Canaan Sets Up Shop In New York's Union Square

New office will help foster the growth of New York’s most innovative digital media startups

Menlo Park, CA (PRWEB) December 9, 2010:  Canaan Partners, a multi-billion dollar global venture capital firm, today announced the opening of a New York City office. The new office expands Canaan’s long-time presence in New York. With other offices in Silicon Valley, Israel, and India, Canaan is able to uniquely provide New York’s entrepreneurs and portfolio companies with access to an extensive global network of partners, customers, and advisors.

“We’ve been investing in New York City since 1997 when we first backed DoubleClick. We continue to invest actively in this area, with nine new investments in the past several years,” said Warren Lee, venture partner at Canaan Partners and co-director of the firm’s New York office along with venture partner Dan Ciporin. “We are very impressed with the quality and experience of New York entrepreneurs, and we are convinced that New York will become an increasingly important center for innovation in sectors such as advertising, commerce, media, retail, and financial services.”

Canaan’s current New York-based investments include digital media leaders blip.tv, the next-generation television network that is the largest distributor of web video shows; Tremor Media, the world’s largest video advertising network; OpenSky, the first expert-powered online retail market; eBillMe, provider of an alternative payment option that allows consumers to pay cash securely online; leading semantic advertising technology firm Peer39; and SkillSlate, a vertical search directory for finding individual service providers. Earlier New York-based investments include DoubleClick (acquired by Google), Associated Content (acquired by Yahoo), and MotionBox (acquired by HP).

“We’ve been on the ground in New York City for years, because it’s a critical launching ground for some of the world’s most innovative startup companies,” said Ciporin. “In addition, many of our portfolio companies from outside of New York, such as Blurb, Cardlytics, and LendingClub, are spending significant time here, so we now will be able to more effectively support them.”

Canaan Partners’ New York office will offer a central location and virtual conference-enabled offices where entrepreneurs can meet with one another, customers, and strategic advisors. The space will feature a ‘digital living room’ where entrepreneurs can explore the latest interactive technologies in an informal setting. The digital living room will include an Xbox Kinect360, powered by 3D sensing technology from Canaan portfolio company PrimeSense, and a GoogleTV, featuring web video content from Canaan portfolio company blip.tv.

The new office will also include a full-service incubator for the firm’s earliest-stage investments, as well as shared office space where established Canaan portfolio companies based in other cities can gain an early foothold in the New York market.

“Canaan Partners has been an incredibly valuable partner for blip.tv. We chose Canaan to lead our funding round because of their intimate knowledge of the digital media sector, and because of their clear commitment to New York’s emerging startup scene,” said Mike Hudack, CEO of blip.tv. “Canaan has not only provided us with funding, but their team has offered extremely valuable strategic guidance which, coupled with their extensive network, has helped us continue to grow globally at a rapid pace. In fact, Canaan introductions helped blip become the only venture-backed startup to launch on the GoogleTV platform.”

Canaan also sponsors and helps organize the Startup@Work Founder Speakers Series, an ongoing interview series in New York highlighting successful entrepreneurs and angel investors from across the country. Past speakers have included founders and key executives from About.com, KAYAK, Linkshare, Skyhook Wireless, TACODA, 24/7 Real Media, SeamlessWeb, and Shopping.com, as well as leading angel investors such as Esther Dyson, Mark Walsh, and Ron Conway.

About Canaan Partners
Canaan Partners invests in visionary entrepreneurs and provides them the networks, insights and operational guidance required to build high-performance technology and healthcare companies. Founded in 1987, the firm has raised eight funds and completed more than 82 acquisitions and 52 IPOs. With $3 billion under management and a worldwide footprint, the firm is committed to catalyzing the growth of innovative digital media, communications & mobility, enterprise and clean tech companies. Among its successes are Associated Content, the people’s media company; VOIP equipment supplier Acme Packet; CommerceOne, the company that pioneered B2B ecommerce; DoubleClick, the leading online advertising solution; Match.com, the most popular online dating site in the world; and SuccessFactors, the global leader in on-demand performance and talent management solutions. Other Canaan investments include 3Crowd, Active Networks, blip.tv, Blurb, Cardlytics, iYogi, KABAM, Lending Club, ON24, OpenSky, Prime Sense, SOASTA, Tremor Media and Zoosk. Canaan maintains a presence in California, Connecticut, New York, India and Israel. For more information visit www.canaan.com.