Active Research Receives $5 Million in Investment Led by Aspen Ventures & Red Rock Ventures.SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 28, 1999-- Active Research, Inc., the first provider of Web-based Market Research Automation services, today announced that it had secured $5 million in a financing round led by Aspen Ventures and Red Rock Ventures. Thad Whalen and Peter Dumanian, general partners at Aspen and Red Rock respectively, have joined the company's board and are actively involved in the company. Peter Dumanian explains, "We were impressed by how much Active was able to accomplish with its seed funding Seed funding is investing capital to begin a new project, so that it has enough funds to sustain itself for a period of development until it reaches either a state where it is able to continue funding itself, or has created something in value so that it is worthy of future rounds . The company has attracted a solid management team with a combined 80 years of experience in market research and information services See Information Systems. . It developed and launched two services, lined up an extensive list of name-brand partners, and demonstrated the ability to scale. We are confident that Active Research will expand to a dominant position in the online infomediary (INFOrmation interMEDIARY) An information provider that gathers content from several sources and functions as a data aggregator for a target audience. space." The company provides two Web-based application services. The first, Active Buyer's Guide (www.activebuyersguide.com), is a complete, unbiased product recommendation service for consumers. ABG ABG abbr. arterial blood gas ABG 1. Arterial blood gas 2. Axiobuccogingival–dentistry is currently co-branded on more than 20 sites across the Web, including Lycos (Nasdaq: LCOS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) A technology used to make microdisplays for rear-projection TVs and head-mounted displays (HMDs). Each LCoS chip hosts a grayscale LCD shutter sandwiched between a cover glass and a mirror. ) and covers 25 product categories across consumer electronics, appliances, and computer products. The second, Active Research Advisor, is the first market research automation service for product manufacturers and retailers and was introduced on stage at DEMO 99. Early versions are being adopted by industry leaders to track, analyze, and forecast their markets continuously in real-time. "The potential for this business is huge," asserts Thad Whalen. "By sitting between buyers and sellers online, Active Research is an infomediary that makes e-commerce significantly more efficient. We believe that Active Research is going to radically transform the way businesses track their markets. Its vision of 'market insight in minutes not months' will become a widely adopted reality, and has already begun generating strong industry buzz." Tom Dubois, Active Research CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. , observes, "From several interested investors, we selected Red Rock and Aspen as our investors because each offered unique benefits to the company. The partners have experience with market intelligence and strong relationships in our key markets." Aspen Ventures has funded promising Internet startup companies such as Instill in·still v. To pour in drop by drop. in  stil·la tion n. Corporation and StarVox. Red Rock Ventures has invested in early-stage companies, including Digital Market, Plumtree Software and SupplyBase. The two firms join the company's initial investment group, which include senior executives from Electronic Arts, Electronic Data Systems, and Charles Schwab, among other CEO investors. About Aspen Ventures Aspen Ventures is a venture capital firm investing in early-stage information technology companies in the Western United States Noun 1. western United States - the region of the United States lying to the west of the Mississippi River West Santa Fe Trail - a trail that extends from Missouri to New Mexico; an important route for settlers moving west in the 19th century . Formed in 1991, Aspen has $90 million under management and offices in Silicon Valley and Southern California. For further information, visit Aspen's World Wide Web site at www.aspenventures.com. About Red Rock Ventures Red Rock is an early stage venture capital firm focused on e-commerce and enterprise software. Founded in 1997, Red Rock has $125 million under management and is located in Palo Alto, California “Palo Alto” redirects here. For other uses, see Palo Alto (disambiguation). Palo Alto (IPA: /ˌpæloʊˈʔæltoʊ/, from Spanish: palo: "stick" and alto: "high", i.e. . For further information, visit Red Rock's World Wide Web site at www.redrockventures.com. About Active Research Active Research Inc. (ARI ARI Acute respiratory infection, see there ) is a provider of electronic commerce services that wire buyers and sellers together. The company's services help consumers to find the ideal products to buy, and manufacturers to determine the ideal products to sell. Market Research Automation (MRA MRA Medical Record Administrator. MRA Magnetic resonance angiography, see MR angiography ) measures the electronic transactions between these communities. MRA comprises a new class of continuous market intelligence services that provide manufacturers and retailers with more timely and relevant insight into the marketplace. Active Research's MRA services enable vendors to continuously anticipate the needs of their consumers, make smarter product decisions, and slash time-to-market. Started in December 1997, the company is based in San Francisco and on the Web at www.activeresearch.com. Active Research Advisor and Active Buyer's Guide are registered trademarks of Active Research Inc. All other products and services mentioned may be trademarks of their respective companies. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion