Coy Caringo

Caringo announced new funding today -- but don't ask how much.

Austin Ventures and Vodafone Ventures have contributed to the content storage software vendor's undisclosed amount of private equity financing -- with an undisclosed sum of private equity financing.

That's all you need to know. "Our executive committee determined that it was not in the best interest of the company to disclose the amount," says Caringo VP of marketing Derek Gascon.

Then why announce anything?

Gascon says Caringo wanted the world to know that two leading VCs had taken stakes in the company. That looks good, sounds good, and doesn't mislead anyone, right?Call me jaundiced, but this kind of anti-announcement shows me three things: 1. The amount funded is embarrassing to Caringo on some level; 2. Caringo's management thinks most people are dumb enough to read something like this and ask no questions; and 3. Caringo had nothing else to announce.

Don't get me wrong. There's nothing amiss with keeping company secrets under wraps. That's what stealth mode is all about. But as mother used to say: "If you haven't got anything to say, keep quiet."

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