Second quarter VC deal spending is up
The first couple rounds of venture capital deal data are in for the second quarter of 2015. Mattermark reports $17.1 billion invested for the quarter over a total of 1,024 deals. That's a 14% increase in total venture dollars invested compared to Q2 2014. The DC area's share of that was $240 million over 31 deals. Meanwhile, Dow Jones VentureSource reported a higher national figure, $19.2 billion in venture capital invested for the quarter. Here's a link to download the full Mattermark report. NVCA data are expected out tomorrow and CB Insights next week. --Galen Moore
Uber Faces Fine, Potential Suspension in California
A California judge ruled that Uber has failed to comply with state laws and will face suspension of its license to operate in California and up to $7.3 million in fines if it refuses to acquiesce within 30 days. According to the ruling, by refusing to give the California Public Utilities Commission operational data regarding requests for accessibility, Uber’s subsidiary Raiser-CA failed to meet the regulations of the 2013 law that legalized ride-hailing services in the state. Uber maintains that it did provide the required information, but that the CPUC then asked for more info that would compromise the privacy of Uber customers. Read more about the ruling at Techcrunch.
Arlington Capital Partners Acquires Avalign Technologies Holdings
Arlington Capital Partners, the D.C.-based private equity firm, has acquired Avalign Technologies Holdings, Inc. from Roundtable Healthcare Partners. Avalign, based in Lake Forest, Illinois, is a precision manufacturer of implants and instruments for the orthopedic medical device and specialty surgical market. Read the entire press release here.
Former Millennial Media CFO Michael Avon Joins ABS Capital as Venture Partner
Baltimore, Md.-based ABS Capital, a later-stage growth company investor, announced today that it was bringing on Michael Avon as a Venture Partner. Previously the CFO and Executive Vice President of Millennial Media, Avon led all "corporate development, strategy, business development, finance, legal and administrative functions and was also actively involved in company operations, marketing and global expansion efforts." - Chris Bing
New report tells Congress how to fight revenge porn
Congress should commit itself to putting an end to revenge porn, according to a report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. Right now there is very limited recourse for victims, as John Oliver memorably explored, and Congress should do what it can to change that, ITIF said. It described legislation that would work to end the practice and how the FBI and Justice Department could work to help stop it from happening. Check out the full report here.
How startups can find new homes
Startups coming out of incubators—that aren't ready for long-term leases or big spaces—didn't have many options until recently. Now, platforms like HiRise and Kinglet can help them navigate to commercial real estate offers that fit the middle-ground needs that many startups have. They also help landlords get tenants for space that is normally too much of a hassle to lease out to any company that isn't already huge. These platforms open up a whole new arena for startups and small businesses looking to grow, especially in D.C. Check out the whole story here.
Google is slow to forget anyone
Looks like Google is moving kind of slowly on its "right to be forgotten" requests, with less than 46 percent of the requests filed by people hoping to get removed from the databases fulfilled. It doesn't look good for Google to be slow-walking the requests, but is there anything that can be done about it? For more, check out Chris Bing's coverage here.
Netflix finds a cable merger it likes
Netflix has never been particularly supportive of major cable company mergers, but it's throwing its support to the proposed merger of Charter Communications and Time Warner Cable. It was against Comcast merging with TWC, but Charter's policies, especially on interconnection, seem to have changed its mind. But is that enough for Netflix to change its tune on mergers like this? Read more about Netflix's reasons in its FCC filing here.
