Co. fills up its coffers with $11M

RESTON, Va. - ObjectVideo raised $11 million in Series C financing late last year to help support new product development and market expansion. The company also added three members to its board of directors as a result of the round, including former vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp. ObjectVideo, which develops intelligent video surveillance software, will use the financing to support integration projects and expand into markets from primarily government-based contracts to include retail loss prevention and shrinkage applications. “We had a lot of interest from a lot of smart people and institutions,” according to Raul Fernandez, chairman, president and chief executive officer at ObjectVideo, about the funding. Fernandez, who joined the company early last year, previously founded, took public and later sold enterprise software firm Proxicom for more than $400 million. Novak Biddle Venture Partners led the round, followed by ABS Ventures, Updata Venture Partners and CMGI. Several individuals from the business and financial community also participated in the funding. The company has raised $31 million since 1998. Kemp served at the U.S. House of Representatives from 1971 to 1989. He also was Bob Dole’s running mate in the 1996 presidential election. “We’ve worked together in the past, and he’s a terrific board member,” said Fernandez. Kemp was a Proxicom director from 1997 to 2001. Other new members are Mario Morino, special partner at General Atlantic Partners, and E. Scott Beattie, chairman and chief executive officer at Elizabeth Arden Inc. Last September, ObjectVideo announced a partnership with Texas Instruments that opens the door for original equipment manufacturers to embed its software on more devices and to migrate from server-based functions to third-party hardware.