Vectrix, the US-based zero emission vehicle developer, has unveiled plans to float on Aim within the next few weeks to fund the launch of the world's first electrically powered high-performance motorcycle. It plans to raise up to £30m (€44m) to support a simultaneous launch of its maxi-scooter in the UK, Italy and the US next year.

Pentadyne Power Corporation, the US-based provider of flywheel clean energy storage systems, has announced plans to raise up to $30m (€22m) through a listing on Aim. The California-based company said it plans to use the funds raised to extend research and development and expand manufacturing capacity to meet increasing demand. The company expects the listing, planned for late May, to value the company at about $100m (€73.4m). California-based competitor Vycon which also makes flywheel devices, is another US-based company to have favoured a listing on Aim, raising £9.2m (€13.5m) in an offering last month.

Pentadyne will be hoping its stock market debut is received more favourably than that of Ocean Power Technologies (OPT), which listed on Nasdaq this week. Shares in the US-based company that generates energy from ocean waves dropped more than 10 per cent on the first day of trading. The offering represents the marine energy sector’s first IPO in the US.

OPTs poor performance may be causing some unease among companies in the hydropower sector that are predominantly pinning their exit hopes on a public listing. Of the 39 private companies in this sector that Library House actively monitors as part of VenturePedia Cleantech, an exit via IPO is favoured by a ratio of five to one over a trade sale.

Matthew Palmer, former senior vice president of marketing at Disney, has joined Sweden-based online entertainment site Stardoll, opening its first US office. Mr Palmer will be charged with driving domestic growth of the brand, including partnerships with advertisers, music labels, networks, film studios and celebrities. Stardoll says it currently attracts 5.5 million unique users a month, 30 per cent of which come from the US.

John Weston, former chief executive of FTSE 100 company BAE Systems, has joined UK-based Insensys as non-executive chairman. Insensys provides fibre optic load measurement technology to the wind energy and aerospace industries. The company is most well known for providing the electronically-controlled rigging on the Maltese Falcon superyacht, owned by Silicon Valley pioneer, Tom Perkins, co-founder of Kleiner Perkins.

StructureVision, the UK-based provider of 3D waste packing optimisation software, has announced the appointment of Neville Chamberlain CBE, the former chief executive of British Nuclear Fuels and former chairman of Urenco, as its chairman. Structure Vision’s software is designed to reduce the requirement for manual experimentation in a lab environment by accurately predicting packing scenarios. The core applications are in the nuclear, chemical and pharmaceutical industries.

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Tridion, the Netherlands-based provider of web content management software, has signed an agreement to be acquired by London Stock Exchange-listed SDL International for €69m. SDL is a provider of global information management products and believes that the deal will allow it to offer the industry’s most comprehensive global web content management solution for communicating with multiple target audiences on a global basis. Investors in Tridion include Barnard & Co, Gilde Investment Management, Kappa IT Ventures and Prime Technology Ventures.

AMGas, the UK-based developer of low power infrared flammable-gas detectors for the oil and gas industry, has announced that it is under new ownership. No specific details of the transaction were released. Previous investors in the company include Scottish Equity Partners, Strathdon Investments and Aberdeen Asset Management. AMGas’ new owners intend to “invest heavily” to expand the company’s product range.

The MathWorks, the US-based provider of software for technical computing and model-based design has acquired PolySpace Technologies, the France-based software company, for an undisclosed amount. PolySpace provides embedded software tools for the automatic detection of run-time errors at compile time and has received funding from investors including I-Source Gestion and Seventure Partners.

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Debate about whether confidence has returned to the high-tech sector is growing fiercer. The bulls say it has been back for some time while the naysayers believe Europe may never fully recover from the setback of the 1999-2000 period. In the US, of course, the dotcom bust, although damaging to the reputations of some high-profile analysts and to the wallets of retail investors in publicly-quoted stocks, provided only a minor knock to confidence.

Measuring confidence is a tricky calculation. Hard figures, such as those contained within VenturePedia, are easier to deal with. A search of VenturePedia reveals that high-tech deals are indeed starting to regain the momentum they lost at the start of the Millennium. In the 54 months (four and a half years) to the end of October there were 2,426 deals in the high-tech sector, representing 40.7 per cent of total deals. But in the last six months there were 304 high-tech deals, representing a significantly higher 43 per cent of the total. Two or three percentage points may not seem like a big jump, but when you are talking about thousands of deals and millions of euros, many people would agree it constitutes a trend.

This trend is reflected in stock market data. In the last five years, high-tech firms have seen a rise in their value which would undoubtedly have given heart to rational high-tech venture capitalists. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, a reasonable proxy for mature, industrially-based companies, has risen by 30 per cent in the last five years. Over the same period the Nasdaq, a reasonable proxy for high-tech, growth stocks, is up by almost 50 per cent.

So, is a new bonanza in its infancy? Almost certainly not. Today's investors are too wise and too cautious to believe that they can just jump aboard a trend and ride it for a couple of years without regard to fundamentals. But their life is made a lot easier if the fear of doing deals is diminished and there is the promise of a smooth exit.

Over the next few weeks we’re going to try interspersing recent news from the venture backed market with our more analytical blog posts. These items are just a few highlights of the information delivered in our free VentureCast Newsletter but we thought you might appreciate seeing this in a more timely matter. Let us know if you have feedback.

RedMere Technology, the Ireland-based fabless semiconductor company developing advanced mixed signal chipsets that enable high speed communications between consumer multimedia products, has raised $5m (€3.7m) from Enterprise Ireland, Enterprise Equity (Ireland), 4th Level Ventures, Celtic House Venture Partners, Edgestone Capital Partners and private investors. The funding concludes the company’s $8.2m (€6m) series A financing. RedMere will use the funds to expand the application of its technology as well as to increase its marketing and sales operations in the US and Asia.

Brand New World, the Germany-based interactive mobile gaming company, has raised €3.15m from Andreas Ritter, Joachim Bernecker, Sylvius Bardt, Creathor Venture, KfW Bankengruppe, Mountain Partners, T.i.B.i. and bmp. Brand New World develops, markets, and promotes mobile applications in the entertainment, multiplayer, and casual gaming sectors. The funding will be used for diversification and international expansion.

Wiral Internet Group, the Sweden-based developer of web applications, has raised $2.8m (€2.1m) from Northzone Ventures. Wiral Internet Group was set up by the founders of the price-comparison site PriceRunner.

Hematris Wound Care, the Germany-based medical technology company, has raised €884k from High-Tech Gründerfonds Management, Peppermint financial partners and the company’s founders. Hematris develops, produces and markets products to stop bleeding, including heavy arterial bleeding.

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