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LVL7 Systems Lands $15.8 Million Second Round
Morrisville-based LVL7 Systems, Inc. (www.lvl7.com), a networking software company, has secured $15.8 million in an oversubscribed, second round of funding. Carlyle Venture Partners, the venture arm of The Carlyle Group, led LVL7's most recent funding. The financing round included previous investors Gabriel Ventures Partners, H.I.G. Ventures and Research Triangle Ventures.

Company officials said they would use the funds to support the growth of its enterprise, access and metro merchant IP software business and to continue the development of software features to address new market opportunities. Since its September 2002 funding announcement, LVL7 has signed deals with several leading Ethernet silicon vendors.

LVL7 Systems has been a CED member since 2002.

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Raindrop Geomagic Acquires Cadmus Consulting
RTP-based Raindrop Geomagic (www.geomagic.com) has acquired Hungary-based Cadmus Consulting LLC, a company focused on new methods for computer-aided geometric design. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The acquisition of Cadmus extends Raindrop Geomagic's software reach beyond the replication of a physical product into the realm of surfaces commonly used in automotive body design and consumer products.

Cadmus will now operate as Geomagic Hungary. Engineers in the new subsidiary will become part of the Geomagic software development team and will provide technical support to European customers. Raindrop Geomagic provides patented geometric modeling software that automatically transforms products from their physical form to a digital model for faster development, greater accuracy and automated inspection.

Raindrop Geomagic has been a CED member since 2000.

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MCNC Launches Grid Computing Initiative
MCNC's Grid Computing & Networking Services company and the University of North Carolina Office of the President hosted the first North Carolina Grid Computing Forum on Oct. 28 and 29. The forum launched the North Carolina Grid Computing Initiative, a multi-year, multi-million dollar program to harness the power of grid computing. During the forum, a study was released estimating that grid computing will give a $10 billion economic boost to the state's economy through 2010, leading to an additional 24,000 jobs and $7.2 billion in personal income.

The North Carolina Grid Computing Initiative will include deployment of grid computing technology using the existing statewide network developed by MCNC and the UNC Office of the President. Officials at MCNC said grid computing is the next evolution of the Internet, providing users with unprecedented computing power, services and information no matter where the resources are located.

MCNC was also very involved in helping CED present the 13th annual InfoTech conference on Oct. 27. David Rizzo, MCNC's CEO and president, hosted and moderated a panel discussion at InfoTech on “Grids: The Next Big Thing.” In addition, MCNC Research & Development Institute was selected in a competitive review process to demonstrate two of its technologies at InfoTech: information retrieval in a grid computing environment, and wireless signal equalization.

MCNC is a CED member.

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Research Triangle Software Lands Clarkston Consulting as New Client
Cary-based Research Triangle Software (www.rtsz.com), a developer of portable memory devices with encryption technologies, announced that Durham-based Clarkston Consulting (www.clarkstonconsulting.com) will strategically deploy RTS' CryptoStick™ technology to increase the security of business-critical data. The CryptoStick™ is a powerful portable encryption device that is small enough to fit on a key chain. It comes with software that keeps files secure and additional software that allows for private Internet browsing, mobile email and file synchronization.

RTS displayed its CryptoStick™ and other encryption technology at CED's 13th annual InfoTech conference on Oct. 27. RTS received the People's Choice Award at InfoTech. Clarkston Consulting, a nationally recognized management and technology consulting firm, is using the CryptoStick™ to reduce the need for its employees to carry laptop computers. Clarkston received CED's Technology Services Company of the Year Award in August 2003.

Research Triangle Software has been a CED member since 1995.

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CEM, Synthematix Ink Strategic Agreement
Matthews-based CEM Corporation and RTP-based Synthematix Inc. have entered into a strategic alliance to co-develop a software platform based on Synthematix's Arthur Suite™ of reaction planning tools and CEM's ChemDriver™ reaction monitoring software for microwave-enhanced life science applications.

The software package will provide a combination of database, search engine, reaction design and instrument control package. This package will also be designed to function as electronic institutional memory for the chemistries developed within an organization over time. Synthematix is a client of RTP-based Maverick Marketing (www.maverickmarketing.com), a local communications firm that recently celebrated its second anniversary.

Synthematix has been a CED member since 2001.

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Events Update

November 5th — Success and Sagacity: A Spirited Conversation with Women Entrepreneurs
November 10th - 11th — Southeastern BIO Investor Conference 2003
November 13th — CED Information Session for Prospective Members
November 14th — CFO Roundtable
November 19th — CED Capital Connection Information Session
November 19th — Technology Forum - Outsourcing Strategies: Entrepreneurs Weigh Pros and Cons