Where The Deals Are Done
Gone are the days of smoke-filled backroom deals over jumbo-sized brandy snifters. Ann Arbor's investors and entrepreneurs tend to do business over a downtown omelette and espresso or microbrew and appetizer.
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Latest in Investment
Accuri Cytometers takes in $15 million in VC, expects to hire 88
Venture capital is almost always a good thing. In the case of Ann Arbor's Accuri Cytometers, it's good to the tune of $15 million in cash and 88 new jobs. That $15 million was recently topped with $1.9 million from Michigan's 21st Century Jobs Fund. All of that money is expected to nearly quadruple the three year-old biotechnology firm's employee base of 32 people. And the company hopes to grow its manufacturing facility in Ann Arbor soon.Accuri Cytometers specializes in making the cytomer systems that measure T-cell counts (among other things), which is an instrumental tool in tracking and treating diseases like AIDS and cancer. It is a research field with lots of room to grow in both the near and long term.The University of Michigan spin-off is shipping instruments to its first customers in the U.S., and anticipates $3.5 million in sales this year. Revenues are expected to grow to $42 million in 2010. Its annual addressable market potential is somewhere between $363 million and $625 million.Source: Michigan Economic Development CorporationWriter: Jon Zemke
NeuroNexus Technologies lands VC money, looking to hire 7
NeuroNexus Technologies' products may look to get into people's brains but the Ann Arbor-based start-up is definitely in its investors' heads. The firm has just lined up $2 million in venture capital, including $1 million from Michigan's 21st Century Jobs Fund. The investment is expected to expand the company's employee base from 16 to 23 within the next few years. NeuroNexus designs state-of-the-art microscale neural interface products for research and clinical treatment of chronic neurological disorders. That's fancy prospectus talk for a company that creates technology that can monitor brain function and stimulate neurological functions. It can also be used to deliver treatments.The 4-year-old company is now self-sustaining and experiencing high growth. Well, growth fast enough to go from three unpaid personnel to a staff of 17 today. The company's revenues doubled between 2005 and 2007, and it is expected to double again this year.NeuroNexus is focusing its growth on four areas – research products, clinical products, engineering and manufacturing and innovation and IP development. Source: Michigan Economic Development CorporationWriter: Jon Zemke
J.S. Vig Construction opens sustainability think tank in Ann Arbor
People don't usually associate phrases like "construction company" and "think tank," but they might start now that J.S. Vig Construction Company is opening a green building think tank in Ann Arbor later this month.The Taylor-based firm is dubbing it Project Green and will use the think tank to expand its sustainable construction practice. For now that will mean five new jobs in Ann Arbor and some more occupied office space at 157 E. Hoover.The office will build a resource library devoted to sustainable construction and provide a meeting place for company officials to expand their ideas on green building. It will also serve as a launching pad for them to take on more business farther from their Taylor home."We do a lot of work in the Ann Arbor area and out-of-state," says Valerie Vig, chief operating officer with J.S. Vig Construction Company.The site will also advocate for more LEED certified buildings and showcase sustainable construction techniques and products to local customers and architects. The company plans to have all of its project managers LEED accredited by the spring.J.S. Vig has more than a couple green stripes on its resume, including the new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s state-of-the-art Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory and the new Foley Mansfield building in Ferndale. Source: Valerie Vig, chief operating officer with J.S. Vig Construction CompanyWriter: Jon Zemke
Arbor Photonics lands $3 million investment, plans to create 136 jobs
