Dear Members,

Please find below the March Newsletter. If you would like to post any articles that will be of interest to SV members or information about your company, please email it to us.

Best regards,
Gadi Behar
Managing Director

Closing Round

Spectros, develops and markets advanced detection & imaging systems for medical applications, planning to close second round in a few weeks. Spectros recently received FDA approval and seeking $1MM bridge to drive efficacy studies in second and third markets. Funds will be applied to completing multi-center economic trials, AAA product launch, clinical feasibility trials and building a sales and marketing team. A few months ago Silicom members invested in the company and are investing in this round as well. For the one page overview please click here. If you are interested in learning more about this investment opportunity, please send email to [email protected]

Companies under Due Diligence

Aerielle offers technology and products for the wireless audio market. The company claims they had over $7M in sales in 04 and predict $12M in 05. Major industry leaders that use their technology include iRiver, Delphi (XM Radio), Kensington (iPod), and Mito corp. Aerielle stated that they are under negotiations with Sandisk, Philips, and Creative-Labs. For the executive summary pls click here. If you are interested in this investment opportunity please contact [email protected]

NanoOr, developed new technology for improved metrology in wafer inspection. There was an initial interest from some members, primarily from those familiar with the technology. A few members in the group have been working to identify the potential for the technology and drafted a term sheet to be submitted to the company. For the one page overview of NanoOr please click here. If you would like further information please contact [email protected]

New Investments

SkyVenture, a state-of-the-art skydiving wind tunnel designed for the general public, received funding from a few Silicom Ventures members and from other sources. The company is looking for additional $400K to close a $4M round A. They are offering preferred units to investors in a franchise like model to minimize the risk to investors and still offer excellent returns.
If you are interested in learning more about this investment opportunity please contact [email protected]

Portfolio Updates

Chakshu Research, the CEO Amit Goswamy reported that the company has had a positive discussion with the FDA. Based on that, Chakshu has initiated pre-clinical studies which are scheduled for completion in May, 2005. They will form the basis of the Investigational New Drug (IND) application in June 2005. Assuming a satisfactory outcome, the FDA has also recommended that Chakshu plan for a combined Phase 1 and 2 human trial. These trials are expected to commence in 4Q/2005 and will be jointly conducted in USA and India. The company is looking to raise $10M round. For more information please contact us.

Past Presenting Companies

Circumnav Networks, provide optimized yet cost-effective roadway route information based on dynamic traffic condition, made some great progress since they participated in Silicom Ventures annual party last October. The company have their first wi-fi access point deployed out on highway 101 in Santa Clara in conjunction with Caltrans. They also have a launch program established with one of the largest consumer electronics retailers in the country for initial distribution. They have also secured the next tranche of funding from Skymoon Ventures. To read more, please visit www.circumnavnetworks.com

MetaPass, Inc. sells an advanced Enterprise Single-Sign-On software, allowing employees to log onto their secure systems (websites, applications, terminals) from anywhere without typing passwords. MetaPass partners with strong authentication device companies (USB tokens, fingerprint readers, smart cards...) and has over 200 corporate customers. The company is currently raising funding to keep up with its growth. For more information about MetaPass please visit www.metapass.com

Welcome to three new Advisory Board Members

Sheldon Breiner is a principal in New Ventures West, a sole proprietorship used as his personal high tech business incubator. He received a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D., all in Geophysics, from Stanford University. For more about Sheldon please click here. On February 24th Sheldon was a keynote speaker at Michelle Rose's house and shared with us his adventures as the Indiana Jones of Silicon Valley. For the article please click here.

Norm Sokoloff is currently the Chairman of Investment Screening of Tenex Medical, Inc., a pure life science angel network. Dr. Sokoloff is a Venture Partner at a boutique firm, Shalon Ventures, with the purpose of creating new life science companies meeting unmet needs in large markets. Dr. Sokoloff was one of 25 people in the country selected for the Penn State-Jefferson Medical College 5-Year Program in 1964, receiving his BS and his MD degrees and he has an MBA from UC Irvine. Click here for more about Dr. Sokoloff.

Eran Geller is a Professor of Anesthesia and Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine. Professor Geller is board certified in Anesthesiology (residency at the Massachusetts General hospital in Boston). He is a former Professor and Chairman of the Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care at the Tel Aviv Medical Center. Dr. Geller holds a BSEE from Wayne State University, MSEE (Bio-Med) and MD from Northwestern University in Chicago. More about Dr. Geller.

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Your feedback is welcome. For articles and any information that might interest the group to be posted in the next newsletter, Please contact: [email protected].
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DISCLAIMER

Silicom Ventures is not a broker nor investment advisor and does not provide investment advice, and this newsletter should not be relied on as such nor is it a substitute for investment advice. The information provided in this newsletter is based on sources believed to be reliable and in good faith, it is not guaranteed either as to accuracy or completeness, and independent verification should be sought before making any decisions.