Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Bay Area Tech Wire - May 17

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BAY AREA TECH WIRE -- May 17, 2017
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Sponsored By: Baird Global Technology Investment Banking
http://techservices.rwbaird.com/investment-banking/


o
Santa Clara-Based ServiceNow Acquires Qlue, Invests in BuildOnMe
o San Francisco-Based Mocana Raises $11 Million in New Funding Round
o
San Francisco-Based Dor Lands $3.8 Million in Seed Funding
o
ePlus Acquires Milpitas-Based OneCloud Consulting
o San Francisco-Based OpenInvest Raises $3.25 Million in Seed Funding
> Baird Commentary: How the IoT Revolution Is Driving Consolidation
o Briefly Noted:
Gravity Infosolutions, Art.com, Insignia Capital Group
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o Santa Clara-Based ServiceNow Acquires Qlue, Invests in BuildOnMe

Santa Clara, Calif. -- ServiceNow, the Santa Clara-based cloud computing giant, said on Wednesday it will acquire Indonesia's Qlue, a developer of virtual agent messaging tools that let users apply artificial intelligence to routine service desk conversations. Financial terms of the all-cash deal were not disclosed. Qlue's technology is designed to let virtual agents answer frequently asked questions such as "What is our policy in paternity leave?," requests such as "What's the status of my order?" and problem diagnostics such as "My internet connection is slow." ServiceNow plans to apply Qlue to assist in a range of service desks domains, spanning IT, HR and customer service and more. In addition, the company's investment arm, ServiceNow Ventures, has invested an unspecified amount in Virginia-based BuildOnMe, an early-stage company delivering artificial intelligence-enabled apps on its Now platform. BuildOnMe is the developer of BuildOnMe Bob, a human resources chatbot providing self-service support to employees. The tool addresses common questions and requests, allowing HR agents to focus on more complex tasks. For instance, when an employee types, "I just had a baby," it directs her to the company's maternity policy and benefits. It also can process requests for leave of absence and vacation, and can be adapted for use in IT service management. "Having greater intelligence to assist in managing HR requests and inquiries via a chatbot makes it easier and faster for employees to get what they need, when they need it," said Dominic Phillips, the vice president of ServiceNow Ventures. In addition, the company offers BuildOn Claims, an AI-infused claims management and customer portal for the insurance and legal industries.
https://www.servicenow.com/ 
https://www.qlue.ai/ 
https://buildon.me 
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170517005587/en/ServiceNow-Acquires-Qlue-Invests-BuildOnMe-Deliver-Intelligent 
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o San Francisco-Based Mocana Raises $11 Million in New Funding Round

San Francisco -- Mocana, a San Francisco-based developer of security tools for industrial control systems and the Internet of Things, said it has raised $11 million in a new round of funding. Sway Ventures, Shasta Ventures, Trident Capital Fund and GE Ventures took part in the round, which the company will use to continue development of its IoT security platform, designed to protect connected devices that comprise the industrial IoT market. The company, which now has raised $93.6 million since its inception in 2002, said its software currently protects more than 100 million IoT and industrial control devices. "Hackers are taking advantage of weak security in IoT devices and industrial control systems, and the pace and impact of cyber attacks is only increasing," said CEO William Diotte. "[Our platform] allows IoT devices of every size to defend themselves from cyber attacks by using military-grade cryptographic software installed on a chip, or flash memory embedded within a device."
http://www.mocana.com 
https://www.mocana.com/press-releases/mocana-raises-11-million-in-new-funding-to-revolutionize-iot-security-and-enable-iot-devices-to-defend-themselves-against-cyber-attacks 
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o San Francisco-Based Dor Lands $3.8 Million in Seed Funding

San Francisco -- Dor, the San Francisco-based developer of a foot traffic sensor and analytics platform for retailers, said on Wednesday it has raised $3.8 million in a new round of seed funding, co-led by Zetta Venture Partners and Vertex Ventures. Dor's platform uses thermal sensing technology combined with machine learning algorithms to provide retailers with insights about customer traffic, helping them optimize staffing, improve marketing and increase conversion. The platform, which initially costs under $200 and doesn't require professional installation or Wi-Fi, also incorporates real-time weather data to help retailers better understand how that affects traffic to their stores. "This ease of use also opens up new markets, allowing customers to use Dor to optimize commercial building maintenance, measure space utilization and for security," said Ash Fontana, managing director at Zetta.
https://www.getdor.com/ 
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170517005213/en/Dor-Retail-Traffic-Analytics-Launches-3.8-Million
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o ePlus Acquires Milpitas-Based OneCloud Consulting

