September 02, 2010

Funding and Acquisitions: Cisco set to acquire smart grid computing firm Arch Rock

Today’s funding and acquisitions news roundup from across the web:

Enterprise IT

Cisco To Acquire Smart Grid Monitoring Tech Company Arch Rock (via TechCrunchIT)

Web Content

Ambitious Online Banking Alternative Scores $2.9 Million in Series A (via Mashable)

September 01, 2010

A brief history of Apple--the ultimate tech startup story

In honImage courtesy of The Apple Museum - http://www.theapplemuseum.com/images/content/main/right.jpgor of Apple’s latest headline-dominating media event, here is a link to TAM-the Apple Museum, which includes a full timeline-based history of the company.  Apple really is a remarkable company—it is the ultimate startup success story—so this site is worth a gander: www.theapplemuseum.com

 

Funding and Acquisitions: AOL, Alcatel-Lucent, and 3M highlight acquisitions by big name brands

Today’s funding and acquisitions news roundup from around the web:

Mobile

AOL Scoops Up Rally Up To Boost Their Mobile Team (via TechCrunch)

Alcatel-Lucent acquires OpenPlug for cross-platform mobile app development (via

TechCrunch)

VeriFone Acquires WAY Systems For Up To $9 Million (They Raised Over $50 Million) (via TechCrunch IT)

GPS/RF

3M Captures Attenti For $230 Million (via TechCrunch)

Web Analytics

comScore Acquires Dutch Web Analytics Company Nedstat For $36.7 Million (via TechCrunch)

Web Services

Workface Acquires My Favorite Online Business Card Creation Service, Card.ly (via TechCrunch)

Kenexa To Acquire Salary.com In $80 Million Deal (via TechCrunch)

August 31, 2010

Funding and Acquisitions: Chartbeat’s real-time analytics brings $3M from big name VCs

Today’s tech funding and acquisitions news roundup from across the web:

Web Analytics

Chartbeat Raises $3M Round For Real-Time Analytics (via gigaom)

Enterprise IT

Apptio Raises a Cool $16.5M for Enterprise IT (via gigaom)

CRM

Motionsoft brings in $5.5M to help gyms monitor membership (via DealsBeat)

Web Content

MapMyFitness Works Out $5 Million In Series A Funding (via TechCrunch)

Udemy Scores $1M In Seed Funding, Aims To Democratize Online Learning (via TechCrunch)

August 30, 2010

Funding and Acquisitions: Email marketing firm iContact brings total funding to more than $50 million

Today’s funding and acquisitions roundup:

iContact Raises $40 Million For Email Marketing Software (via TechCrunch)

ShowUHow Scores $3 Million Series A Backing For Video Instruction Guides (via TechCrunch)

Intel acquires Infineon’s Wireless Solutions Business For $1.4 billion (via MobileCrunch)

Yottaa Raises $4 Million For Web Performance And Analytics Platform (via TechCrunch)

August 26, 2010

Featured Company Pitch: North Social

North Social logo 

Company: North Social

Website: www.northsocial.com

Headquarters: Oakland, Calif.

Year Founded: 2010

Employees: 15

Company Description:

Simple Applications. Powerful Facebook Pages.

By Alex Bernstein, Partner

Alex BernsteinFacebook has become a marketing must for any brand, whether a global corporation or an indie band.  But not anyone can take advantage of the offerings on Facebook due to budgetary and technical limitations.  How many brands have the budget of Red Bull and the engineering savvy of Google?  The most compelling, engaging fan pages on Facebook were built with thousands of dollars by the most talented developers and agencies.  What’s a smaller brand to do?

Shortly after Facebook launched pages for businesses, we were meeting with clients who wanted to enhance their presence on Facebook but couldn’t afford the cost to build and maintain custom applications and didn’t have the time or technical knowledge to outsource developers.  We immediately recognized a need and engineered a way that we could enable all brands, big and small, to overcome the financial and technical challenges of Facebook by offering a full suite of easy to use applications that were both affordable and powerful.

