PROVIDENCE – The Slater Technology Fund today announced it has provided financing to software startup Public Display.
“To date, Slater has invested a total of $250,000 in Public Display: an initial investment of $100,000, with a follow-on financing of $150,000,” Laura Nelson of SVM Public Relations said in an e-mail to Providence Business News.
The company, founded last year, is developing Web applications that use artificial intelligence and natural language processing to make it easier to find, organize and act upon digital information.
William O’Farrell, Public Display’s founder and CEO, has more than 15 years experience as a software entrepreneur.
He most recently was co-founder and CEO of Open Air Inc., an application service provider of professional service automation systems. O’Farrell previously was a co-founder of SpeechWorks Inc., a speech-recognition company that grew out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s computer science labs, went public in 2000 and was acquired by Nuance in 2003. And he was co-founder and CEO of The Company of Science and Art, developer of “AfterEffects” video-compositing software, which was acquired by Adobe in 1994.
He is a graduate of Brown University and Harvard Law School.
“It’s gratifying having the support of Slater,” O’Farrell said. The fund’s investment “will help us attract the quality people we need to be successful.”
Thorne Sparkman, a Slater Fund managing director, said: “With Public Display’s innovative technology and Bill’s experience in early-stage ventures, we believe this company has great potential.”
The Slater Technology Fund focuses on early-stage life sciences and information technology firms with the potential for significant long-term growth within the Ocean State. Additional information is available at http://www.slaterinteractive.com.
