolon Pharmaceuticals, Research Triangle Park; Biotech; $300,000 (Seed)

Investors: Aurora Funds

18. Noverant, Raleigh; Software; $266,000 (Seed)

Investors: Research Triangle Ventures and individuals

19. Coventor, Cary; Hardware; $250,000 (NA)

Investors: Undisclosed

20. StrikeIron, Raleigh; Software; $150,000 (Seed)

Investors: Aurora Funds