Arbor Photonics is making the most of its $3 million infusion, laying out plans to create 136 new jobs within the next few years. The Ann Arbor-based firm recently received $1.5 million from Michigan's 21st Century Jobs Fund. That money will complement another $1.5 million from private investors. The 136 new jobs will be quite the jump in employment for the University of Michigan spin-off. As of today only two people work at the start-up. U-M Prof. Almantas Galvanuaskas invented a new way to dramatically improve fiber lasers. Arbor Photonics was created last year to commercialize this technology. The technology is an optical fiber structure called Chirally-Coupled Core Fiber or 3C fiber. The 3C fiber significantly improves the performance of fiber lasers in industrial manufacturing, a $2 billion market that grows about 14 percent annually on average. About $400,000 in venture capital was invested in the Arbor Photonics last fall. That money allowed the company to hire a CEO and director of business development and recruit other key personnel. The plan is to hit $50 million in sales within the next six years. The company hopes to expand its employee base to 136 by 2014. But for now Arbor Photonics plans to invest the $3 million it just received into further product development over the next year. Source: Michigan Economic Development Corporation Writer: Jon Zemke
Johnson & Johnson was lead suitor of HealthMedia for months
The newest owner of HealthMedia, Johnson & Johnson, has been trying to make a play for the Ann Arbor start-up for a while now. Excerpt: Johnson & Johnson was among the companies pursuing HealthMedia Inc. even before the Ann Arbor business quietly put itself on the market in January, president Ted Dacko said Tuesday. HealthMedia got as many as two calls a week last year from investors and potential buyers interested in the online health coaching firm - including Johnson & Johnson, Dacko said. But he, founder Victor Strecher and HealthMedia's board of directors weren't interested in selling then. But the calls became so persistent that they hired an investment banking company to explore a possible sale earlier this year. By July, Johnson & Johnson - a customer since 2003 - was HealthMedia's lead suitor. And interest from Johnson & Johnson appears tied to the company's desire to create a new health wellness and prevention business. Read the rest of the story here.
Coherix capitalizes on Volvo investment, to increase staff by 20-30 percent
Sports clichés are, well, cliché when it comes to business, but they are also the philosophies that keep Coherix going strong in Ann Arbor."This is our sport," says Dwight Carlson, chairman and CEO of Coherix. "Everyday we get up for this and no two days are the same."Or two markets for that matter. The high-tech firm that helps improve engine efficiency is opening up new markets all around the world. Coherix has successfully expanded its operations into Asia in recent years and is making plans for a similar move into India's markets.But the big news is how Volvo Technology Transfer has made a big investment into Coherix so the Ann Arbor firm can set up shop in Sweden and take advantage of European markets.This represents the latest growth spurt for the company. It started with five people in 2003. Today is employs 45 people and another 10 independent contractors and the occasional intern. It expects to increase its employment by another 20-30 percent within the next year."We have too much momentum to be in a holding pattern," Carlson says.Coherix develops high-tech systems to improve engine-manufacturing quality. It uses high-tech optical-based measurement and inspection products to find efficiencies in the automotive and semiconductor industries You can see a video example of their work here.Source: Dwight Carlson, chairman and CEO of CoherixWriter: Jon Zemke
Nephrion adds 6 people, plans to repeat next year
An unsuccessful company isn’t necessarily a failed one. Take the example of Nephrion.The Ann Arbor-based start-up was founded from intellectual property that once belonged to another start-up. Both companies were founded by Dr. H. David Humes, a professor of Internal Medicine at University of Michigan and a serial entrepreneur.Nephrion took some of the intellectual property from the first company and combined it another IP and brought in three people looking to make something from nothing. That something is a firm that employs nine people and an intern. It's just received $2 million from Michigan's 21st Century Jobs Fund on top of another $2 million in venture capital. It expects to eventually create 200 jobs with the investment with nearly 10 positions created within the next year.Nephrion develops proprietary medical devices designed to treat several large unmet medical needs such as End Stage Renal Disease, Acute Renal Failure, Cardio-Pulmonary Bypass Surgery, Sepsis and other inflammatory conditions. The $4 million will help fund clinical trails on the devices, which are expected to be commercialized in 2010-11."We will use external resources," says Clint Dederick, chairman and CEO of Nephrion. In the mean time the company is focusing on clinical trails and raising capital. It has already raised approximately $3 million from four prominent Mid-Western venture funds.Source: Clint Dederick, chairman and CEO of NephrionWriter: Jon Zemke
