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Cognetics Ranks Raleigh-Durham Among Top Places to Become an Entrepreneur


A study conducted by Massachusetts-based Cognetics found Raleigh-Durham the third best large metro area for entrepreneurs. The study was conducted to rank places in the U.S. that are most favored by entrepreneurs who are starting and growing companies. The rankings were based on five major determinants: 1. Universities; 2. Skilled Labor Pool; 3. Airports; 4. Nice Place to Live; and 5. Positive Entrepreneurial Climate. Only Phoenix and Salt Lake City ranked ahead of the Triangle for large metro areas for entrepreneurs, giving the Triangle a number 3 ranking. Atlanta and Indianapolis fell behind the Triangle. The study also named Las Vegas, Sioux Falls, Austin, Savannah and Jacksonville as small metro area "hot spots."

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Red Hat Partners with Dell; Stock Rises Again


Dell Computer Corp. extended its alliance with Red Hat Linux, becoming the first major systems vendor to offer the open source computer operating system across its entire server line. Red Hat stock (Nasdaq: RHAT) soared upward again last week after the announcement, closing at $232.13, up $31.13 for a 15 percent gain. It has a 52-week high of $254 and a low of $40. Matthew Szulik, chief executive officer of Red Hat, told dbusiness.com that, "The Dell seal-of-approval is important in advancing Linux-based operating systems in the Enterprise space."

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N.C. State Has Web's Largest Educational Site Devoted To E-Commerce


In less than a year, the E-Commerce @ N.C. State Web site has become the largest and most comprehensive dot.-edu (.edu) devoted to e-commerce education publicly available on the Internet. The site contains 150 pages and over 1200 hyperlinks to Web resources, covering dozens of topics--from privacy and security to business models and Web metrics. The site is updated daily and continues to expand its coverage of e-commerce topics.

N.C. State's site tops the list on Yahoo's directory of 1,200 e-commerce Web sites. Traffic to the site makes it one of the most frequently visited academic web sites at N.C. State, and the site averages 10,000 visits a month and will exceed 100,000 visits for the first year of operation. You can visit the site at: http://ecommerce.ncsu.edu.

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Congratulations North Carolina Technology Fast 500 Companies!


CED would like to congratulate the following North Carolina companies for being named to Deloitte & Touche's Technology Fast 500 List:

62 - RF Micro Devices, Inc., Greensboro
76 - HealthLink Incorporated, Huntersville
116 - Nimbus Technologies, Inc., High Point
139 - Digital Optics Corporation, Charlotte
176 - Research Triangle Commerce, Inc., Cary
203 - Intelligent Information Systems, Inc., Durham
215 - Health Decisions, Inc., Chapel Hill
218 - Alternate Access, Inc., Raleigh
308 - ateb, Inc. (formerly Synetics, Inc.), Raleigh
338 - DB Basics, Inc., Raleigh
358 - Gibralter Data Services, Inc., Jacksonville
425 - Interface Technologies, Inc., Raleigh
447 - MicroMass Communications, Cary
453 - Alliance of Professional & Consultants, Inc., Raleigh
469 - Falk Companies, Greensboro

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Cronos Lands $8 Million in First Round Funding


Cronos Integrated Microsystems Inc. secured $8 million in a first round financing, led by SpaceVest II L.P. Other investors include Intel Corporation and Knickerbocker L.L.C. Research Triangle-based Cronos, which designs and makes MEMS components, will use the funding to help further its growth and expansion in markets in which MEMS devices are gaining rapid acceptance -- primarily in telecommunications and microinstrumentation. "The growth we're seeing in key market segments, especially in optical communications, is reminiscent of the early years in the semiconductor industry," said Robert L. Bratter, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cronos. "Completion of our first round of financing underscores our commitment to meet the growing demand for MEMS devices in our markets." The financing completes Cronos' spin-off from Microelectronics Center of North Carolina, a Triangle-based technology incubator where it was founded as a subsidiary in 1998.

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Venture Capital Investments: Good News and Bad News


Third quarter statistics on venture capital (just released by PricewaterhouseCoopers) have been released and they contain some good and bad news. The good news is venture capital investments hit an all-time record $9 billion in this period. On the downside, much of this boom is restricted to Silicon Valley (which gets 40 percent of all venture capital investment) and Internet-related businesses. While this heavy concentration of investments worries some observers, trends are moving in the right direction. Silicon Valley still consumes the most venture capital ($3.3 billion in the third quarter), but nearly every part of the country set new venture capital records. In all, nine regions, including Colorado, the Midwest, the southeast, and Texas, attracted more than $300 million each.

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Relativity Gets Third Round of Funding


Relativity Technologies has received a nondisclosed amount from the Intel 64 Fund in a third round of financing. Relativity told dbusiness.com that the amount exceeded its previous round of $6 million. The company will use the money to develop a version of its RescueWare software for the upcoming Intel 64 processors, according to Vivek Wadwa, president and chief executive officer. Noro-Moseley Partners of Atlanta and the Wakefield Group of Charlotte, who are previous investors, also contributed to this round.

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Events Update




December 13th — Biotechnology Roundtable: What Can the State Do for You? Services for the Entrepreneurial Company

December 14-15th — Regional Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Conference

January 11th — Mergers and Acquisitions 2000

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