Venture Capital Firms

VC Firms, Index Ventures, KPCB, and Charles River Ventures Invest an Undisclosed Amount in Series B Funding for RPX Corporation

Based in San Francisco, California, RPX Corporation announced that it had secured an undisclosed amount in series B funding. The vc firms that participated in this round of funding include new investor, Index Ventures, along with the company’s existing investors, KPCB (Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers) and Charles River Ventures.

RPX Corporation is a company that provides a patent defense service. For an annual fee, RPX subscribers can access valuable resources to aid in their patent defense and help fight against patent litigation from non-participating entitles. Furthermore, RPX’s patent aggregation does not require client companies to participate in acquisitions, nor does RPX enforce the patents that it purchases.

The idea of a defensive patent aggregation service was first introduced by RPX Corporation in 2008 and was intended to reduce the cost of patent litigation, which is often initiated by non-participating entities or NPEs. Furthermore the problem with patent litigation with NPEs has been a problem that has been plaguing the tech industry for many years and RPX provides a solution that could solve most of the problems and costs that are incurred by patent litigations.

According to Giuseppe Zocco, partner with Index Ventures, RPX Corporation has created a great business opportunity with its new innovative services. Furthermore, RPX’s Defensive Patent Aggregation Service will provide a compelling solution for a problem which has cost the tech industry and innovators of new technologies millions of dollars.

Since the founding of RPX’s Defensive Patent Aggregation Services in November of 2008, over 14 new companies have joined the company’s service and up to date RPX Corporation has reported over $90 million in patent rights.

According to Izhar Armony, General Partner with Charles River Ventures, the fact that RPX Corporation has been only up and running for less than a year and has been such a success is truly amazing. The growth that RPX has experienced is quite a feat and is definitely a company worth attention. Mr. Armony further added that one of the driving forces of RPX’s success is the fact that many companies are waking up to the fact that there needs to be a solution to solve the ever growing problem of patent litigation which Defensive Patent Aggregation Service provides.

Index Ventures is one of Europe’s leading vc firms that actively invests in the tech, biotech, and clean-tech industries. Index Ventures was founded in 1996 with the purpose of turning European and American companies into global corporations. Some other companies in Index’s portfolio include Skype, AlertMe, B-hive, Boku, Dropshop, and others.

Founded in 1972, KPCB is a prominent vc firm that has backed over 600 entrepreneurs. KPCB is a global vc firm with its headquarters in the United States and offices in China. Some other companies in KPCB’s portfolio include 3-V Biosystems, 3DV Systems, 3VR Security, Aerohive, AltaRock Energy, and others.

One of the oldest early stage vc firms in the United States, Charles River Ventures was founded in 1970 and mainly invests in early stage companies and has over $2.1 billion in venture capital under its management. Some other companies in Charles River’s portfolio include Acopia, BigBand, Sonus Networks, FlyCast, and others.

For more information about RPX Corporation, click here.

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