Fletcher Spaght Ventures receives investment from Venture Michigan Fund
Fletcher Spaght Ventures recently hit its goal of raising $100 million for its latest venture capital fund after the Venture Michigan Fund made a commitment to help support it.Fletcher Spaght is a venture capital fund that invests in promising start-ups in the technology and healthcare sectors. The firm has a nationwide focus but also recently opened up an office in Ann Arbor to oversee its Michigan investment strategy. Frank Legacki will head up the office. Legacki is a veteran entrepreneur who served as a senior executive at healthcare software service provider Rosebud Solutions, until its sale to McKesson. Fletcher Spaght is 7 years old and is managed by John Fletcher, Peary Spaght, and Linda Tufts. Those three individuals have been consulting in the technology and healthcare industries for more than 25 years.The Venture Michigan Fund has made several other investments into VC firms with a significant portfolio of Michigan-based companies. Some of the venture capital firms include Chrysalis Ventures, Nth Power, RPM Ventures, Venture Investors and North Coast Technology Ventures. So far about 60 percent, or $95 million, of the Venture Michigan Fund has been distributed.These companies have invested $14.3 million in 10 Michigan-based firms. These investments have produced 125 new jobs and are expected to create more as the firms grow.Source: Venture Michigan FundWriter: Jon Zemke
HealthMedia becomes part of Johnson & Johnson, plans to stay in Ann Arbor
It's gone but it's staying. That's the situation with HealthMedia. Gone is the old private company. Staying is the Ann Arbor-based firm that is now a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.The corporate behemoth acquired Health Media Monday for an undisclosed amount to create a wellness and prevention business platform. HealthMedia and its 140 employees (most of which are stakeholders in the firm) expect to stay and grow in Ann Arbor for the foreseeable future."We think this is an important space for HealthMedia," says Susan Odenthal, a spokeswoman for Johnson & Johnson. "We expect it will continue to grow as it has grown in the past."The company, born from 30-plus years of behavioral science research at the University of Michigan, has grown to 140 employees. It has added 10 in the last few months alone. Of those more than 100 of them are based out of Tree Town. HealthMedia helps health plan providers save time and money using scalable behavior change interventions through the Internet. The firm uses its technology and behavioral science to deliver individually tailored behavior change suggestions and programs. The net result has been increased medical compliance and productivity while reducing medical utilization, which, of course, increases profitability for health plans and employers. Johnson & Johnson has been a client of HealthMedia for years before the acquisition. Source: Susan Odenthal, spokeswoman for Johnson & Johnson and Caren Kenney, a spokeswoman for HealthMediaWriter: Jon Zemke
Accuri Cytometers takes in $15 million in VC, expects to hire 88
Venture capital is almost always a good thing. In the case of Ann Arbor's Accuri Cytometers, it's good to the tune of $15 million in cash and 88 new jobs. That $15 million was recently topped with $1.9 million from Michigan's 21st Century Jobs Fund. All of that money is expected to nearly quadruple the three year-old biotechnology firm's employee base of 32 people. And the company hopes to grow its manufacturing facility in Ann Arbor soon.Accuri Cytometers specializes in making the cytomer systems that measure T-cell counts (among other things), which is an instrumental tool in tracking and treating diseases like AIDS and cancer. It is a research field with lots of room to grow in both the near and long term.The University of Michigan spin-off is shipping instruments to its first customers in the U.S., and anticipates $3.5 million in sales this year. Revenues are expected to grow to $42 million in 2010. Its annual addressable market potential is somewhere between $363 million and $625 million.Source: Michigan Economic Development CorporationWriter: Jon Zemke
NeuroNexus Technologies lands VC money, looking to hire 7