Click for Full Article »

Funding and Acquisitions: Another cloud computing startup gets a cash infusion

Today’s funding and acquisitions roundup:

Cloud computing startup 6fusion raises $3M (via DealsBeat)

TaskRabbit gets $850K to cross errands off your to-do list (via DealsBeat)

August 25, 2010

Funding and Acquisitions: App store infrastructure developer Cellmania acquired by Research In Motion

Today’s funding and acquisitions roundup:

RIM acquires Cellmania in bid to revive its app store (via DealsBeat)

Food-guide site Foodspotting gets backing from super angels (via SocialBeat)

$750K for Flowtown’s Social Marketing to Existing Customers (via gigaom)

August 24, 2010

Acquisitions--a better startup exit strategy?

Late last week, Facebook quietly acquired location “check-in” service startup Hot Potato—no doubt an addition to its recently launched Places service.  This is the latest in a string of startup acquisitions for Facebook (which included 40 patents from Friendster and Chai Labs), but the company is not alone.  A number of big tech companies have been on a shopping spree lately, especially Google, which recently gobbled up social media company Jambool for $70 million. 

While Google and Facebook are clearly gearing up for a face-off in the social networking space, the growth of recent acquisitions suggests that M&A is an increasingly relevant exit option for startups.  If this is more than just a temporary trend, the question becomes how this will affect innovation and competition in the tech space--will the strong just keep getting stronger, or will the Googles and Facebooks of the next generation persevere?

Funding and Acquisitions: Brand Affinity Technologies raises round for matching ad campaigns with celeb endorsements

Today’s funding and acquisitions roundup:

Brand Affinity Technologies Raises $20M To Match Celebs With Endorsement Deals (via TechCrunch)

Moonfruit secures $2.25m funding to accelerate internationally (via TechCrunch)

VSS Gets $20M to Keep an Eye on Corporate Networks (via gigaom)

August 23, 2010

Funding and Acquisition: Cloud computing, apps, and digital textbook sectors continue to garner big money

Today’s funding and acquisition roundup:

Nimbula Raises Another $15 Million in Funding (via gigaom)

With AppStores Hot, PocketGear Gets a $15 M Investment (via gigaom)

Digital Textbook Startup Inkling Scores Sequoia Funding, Publisher Deals (via TechCrunch)

August 19, 2010

StartUp Beat Flashback: eHow

In light of Demand Media’s recent IPO filing, we thought it would be timely to re-run eHow’s StartUp Beat company pitch from 2008 (Featured Company: eHow).  eHow is one of Demand Media’s flagship websites, currently generating 20-30 million visitors per month.  Here is where things stood with the company way back in February of 2008:

2/1/08 - Featured Company: eHow

eHow logo 

Web Site:  www.ehow.com
Headquarters:  Santa Monica, California
Year Founded:  1999
Investors:  *eHow is owned by Santa Monica, Calif.-based Demand Media, which acquired the company in 2006.

by Gregory Boudewijn, eHow General Manager

eHow is a rich content web site where professional experts and people with expertise can come Greg Boudewijn, eHowtogether and share their knowledge to create and contribute to a growing library of “how-to” information.  Every month, more than 13 million people visit eHow to learn how to do just about everything.  eHow has more than 150,000 articles and is growing by the thousands each month thanks to its easy-to-use publishing tools, which enable professional experts and members to express their knowledge through text, images and video.  Video is becoming an increasingly important medium for how-to information and eHow continues to focus on building its user tools and video library.  In the near future, video will become a prominent part of the eHow experience and compliment the text articles.

The eHow web site is more than just a reference library where users can find comprehensive and useful how-to information.  eHow fosters a conversation between readers and experts through a robust set of social network tools that launched in April 2007.  Readers share their thoughts and expertise through ratings, comments, person-to-person messaging and community forums.  They can also build a network of friends around their interests.  Putting a face behind each piece of content lets eHow add depth to the readership experience.  Finding useful how-to information is important, but connecting readers to experts and creating a dialogue is invaluable.

Click for Full Article »

Funding and Acquisitions: Textbook rental site Chegg acquires CourseRank; Intel buys McAfee (does anyone use McAfee anymore?)

