SiliconBeat

Just a little over a week ago, I wrote about “The three valley companies most vulnerable in 2009.” My three top picks were Sun Microsystems, AMD and Palm.

I haven’t changed by mind on Palm’s outlook. But on Monday, the company announced that it raised $100 million from Elevation Partners, one of its main backers.

According to the press release:

“The additional capital from Elevation Partners will enable us to put added momentum behind the new product introductions scheduled for 2009 and will provide us with enhanced stability in unsettled economic times,” said Ed Colligan, president and chief executive officer of Palm, Inc. “Elevation has been a great partner to Palm, and we appreciate their continued confidence and support.”

As I noted in the column, Palm has been hit particularly hard in the last few months. Still, the company clearly has some ambitious turnaround plan in the works because it managed to attract some top-tier executives to a company that seemed otherwise well past its prime. The press release alludes to the fact that Palm will be introducing new products that will hopefully get it back in the smart phone game.

But its finances have been deteriorating so quickly as the economy has crumbled, it seemed like the company might run out of time before it could really deliver on that new strategy. The $100 million should buy some more time. But in my mind, it doesn’t change the fact that this company faces a pivotal moment in 2009 that could make or break its fortunes.