NeuroNexus Technologies' products may look to get into people's brains but the Ann Arbor-based start-up is definitely in its investors' heads. The firm has just lined up $2 million in venture capital, including $1 million from Michigan's 21st Century Jobs Fund. The investment is expected to expand the company's employee base from 16 to 23 within the next few years. NeuroNexus designs state-of-the-art microscale neural interface products for research and clinical treatment of chronic neurological disorders. That's fancy prospectus talk for a company that creates technology that can monitor brain function and stimulate neurological functions. It can also be used to deliver treatments.The 4-year-old company is now self-sustaining and experiencing high growth. Well, growth fast enough to go from three unpaid personnel to a staff of 17 today. The company's revenues doubled between 2005 and 2007, and it is expected to double again this year.NeuroNexus is focusing its growth on four areas – research products, clinical products, engineering and manufacturing and innovation and IP development. Source: Michigan Economic Development CorporationWriter: Jon Zemke
J.S. Vig Construction opens sustainability think tank in Ann Arbor
People don't usually associate phrases like "construction company" and "think tank," but they might start now that J.S. Vig Construction Company is opening a green building think tank in Ann Arbor later this month.The Taylor-based firm is dubbing it Project Green and will use the think tank to expand its sustainable construction practice. For now that will mean five new jobs in Ann Arbor and some more occupied office space at 157 E. Hoover.The office will build a resource library devoted to sustainable construction and provide a meeting place for company officials to expand their ideas on green building. It will also serve as a launching pad for them to take on more business farther from their Taylor home."We do a lot of work in the Ann Arbor area and out-of-state," says Valerie Vig, chief operating officer with J.S. Vig Construction Company.The site will also advocate for more LEED certified buildings and showcase sustainable construction techniques and products to local customers and architects. The company plans to have all of its project managers LEED accredited by the spring.J.S. Vig has more than a couple green stripes on its resume, including the new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s state-of-the-art Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory and the new Foley Mansfield building in Ferndale. Source: Valerie Vig, chief operating officer with J.S. Vig Construction CompanyWriter: Jon Zemke
Arbor Photonics lands $3 million investment, plans to create 136 jobs
Arbor Photonics is making the most of its $3 million infusion, laying out plans to create 136 new jobs within the next few years. The Ann Arbor-based firm recently received $1.5 million from Michigan's 21st Century Jobs Fund. That money will complement another $1.5 million from private investors. The 136 new jobs will be quite the jump in employment for the University of Michigan spin-off. As of today only two people work at the start-up. U-M Prof. Almantas Galvanuaskas invented a new way to dramatically improve fiber lasers. Arbor Photonics was created last year to commercialize this technology. The technology is an optical fiber structure called Chirally-Coupled Core Fiber or 3C fiber. The 3C fiber significantly improves the performance of fiber lasers in industrial manufacturing, a $2 billion market that grows about 14 percent annually on average. About $400,000 in venture capital was invested in the Arbor Photonics last fall. That money allowed the company to hire a CEO and director of business development and recruit other key personnel. The plan is to hit $50 million in sales within the next six years. The company hopes to expand its employee base to 136 by 2014. But for now Arbor Photonics plans to invest the $3 million it just received into further product development over the next year. Source: Michigan Economic Development Corporation Writer: Jon Zemke
Johnson & Johnson was lead suitor of HealthMedia for months
The newest owner of HealthMedia, Johnson & Johnson, has been trying to make a play for the Ann Arbor start-up for a while now. Excerpt: Johnson & Johnson was among the companies pursuing HealthMedia Inc. even before the Ann Arbor business quietly put itself on the market in January, president Ted Dacko said Tuesday. HealthMedia got as many as two calls a week last year from investors and potential buyers interested in the online health coaching firm - including Johnson & Johnson, Dacko said. But he, founder Victor Strecher and HealthMedia's board of directors weren't interested in selling then. But the calls became so persistent that they hired an investment banking company to explore a possible sale earlier this year. By July, Johnson & Johnson - a customer since 2003 - was HealthMedia's lead suitor. And interest from Johnson & Johnson appears tied to the company's desire to create a new health wellness and prevention business. Read the rest of the story here.