Today’s funding and acquisitions roundup:

Chegg’s First Acquisition: CourseRank (via TechCrunch)

Intel to Buy McAfee for $7.68B to Secure Its Growth in the Cloud (via gigaom)

Hungry For Mobile E-Commerce, MasterCard Drops $520M on DataCash (via gigaom)

PlaySpan raises $18M from Vodaphone and SoftBank for virtual goods platform (via GamesBeat)

CloudCrowd Raises $5.1 Million in VC Funding (via gigaom)

Digital Couponing Startup SaveWave Scores $2.3M From Leading Investors (via TechCrunch)

August 18, 2010

Funding and Acquisitions: Software firm Phoenix Technologies gets snapped up for $139 million

Today’s funding and acquisitions roundup:

Private Investment Firm Buys Phoenix Technologies For $139 Million (via TechCrunch)

SI-BONE raises $10.6M to minimize low back pain (via DealsBeat)

August 17, 2010

Q&A with Local Bigwig founder and CEO Ray Madronio

Local Bigwig logo 

As a follow-up to his company pitch (LocalBigwig: 8/9/10), StartUp Beat reconnected with Local Bigwig founder Ray Madronio, the company’s founder and CEO, about the private home rentals business, its budding online community, funding, and advice for entrepreneurs based on his experience.

SUB: Who do you see as your primary competition?

Madronio: There are the established hotels and motels that have been providing the bulk of both business and holiday travel accommodations for years.  Naturally, all legislation that they endorse to limit types of private home rentals would limit our business.

Second, other online communities that offer short-term home rentals are another source of competition.  We know we need to continue to evolve our site and highlight our positioning to be the top-of-mind online destination for short-term accommodations around the world. 

SUB: The site has been self-funded to this point, but are you seeking or do you plan to seek outside funding in the near future?

Madronio: We realize that additional funding can help fuel a much faster rate of growth.  Even though the company has been self-funded to this point, we are very open to outside funding so we can pursue our other great ideas sooner rather than later.

SUB: How many people are currently members of Local Bigwig?

Madronio: There are currently 11 total members of Local Bigwig.  This is comprised of both local and offshore resources.

SUB: You went into this a bit in your pitch, but can you expand on what differentiates Local Bigwig from other short-term home rental websites?

Madronio: We are passionate about creating an online community with the best set of higher-end home rentals and infusing relevant, fresh content to highlight the local life within the neighborhoods where our home listings are located.

A couple of similar websites only want their members to communicate within their systems.  However, we encourage transparent and meaningful communication outside of our site.  If our members want to chat via Facebook or personally meet over coffee to discuss, we are all for it.  We know that this helps both parties be more comfortable with the transaction.

We have a flat-free subscription-based model as opposed to one that is commission-based.  This will lead to a more engaged group of members and a fresher set of home listings.  For other websites, their inventory of homes is stale because they are not deactivated after a certain time period.

Click for Full Article »

Funding and Acquisitions: Robotics company that makes “hat”-wearing automated lawnmowers raises $4.5 million; HP snaps up Fortify for undisclosed amount

Today’s funding and acquisitions roundup:

Precise Path Robotics, Purveyor Of Hat-Wearing Lawn Mowing Robots, Raises $4.5 Million (via TechCrunch)

HP Acquires Software Security Company Fortify (via TechCrunch)

Clickfree owner raises $15M for automatic storage backup (via DealsBeat)

Sales consultant Runa brings in $9.2M to turn browsers into buyers (via DealsBeat)

August 16, 2010

Funding and Acquisitions: Facebook makes another small startup acquisition

Today’s funding and acquisition roundup:

Exclusive: Facebook Snaps Up Chai Labs (via AllThingsDigital)

Shape Up The Nation lands $5M to make exercise more social (via DealsBeat)

A123 Systems Spinoff 24M Technologies Raises $16 Million (via TechCrunch)

Dell acquires data storage company 3Par for $1.15B (via DealsBeat)

Purchase Tracking Company Cardlytics Secures $18 Million Round (via TechCrunch)

Mobile social application market Mobango gets bought out (via GoMo News)

Facebook app marketplace AppBistro raises $550k (via VentureBeat)

CeNeRx BioPharma brings in $13M to treat nervous system disorders (via DealsBeat)

CloudCrowd gets $5.1M to grow its outsourced labor force (via DealsBeat)

Voxeo Gobbles Up Teleku (via gigaom)

Google Ventures Invests In iPhone Game Developer ngmoco (via TechCrunch)

August 13, 2010

Moore’s Law and mobile innovation

Perhaps the most dynamic area of innovation and opportunity in tech is the mobile sector—especially content and applications for the powerful smartphones that are coming to dominate the landscape.  The question now, especially for mobile content startups, is whether or not mobile networks will be able to scale fast enough to meet the potential demands of the coming mobile content explosion.  Taking an interesting approach to the problem in an article today in Venture Beat, Jeffrey Glueck, CEO of mobile browser startup Skyfire, ties mobile capacity to Moore’s Law and asks whether or not the industry will be able to keep up with what will no doubt be a flood of innovative mobile technologies in the coming years (Moore’s Law hits a wall: Trouble for mobile growth?).  His points about mobile network capacity are not only valid, they are already reality to some degree—to which, anecdotally, most smartphone users can attest.