Milpitas, Calif. -- ePlus, a Virginia-based provider of information technology services, said it will acquire Milpitas-based OneCloud Consulting, a provider of cloud and application strategy and software development services. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. ePlus said the acquisition will expand its ability to address clients' needs in cloud-based technology and infrastructure. "The acquisition will provide ePlus with the ability to expand OneCloud's services, including DevOps, OpenStack and other emerging technologies, to our broad client base," said CEO Mark Marron. OneCloud specializes in cloud and software-defined infrastructure services, software development and technical training. The company maintains significant operations in India, as well as offices in the U.K., UAE, Singapore and Australia.
http://www.eplus.com/ 
http://1-cloud.net/ 
http://www.eplus.com/company/press-releases/details/2017/05/16/eplus-to-acquire-onecloud-consulting 
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o San Francisco-Based OpenInvest Raises $3.25 Million in Seed Funding

San Francisco -- OpenInvest, the San Francisco-based developer of a social impact investing platform for retail investors, said it has landed $3.25 million in a new round of seed funding, led by Andreessen Horowitz. Abstract Ventures, Wireframe Ventures and SV2 also took part in the round, which the company will use to fuel hiring, bolster product development and accelerate customer growth. Incubated at Y Combinator, OpenInvest has created a platform that allows users to align their investments with their personal values, avoiding companies that share different stances on, for instance, gender equality, deforestation or President Trump. "We launched OpenInvest last September and experienced explosive growth in the wake of the presidential election and increased social activism," said CEO Conor Murray. "We are building a new class of 'activist-passive' investors, who can use OpenInvest's proprietary tools to easily divest-invest based on their passions and values."
http://www.openinvest.co
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/openinvest-secures-325-million-in-seed-funding-to-make-investing-a-force-for-corporate-engagement-and-social-change-round-led-by-andreessen-horowitz-300458080.html
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Baird Commentary: How the IoT Revolution Is Driving Consolidation

In a recent commentary on the ever-evolving Internet of Things (IoT) revolution, Baird's senior technology bankers discuss how the proliferation of IoT-enabled software and services and ongoing industry consolidation.

Today's sophisticated IoT software and systems not only connect disparate devices, they collect, verify and cleanse data -- diminishing the long-time challenge of cutting through "noise" inherent to data aggregation and facilitating in-depth analysis and application of the collected information into actionable intelligence. This IoT revolution is quickly catching up to its hype by transforming businesses across many sectors. The value of IoT technology has become imperative, and growing demand is fueling tremendous acquisition interest from a diverse range of buyers, pushing competition higher and accelerating consolidation in the space.

Read Baird's insights into this rapidly evolving space and the related M&A activity:

http://www.rwbaird.com/news/Unlocking-Intelligence 

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o Briefly Noted:

(San Jose, Calif.) India-based cloud technology company Gravity Infosolutions said it has opened its first U.S. office in San Jose, where it will house its Salesforce Center of Excellence. The company said it plans to gradually expand in the U.S., as well as open new facilities in the U.K. and Australia.
http://www.gravityinfosolutions.com
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170516006286/en/Gravity-Infosolutions-Expands-Operations-USA 

(Emeryville, Calif.) Emeryville-based Art.com, operator of an online destination for discovering and purchasing art, has named Wan Agus as its senior vice president of engineering. Agus most recently served as the vice president of engineering and director of development at Macys.com.
http://www.art.com/ 
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/artcom-hires-wan-agus-as-senior-vice-president-of-engineering-300458002.html

(Walnut Creek, Calif.) Walnut Creek-based Insignia Capital Group, a private equity firm focused on lower middle-market companies, said on Wednesday it has promoted Tiffany Obenchain to managing director. Obenchain has been with the firm since 2014, responsible for deal origination, evaluation and execution. She previously held roles at Lake Capital and HarbourVest Partners.
http://insigniacap.com 
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/insignia-capital-group-promotes-tiffany-obenchain-to-managing-director-300459068.html 

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> Baird Commentary: How the IoT Revolution Is Driving Consolidation

In a recent commentary on the ever-evolving Internet of Things (IoT) revolution, Baird's senior technology bankers discuss how the proliferation of IoT-enabled software and services and ongoing industry consolidation. Today's sophisticated IoT software and systems not only connect disparate devices, they collect, verify and cleanse data -- diminishing the long-time challenge of cutting through "noise" inherent to data aggregation and facilitating in-depth analysis and application of the collected information into actionable intelligence. This IoT revolution is quickly catching up to its hype by transforming businesses across many sectors. The value of IoT technology has become imperative, and growing demand is fueling tremendous acquisition interest from a diverse range of buyers, pushing competition higher and accelerating consolidation in the space. Read Baird's insights into this rapidly evolving space and the related M&A activity: http://www.rwbaird.com/news/Unlocking-Intelligence 

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