HyperActive Technologies said yesterday it has raised $6.5 million from private investors convened by Spencer Trask Ventures, a New York-based private equity firm.

Joe Porfeli, chief executive officer of the North Side-based company, said the investment would pay for sales, marketing and business development activities to expand HyperActive's customer base. Hyperactive develops computers used to make fast-food restaurants more efficient.

Vice President of Clinical Development and Regulatory Affairs Lisa Parr left the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse this week for a new job at an undisclosed California pharmaceuticals firm, Greenhouse officials said yesterday.

At the Greenhouse, Dr. Parr shared her expertise in the clinical trials and regulatory processes with local biotech startups. She joined the Greenhouse from Allergan Inc. and also has worked at a number of other pharmaceutical firms, including Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Academic Pharmaceuticals.

Dr. Parr's departure came a day after the Greenhouse announcement that Chief Operating Officer David Palmer would leave on July 1 to head North Side-based biotech startup ClearCount Medical Solutions.

For at least two months, the Greenhouse has been "actively looking" for new executives-in-residence with expertise in therapeutics and diagnostics, Mr. Palmer said.

Two executives-in-residence remain at the greenhouse, James Jordan and Alan West. Former part-time executives-in-residence Dennis Metheny and Bernard Cambou left the Greenhouse earlier this year. Dr. Cambou is now the chief executive officer of StageMark Inc. while Mr. Metheny heads his own consulting firm, TeeMyn LLC.

Since its inception, the Greenhouse has had 10 executives-in-residence -- seasoned life science industry executives who lend their know-how to assist startup firms with such tasks as fund-raising and product development. Nine of the 10 former executives still are active with local life science firms, and six still live in the region, according to Mr. Palmer.

There's no word on who is in the running to replace Mr. Palmer, known locally as the Greenhouse's "go-to" guy.

"My intent was to always go back to the private sector," Mr. Palmer said.

He chose ClearCount because he was impressed with the management team, including co-founders Steve Fleck and Gautam Gandhi and ClearCount's board, which includes biotech veteran and Carnegie Mellon University Professor Art Boni and Mr. Metheny, who has led two local biotech firms, Respironics Inc. and TissueInformatics Inc.

Plus, Mr. Palmer added, there was little risk in bringing to market Clear Count's maiden product, a medical device aid that tracks surgical instruments using radio frequency identification technology.

Mr. Palmer wouldn't get into the details of his plans upon taking over at Clear Count, only that he will be guiding the firm through the regulatory process, fund-raising and fine-tuning its go-to-market strategy.

Lawrenceville-based robotics firm RE2 said it joined forces with another Pittsburgh robotics-focused software maker, Oakland-based CoroWare Labs. The firms are developing a software kit designed to assist robot developers building unmanned ground vehicles for the U.S. Department of Defense to meet common design specifications.

Local technology firms II-VI Inc. and Ansoft Corp. made BusinessWeek magazine's Hot 100 "sizzling companies to watch" list. Published this week, the list highlights firms the magazine has labeled "strong, agile and fiercely competitive."

South Side-based electronics design software maker Ansoft was ranked 46th and II-VI, the Saxonburg-based maker of lasers and optical equipment, ranked 97th. Both have posted profits that surpassed Wall Street's expectations and have experienced record-setting growth spurts.