Funding and Acquisitions: More big money for the algae biz

Today’s funding and acquisitions roundup:

PetroAlgae chances weak green IPO market with $200M filing (via GreenBeat)

CloudCrowd Raises $5.1 Million To Outsource Labor To The Cloud (via TechCrunch)

IBM acquires marketing automation firm Unica for $480M (via DealsBeat)

Property managment app maker RealPage raises $180 million in boisterous IPO (via VentureBeat)

Wikimart gets $5M to help Russian retailers set up shop online (via DealsBeat)

August 12, 2010

Funding and Acquisitions: GreenVolts raises $7.5 million for new solar power plant; Omidyar Network bets $5 million on micro-finance firm Kiva

Today’s funding and acquisitions roundup:

Solar concentration firm GreenVolts grabs $7.5M for power plant (via DealsBeat)

Kiva banks $5M grant from Omidyar Network (via DealsBeat)

Empire Avenue Lands $200K For Stock Market To Measure Social Influence (via TechCrunch)

Voxeo Gobbles Up Teleku (via gigaom)

iScience sees $3.6M to treat eye diseases (via DealsBeat)

August 11, 2010

Would the Google/Verizon net neutrality compromise slow innovation on the web?

A lot has been said this week about the proposed “net neutrality” compromise between Google and Verizon and its potential effects on the open Internet.  But how might this affect startups and early-stage companies?  While nothing with regard to this proposal is really clear at this point (even the CEOs of Google and Verizon are talking cryptically about it), a proposed “second” web that prioritizes traffic in favor of big Internet stalwarts seems less than positive for companies trying to innovate on the web.  Perhaps the most concerning piece of this proposal from the startup perspective is the wireless component, which basically asserts that “open” net neutrality rules would inhibit innovation on the wireless/mobile Internet.  Although there are many, many questions around this issue that have yet to be answered, one thing is for sure…it will determine in large part the future of the Internet and Internet-based technologies, and the state of competition on the web.  What do you think? 

Here are some of the better analyses of the Google/Verizon proposal:

Web Plan From Google and Verizon Is Criticized (@NY Times)

Second (Day) Thoughts on Google-Verizon Framework - Isn't This All About Android? (@John Battelle’s SearchBlog)

Or Maybe It's Really About (Google) TV... (@John Battelle’s SearchBlog)

Not Neutrality: Did Google & Verizon Just Stab The Internet In The Heart? (@TechCrunch)

Funding and Acquisitions: Web publisher Spanfeller Media Group raises $2 million

Today’s funding and acquisitions news:

Former Forbes.com CEO Spanfeller raises funds for Web publishing startup (via VentureBeat)

Provade brings in $2.86M to help companies manage spending (via DealsBeat)

Netpulse gets $2M to make fitness more entertaining (via DealsBeat)

Philly-Based Incubator DreamIt Ventures Graduates 14 Startups (via TechCrunch)

August 10, 2010

Funding and Acquisitions: Google ramps up social media spending spree with $70 million Jambool acquisition; Cool algae-based fuel startup raises $52 million

Today’s funding and acquisitions roundup:

Another Piece To Google’s Social Puzzle: To Acquire Jambool For $70 Million (via TechCrunch)

Solazyme bottles $52M for algae-based fuel (via GreenBeat)

Nanosys Raises $25 Million, Lights Up Deal With Samsung (via TechCrunch)

HipChat raises funding for better business chatting (via DealsBeat)

Medialets Lands $6 Million For Cross-Platform Mobile Ads And Analytics (via TechCrunch)

Talari Networks gets $10M to make company networks 99.99% reliable (via DealsBeat)

Pie Digital lands $3.7M to make home networking “easy as pie” (via DealsBeat)

Callvine raises $4M for group calling and texting (via MobileBeat)

August 09, 2010

Featured Company Pitch: Local Bigwig

Local Bigwig logo

Company: Local Bigwig LLC

Website: www.localbigwig.com

Headquarters: New York

Year Founded: 2010

Investors: Self-funded

Founder: Ray Madronio

Employees: 11

Company Description:

“Live the Local Life” with Local Bigwig, a short-term home rental source and a place where global travelers and local homeowners meet.

