AOL to Spin Off CrunchBase as Standalone Company

TechCrunch: Eight-year-old CrunchBase looks to become a standalone company in the very near future. According to several sources, the unit, which calls itself the “definitive database of the startup ecosystem,” is finalizing a term sheet with the venture firm Emergence Capital Partners for an investment of between $5 million and $7 million. AOL, we’re told, remains a “significant” investor. It’s both the closing of a chapter for CrunchBase, and the beginning of a new one.