Coherix capitalizes on Volvo investment, to increase staff by 20-30 percent
Sports clichés are, well, cliché when it comes to business, but they are also the philosophies that keep Coherix going strong in Ann Arbor."This is our sport," says Dwight Carlson, chairman and CEO of Coherix. "Everyday we get up for this and no two days are the same."Or two markets for that matter. The high-tech firm that helps improve engine efficiency is opening up new markets all around the world. Coherix has successfully expanded its operations into Asia in recent years and is making plans for a similar move into India's markets.But the big news is how Volvo Technology Transfer has made a big investment into Coherix so the Ann Arbor firm can set up shop in Sweden and take advantage of European markets.This represents the latest growth spurt for the company. It started with five people in 2003. Today is employs 45 people and another 10 independent contractors and the occasional intern. It expects to increase its employment by another 20-30 percent within the next year."We have too much momentum to be in a holding pattern," Carlson says.Coherix develops high-tech systems to improve engine-manufacturing quality. It uses high-tech optical-based measurement and inspection products to find efficiencies in the automotive and semiconductor industries You can see a video example of their work here.Source: Dwight Carlson, chairman and CEO of CoherixWriter: Jon Zemke
Nephrion adds 6 people, plans to repeat next year
An unsuccessful company isn’t necessarily a failed one. Take the example of Nephrion.The Ann Arbor-based start-up was founded from intellectual property that once belonged to another start-up. Both companies were founded by Dr. H. David Humes, a professor of Internal Medicine at University of Michigan and a serial entrepreneur.Nephrion took some of the intellectual property from the first company and combined it another IP and brought in three people looking to make something from nothing. That something is a firm that employs nine people and an intern. It's just received $2 million from Michigan's 21st Century Jobs Fund on top of another $2 million in venture capital. It expects to eventually create 200 jobs with the investment with nearly 10 positions created within the next year.Nephrion develops proprietary medical devices designed to treat several large unmet medical needs such as End Stage Renal Disease, Acute Renal Failure, Cardio-Pulmonary Bypass Surgery, Sepsis and other inflammatory conditions. The $4 million will help fund clinical trails on the devices, which are expected to be commercialized in 2010-11."We will use external resources," says Clint Dederick, chairman and CEO of Nephrion. In the mean time the company is focusing on clinical trails and raising capital. It has already raised approximately $3 million from four prominent Mid-Western venture funds.Source: Clint Dederick, chairman and CEO of NephrionWriter: Jon Zemke
Fletcher Spaght Ventures receives investment from Venture Michigan Fund
Fletcher Spaght Ventures recently hit its goal of raising $100 million for its latest venture capital fund after the Venture Michigan Fund made a commitment to help support it.Fletcher Spaght is a venture capital fund that invests in promising start-ups in the technology and healthcare sectors. The firm has a nationwide focus but also recently opened up an office in Ann Arbor to oversee its Michigan investment strategy. Frank Legacki will head up the office. Legacki is a veteran entrepreneur who served as a senior executive at healthcare software service provider Rosebud Solutions, until its sale to McKesson. Fletcher Spaght is 7 years old and is managed by John Fletcher, Peary Spaght, and Linda Tufts. Those three individuals have been consulting in the technology and healthcare industries for more than 25 years.The Venture Michigan Fund has made several other investments into VC firms with a significant portfolio of Michigan-based companies. Some of the venture capital firms include Chrysalis Ventures, Nth Power, RPM Ventures, Venture Investors and North Coast Technology Ventures. So far about 60 percent, or $95 million, of the Venture Michigan Fund has been distributed.These companies have invested $14.3 million in 10 Michigan-based firms. These investments have produced 125 new jobs and are expected to create more as the firms grow.Source: Venture Michigan FundWriter: Jon Zemke
HealthMedia becomes part of Johnson & Johnson, plans to stay in Ann Arbor
It's gone but it's staying. That's the situation with HealthMedia. Gone is the old private company. Staying is the Ann Arbor-based firm that is now a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.The corporate behemoth acquired Health Media Monday for an undisclosed amount to create a wellness and prevention business platform. HealthMedia and its 140 employees (most of which are stakeholders in the firm) expect to stay and grow in Ann Arbor for the foreseeable future."We think this is an important space for HealthMedia," says Susan Odenthal, a spokeswoman for Johnson & Johnson. "We expect it will continue to grow as it has grown in the past."The company, born from 30-plus years of behavioral science research at the University of Michigan, has grown to 140 employees. It has added 10 in the last few months alone. Of those more than 100 of them are based out of Tree Town. HealthMedia helps health plan providers save time and money using scalable behavior change interventions through the Internet. The firm uses its technology and behavioral science to deliver individually tailored behavior change suggestions and programs. The net result has been increased medical compliance and productivity while reducing medical utilization, which, of course, increases profitability for health plans and employers. Johnson & Johnson has been a client of HealthMedia for years before the acquisition. Source: Susan Odenthal, spokeswoman for Johnson & Johnson and Caren Kenney, a spokeswoman for HealthMediaWriter: Jon Zemke