By Ray Madronio, CEO

Ray Madronio, Local BigwigWith the mission to help global travelers and local homeowners meet, Local Bigwig LLC specializes in short-term home rentals.  However, the Local Bigwig brand itself focuses on far more than short-term home rentals—it is built to be the go-to source for travelers and locals alike seeking information on everything from travel tips and logistics to the latest city happenings.

Local Bigwig’s motto is “Live the Local Life” and it encourages homeowners to share their neighborhood secrets and “hot spots” with other users and travelers.  The website encourages travelers to enjoy a more genuine experience of a city—one that is difficult to attain in a traditional hotel.  Local Bigwig is the antipode to the typical tourist-y vacation, the one in which you stop at every popular museum and landmark but don’t really feel the vibe of the city that you’re in.

It is no surprise that I started writing the Local Bigwig business plan in the Rio de Janeiro-Galeao International Airport, about to board a plane home to New York.  As a travel and real estate buff, the website seamlessly combines my two loves.  One of the first things that I asked a fellow intern on their first “bigwig lunch” was: “so tell me about your favorite spots around NYU—interesting, cool spots that not too many people know about.”  Scouring for the city’s best-kept secrets is my hobby and now, instead of spending my Sundays going to open-houses around Manhattan, I brainstorm for the website.

Click for Full Article »

Funding and Acquisitions: Skype looking to make a splash with public offering

Today’s funding and acquisitions roundup:

Skype Files for IPO (via gigaom)

Mentez gets investment to build social games in Latin America and Brazil (exclusive) (via GamesBeat)

Former Skype CEO leads $2M investment in online games offer firm SupersonicAds (via GamesBeat)

August 06, 2010

Google, Facebook, and…innovation?

The value of startups for the broader economy is that they inject innovation and drive dynamism in markets (especially in high tech).  That said, it’s always fascinating to see companies make the transition from nimble, irreverent, fearless startup to the defensive posture of an old stalwart.  This is happening to Google—the ultimate representative of “Valley” culture, and more-and-more its antagonist appears to be Facebook—the new representative of the irreverent, innovative tech startup.  For more on the growing rivalry between Google and Facebook—where Google has become increasingly reactive to Facebook, see today’s article by Caroline McCarthy of Cnet: Google vs. Facebook: Drawing the battle lines  Is it healthy for a company to settle into “reactive” mode in response to emerging competitors?

Funding and Acquisitions: China’s Tudou.com raises giant funding round

Today’s funding and acquisitions roundup:

China’s YouTube, Tudou.com, Raises $50M (via NewTeeVee)

Redbeacon Raises $7.4 Million To Help You Book Local Services Online (via TechCrunch)

Betaworks, Conway, And Sacca Embed $250,000 Into Embed.ly (via TechCrunch)

August 05, 2010

Funding and Acquisitions: Farmville parent Zynga acquires Japanese startup

Today’s funding and acquisitions roundup:

Zynga Buys Tokyo-Based Startup Unoh (via TechCrunch)

China’s YouTube, Tudou.com, Raises $50M (via NewTeeVee)

Facebook Buys Friendster Patents for $40M (via gigaom)

Google Buys Slide for $182 Million, Getting More Serious about Social Games (via TechCrunch)

LinkedIn acquires recommendation technology company mSpoke (via DealsBeat)

True Ventures Invests In 19 Year Old Entrepreneur Brian Wong (via TechCrunch)

August 04, 2010

Q&A with Alex Matjanec, Co-Founder MyBankTracker.com

MyBankTracker.com logo 

As a follow-up to its company pitch (MyBankTracker.com: 7/12/10), StartUp Beat did a Q&A with MyBankTracker.com co-founder Alex Matjanec, the company’s co-founder, about its novel approach to providing consumer banking information and services.

SUB: What companies do you consider to be your competition?

Matjanec: In the personal finance sector, we actually have a number of competitors depending on how you view our features.  Overall, we see large properties such as Bankrate and their network of small-to-medium properties as the leader in our vertical.  While we don’t consider personal finance management (PFM) properties such as Mint.com as competitors, we do recognize we sometimes target the same audience. 

