Fenox Venture Capital was an American venture capital firm, headquartered in San Jose, California. The company worked with emerging technology companies worldwide and served a bridge for global startups seeking entry into American, Asian, European and Middle Eastern markets.[1]
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Venture capital |
| Founded | 2009 |
| Founder | Vitaliy Arbuzov and Anis Uzzaman |
| Defunct | 2019 |
| Fate | Unknown |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | American, Asian, European and Middle Eastern markets |
| Website | www.fenoxvc.com [dead link] |
History edit
Fenox Venture Capital was founded by Belarusian businessman Vitaliy Arbuzov[2] and Anis Uzzaman[3] in 2009.
In December 2015, Fenox led a $16 million investment in Jibo.[4] This investment was seen as a push from Jibo to start expanding globally. In February 2016, the firm led an investment in agriculture IoT company Edyn.[5] The investment in Edyn was another event in Fenox establishing itself as a key investor and supporter of American technology startups aspiring to grow globally.
In May 2016, the firm led a $14 million investment in Affectiva.[6] Other portfolio companies include Tech in Asia,[7] BlockCypher,[8] MindMeld,[9] and Sensely.[10]
Controversies edit
In February 2016, it was reported that Fenox was ordered by the US Department of Labor to pay back wages totaling over $330,000 to 56 unpaid interns it had hired.[11][12][13][14]
In June 2017, Uzzaman and Fenox sued an anonymous blogger saying he falsely accused him of sexual harassment. The lawsuit was later dismissed. [15][16]
During the course of the proceeding, a court order discovered the IP address tracing to the article was linked to the home address of Brandon Katayama Hill, founder and CEO of a San Francisco based company Btrax. The case was finally settled with a multimillion dollar payment by the defense.[17]
References edit
- ^ "Infocom Partners with Fenox Venture Capital to Expand Their Global Search for Technological Startups | Symbian Developer's Journal". Archived from the original on 2014-12-29. Retrieved 2014-12-29.
- ^ "5 проектов за 20 месяцев. Как Fenox Venture Capital идет в Юго-Восточную Азию и Японию". PROBUSINESS.IO. September 12, 2014. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ "Anis Uzzaman | Startup Asia Tokyo 2014". Archived from the original on 2014-12-29. Retrieved 2014-12-29.
- ^ "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". www.techinasia.com. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
- ^ Kolodny, Lora (2016-02-10). "Edyn Raises $2 Million for Smart Gardening Systems". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
- ^ Kolodny, Lora (25 May 2016). "Affectiva raises $14 million to bring apps, robots emotional intelligence". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2016-06-13.
- ^ "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". www.techinasia.com.
- ^ "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". www.techinasia.com.
- ^ "Architect Partners". www.architectpartners.com.
- ^ Labs, Expect. "MindMeld and Sense.ly Launch Solution to Enable a New Generation of AI-Powered Healthcare Applications". www.prnewswire.com (Press release).
- ^ "Silicon Valley venture capital firm to pay $331K in back wages to employees wrongfully treated as unpaid interns". United States Department of Labor. 2016-02-23. Retrieved 2017-09-11.
- ^ "Venture capital firm pays the price for 'free' labor". CNET. Retrieved 2017-09-11.
- ^ Zakrzewski, Cat (2016-02-22). "Fenox Venture Capital to Pay Unpaid Interns Back Wages". WSJ. Retrieved 2017-09-11.
- ^ "Fenox Venture Capital ordered to pay back wages to interns". bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2017-09-11.
- ^ "Silicon Valley exec denies posing as woman, making up sex harassment claim". The Mercury News. 2017-07-27. Retrieved 2017-09-11.
- ^ "Silicon Valley VC sues anonymous blogger over sexually charged allegations". The Mercury News. 2017-06-12. Retrieved 2017-09-11.
- ^ Levin, Sam (2017-07-27). "Male tech CEO pretended to be female sexual harassment victim, suit claims". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-02-15.