SUB: How do you tap the information you provide about financial institutions?

Matjanec: One of our main focuses when launching MyBankTracker.com was to offer consumers the most accurate information on the web.  To do this, we spent months contacting banks to make connections, promoting the benefit of partnering with us.  Today a number of banks supply us with updates on rates, press releases and promotional campaigns.  Currently we track over 1,000 institutions.  For the rest we have an internal team of research analysts that scour the net to keep MyBankTracker.com up to date with what events or changes are occurring.

Click for Full Article »

Funding and Acquisitions: Sales performance management firm Xactly gets a $12 million funding boost

Today’s funding and acquisitions roundup:

Xactly brings in $12M to help companies manage sales compensation (via DealsBeat)

Forbes Sells Investopedia To ValueClick In $42 Million Deal (via TechCrunch)

Tuenti looks like it will go to Telefonica for $99 million (via TechCrunch Europe)

Zulily, A Private-Sale Shopping Site For Moms, Raises $6 Million Series B (via TechCrunch)

Mobile payments update: Ingenico buys control of TransferTo (via GoMo News)

Status.net Gets $1.4M to Take Open-Source Twitter Into the Enterprise (via gigaom)

Circuit board printer Maskless Lithography gets $4.1M (via DealsBeat)

Recurly Raises $1.6 Million To Help Companies Manage Subscription Billing (via TechCrunch)

August 03, 2010

Funding and Acquisitions: Cleantech investment trending upward again

Today’s funding and acquisitions roundup:

Cleantech Investment On The Rise Again In The US – $1.5 Billion In Q2 2010 (via GreenTech)

GM Ventures makes first investment in hybrid van maker Bright (via GreenBeat)

UltiZen raises $8M for game development outsourcing business (via GamesBeat)

Exelate lands $15M for its targeted audience data ad exchange (via DealsBeat)

Notonthehighstreet.com lands $11.9M to support small businesses (via DealsBeat)

August 02, 2010

Featured Company Pitch: CheckAlt

CheckAlt logo 

Company: CheckAlt

Website: www.checkalt.com

Year Founded: 2010

Founders: Shai Stern, George Karfunkel

Investors: Self-funded

Employees: 10 

By Shai Stern, CEO

There are more than 40 million households using electronic payment today.  Time is money and people want business done quickly and efficiently.  Now more than ever, companies are adopting Shai Stern, CheckAlthigh-tech methods when dealing with their corporate needs.  CheckAlt is at the forefront of this technological revolution.  They are helping businesses run more smoothly and cost effectively.

An alternative electronic processing solution, CheckAlt provides merchants with a fast, affordable, and reliable means to receive payments online.  Not only are businesses improving their bottom line with the service, but they are also doing their part to help the environment.

Paper checks are outdated; they are a strain on our natural resources, not to mention an inconvenience in today’s fast-paced business environment.  Receiving payments from a consumer can sometimes seem like a losing battle.  Whether the check is “in the mail” or payment simply slips the mind, CheckAlt is the solution that benefits both the merchant and consumer.  Merchants can debit a client’s account directly, making “just in time” payments easy and late fees a thing of the past.  A paper check can take up to ten days to clear, whereas CheckAlt’s e-checks or ACH are posted in only 48 hours.  Companies using CheckAlt are mitigating risks and improving customer loyalty, making business transactions a breeze.

Merchants no longer need carry the burden of credit card or wire transfer fees, plus the worry of lost checks can be eliminated.

Click for Full Article »

Funding and Acquisitions: Mobile payments company Payfone secures $11 million series B

Today’s funding and acquisitions roundup:

Payfone Announces US $11 Million Series B Financing (Techfinance.ca)

PlacePop Looks To Give Any Business Its Own Rewards Program, Raises $1.4M (via TechCrunch)

Runa Capital’s $30m fund for Russian startups aims to build bridges with Europe and U.S. (via TechCrunch Europe)

Feeding Frenzy As Delicious Founder Joshua Schachter Raises Round For New Startup (via TechCrunch)

July 29, 2010

Funding and Acquisitions: ‘Farmville’ maker Zynga confirms big investment from Softbank

Today’s funding and acquisitions roundup:

Buongiorno buys into mobile shopping with Glamoo (via GoMo News)

Zynga Confirms Softbank Investment. They’ll Confirm Google Investment Later (via TechCrunch)

July 28, 2010

Funding and Acquisitions: Adobe and GameStop announce significant acquisitions

Today’s funding and acquisitions roundup:

Adobe buys web software company for $240 million (via VentureBeat)

GameStop Gets Digital With Kongregate Buy (via gigaom)

GoodData secures another $6.5 million (via TechCrunch)

CloudMade Secures $12.3m Investment (via MobileMarketing Magazine)

eWise Raises $12 Million For Online Payments Technology (via TechCrunch)

Green building company Soladigm gets $6M to make smart windows (via DealsBeat)

July 27, 2010

Q&A with David Kaiser, CEO Coincident TV

 

As a follow-up to its company pitch (Coincident TV: 5/3/10), StartUp Beat did a Q&A with Coincident TV’s David Kaiser, the company’s co-founder and CEO, about its interactive video application.

SUB: How do new products like Google TV affect Coincident TV?  Do you consider Google a competitor?  How is your product different?

Kaiser: I view new products like Google TV and the growth of web television with excitement.  Products like Google TV just mean that more doors are opening—and that the shift towards interactive online video viewing experiences is becoming a reality.

As consumers begin to adopt web TV more, Coincident TV can bring enhanced interactivity to all of these experiences, no matter what the platform or “screen.”

SUB: On the developer side, who are you targeting?  Who do you hope adopts the technology?

Kaiser: We are currently targeting content creators and media companies, as well as the industrial and educational video markets.

CTV’s software suite, including a player, editor and analytics tool, gives content creators the freedom to seamlessly design, manage and measure hypervideo experiences.  They can integrate pre-existing video content accessed from our source across the web, while enhancing navigation through creative hot-spotting, overlaying, picture-in-picture viewing, split screen, social media integration and other methods of engagement within the video player.

For media companies, CTV technology provides a true premium video solution that quickly and intuitively allows content producers to create revenue-building opportunities.  These opportunities include new advertising platforms, educational videos, subscription TV models, increased brand integration and e-commerce while offering audiences dynamic engagement with characters, brands and stories.

Click for Full Article »

July 26, 2010

Funding and Acquisitions: Skype founders Zennstrom and Friis back auction site MadBid with series A

Today’s funding and acquisitions roundup:

Skype founders place $6 million bet on MadBid.com (via VentureBeat)

Zattikka raises $5M to expand in social and mobile games (via GamesBeat)

Convoke Systems raises $5.5 million to help creditors collect debt (via VentureBeat)

July 22, 2010

Will the IPO market ever be the same?

From VentureBeat—this is an outstanding article by serial entrepreneur Steve Blank about the evolution of VCs and the IPO market.  He sees 1979-2000 as essentially a period of irrational exuberance, and the period we’re currently in as part of a decade-long shakeout.  While shakeouts, though painful, can be a good thing long-term, Blank makes a convincing argument that this one hasn’t been a net positive for some tech sectors (specifically those that require larger capital outlays): Startups: Welcome to the lost decade

Funding and Acquisitions: Betable gets $3M from Skype founders’ VC fund

Today’s funding and acquisitions roundup:

Betable secures $3 million to become the Twitter for betting (via TechCrunch)

Plum District gets $2.1M to bring daily deals to busy moms (via DealsBeat)

July 21, 2010

DoNanza seeks to become the Kayak of the freelance market

You may have thought sites like Elance and oDesk had the freelance market covered, but startup DoNanza is taking a novel approach to connecting free agents with work though an aggregator approach.  Basically, DoNanza takes freelancer listings from across the Internet and aggregates them under a single search umbrella.  The Tel Aviv, Israel-based company seems to be doing pretty well so far, with about 150K current listings and 100K or so visitors per month.  Here’s more about the company via Anthony Ha at SocialBeat: DoNanza brings its freelance job listings to publishers

Latest Featured Company Pitch

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StartUp Beat is dedicated to shining a spotlight on the most innovative and creative technology startups from around the world. Through entrepreneur-authored company pitches, startup Q&As, and daily news about funding, acquisitions, and industry trends we provide a media platform where readers can discover the newest and most interesting new tech companies that often get ignored by the big tech media websites. If you would like to submit a startup for consideration for a company pitch and Q&A, send us a note at editor (at) startupbeat.com.

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