Doctor-booking site ZocDoc adds ex-senators to its board

January 11, 2012 4:12 PM Sarah Mitroff
Sarah Mitroff

Medical appointment booking site ZocDoc announced Wednesday that it has added former Senators Tom Daschle and Dr. Bill Frist to its advisory board.

ZocDoc helps patients find doctors who accept their insurance, and then directly books medical appointments from the …

Everything you need to know about Facebook’s potential IPO (infographic)

January 11, 2012 12:33 PM Tom Cheredar
Tom Cheredar

Editor's Pick

As a leader in social media, advertising and online influence, it’s surprising that ultra-powerful startup Facebook has managed to remain a privately held company for so long.

However, the high level of success Facebook has reached privately is likely to …

GetGlue prepares to take social TV mainstream with $12M in funding

January 11, 2012 9:00 AM Jennifer Van Grove
Jennifer Van Grove

It’s not in the same league as Facebook or a Twitter, or even half the size of Instagram, but GetGlue’s highly-specialized social network for entertainment watchers could be on its way to superstardom.

On GetGlue, more than two million die-hard …

CapLinked wants to modernize startup investment, takes money from new investors

January 11, 2012 8:00 AM Jolie O'Dell
Jolie O'Dell

CapLinked, the startup that wants to make it easy to invest in private companies, has just taken in a $500,000 round of from a new group of investors.

“Investing in private companies has depended on outdated technology for too long,” …

Flagship raises $270M for green & health technologies

January 11, 2012 5:30 AM Jolie O'Dell
Jolie O'Dell

Flagship Ventures, a VC firm focusing on technologies for healthcare and sustainability, has closed its 2011 fundraising efforts with $270 million in the bank.

The new Flagship Ventures Fund IV L.P. was set at $250 million, but investors exceeded that …

Dow Jones said VCs had a “lackluster” 2011, recession still in effect

January 10, 2012 2:54 PM Jolie O'Dell
Jolie O'Dell

Don’t let the good times roll just yet, Silicon Valley: Analysts at Dow Jones are saying the effects of the 2008 economic crash still haven’t worn off for venture capitalists.

While U.S. VC funds finished the year with a strong …

People-hiring service TaskRabbit acquires service-auctioning site SkillSlate

January 10, 2012 10:00 AM Jolie O'Dell
Jolie O'Dell

TaskRabbit, a San Francisco-based startup that lets you hire people to do simple tasks like wait in line to pick up your dry cleaning, has acquired SkillSlate, a New York-based startup that lets you auction your skills, services and time.…

Thumbtack helps you find trusted local professionals, makes sure they’re not sex-offenders

January 9, 2012 3:32 PM Sarah Mitroff
Sarah Mitroff

Local service finder and community marketplace Thumbtack, which does background checks on the people offering services, announced Monday that it has secured its first round of funding for $4 million.

Thumbtack helps connect people who need work done with those …

Yahoo nabs rights to Tom Hanks’ animated series “Electric City”

January 9, 2012 10:12 AM Tom Cheredar
Tom Cheredar

In a first for the technology/media company, Yahoo has obtained exclusive rights to an original web series produced by legendary actor Tom Hanks.

The web series, which Hanks is producing with Playtone and Reliance Entertainment, is about a “seemingly peaceful …

Link aggregator Buzzfeed secures $15.5M round

January 9, 2012 7:53 AM Tom Cheredar
Tom Cheredar

Buzzfeed, a site known for curating the best viral content across the web, has raised a new $15.5 million round of funding and has added a handful of staffers responsible for the Huffington Post’s early success.

Buzzfeed’s aim is to …

Netflix UK competitor LoveFilm signs streaming agreement with iTV & BBC Worldwide

January 6, 2012 1:57 PM Tom Cheredar
Tom Cheredar

Video rental service LoveFilm subscribers in the UK will soon have streaming access to content from British television networks BBC Worldwide and iTV, LoveFilm’s parent company Amazon announced today.

BBC Worldwide’s content library includes television shows like Doctor Who, …

Chartbeat takes $1M from current investors, raising more later this year

January 6, 2012 12:31 PM Jolie O'Dell
Jolie O'Dell

“She’s got to feed the monkey, I mean, hasn’t that ever occurred to you man?”

That might be a quote from cult classic The Big Lebowski, or it might be what Chartbeat recently told their current investors. Who’s to …

DeanBeat: Game companies raised a record-breaking $1.54B in 2011

January 6, 2012 8:00 AM Dean Takahashi
Dean Takahashi

Editor's Pick

Game fundings destroyed the record book for fundings this year as 145 companies raised more than $1.540 billion in 2011, not counting initial public offerings.

In 2011, games took center stage. Game investment changed fundamentally during the year, as investors …

Nokia scoops up Smarterphone, now has another mobile OS to deal with

January 6, 2012 7:11 AM Devindra Hardawar
Devindra Hardawar

As if Nokia needed yet another mobile operating system to deal with, the company has purchased Norwegian company Smarterphone, creator of an operating system that brings smartphone-like features to basic cellphones.

The acquisition was actually completed back in November, but …

Buyosphere raises $325K, relaunches as Q&A for shoppers

January 5, 2012 1:51 PM Jolie O'Dell
Jolie O'Dell

Buyosphere is web celebrity Tara Hunt‘s greatest gamble,  and after some shaky months, it might be starting to pay off.

Following a successful rebranding effort, the team has just closed an oversubscribed seed round of funding — $325,000, to be …

Battery-saving chip startup SuVolta raises $17.6M

January 5, 2012 8:48 AM Dean Takahashi
Dean Takahashi

SuVolta, a chip startup that says it can cut power consumption by 50 to 90 percent when coupled with other techniques for lowering voltage, said today it has raises $17.6 million in a new round of funding.

The company’s technology …

With $53.4M more funding, Lithium says social will change marketing as we know it

January 5, 2012 6:01 AM Meghan Kelly
Meghan Kelly

Lithium‘s goal is to make your existing customer base like the stands at a Raiders winning home game — crazy about your brand. The company announced a $53.4 million fourth round of funding today, which will be used to create …

Moontoast nabs $6M to grow its social commerce service (exclusive)

January 5, 2012 5:00 AM Tom Cheredar
Tom Cheredar

Moontoast, a startup that specializes in turning social media influence into revenue, has closed a new $6 million round of funding, the company tells VentureBeat.

Moontoast gives musicians, celebrities, and brands a way to generate money from the often large …

Do-it-yourself legal site Rocket Lawyer raises $10.8M

January 4, 2012 5:19 PM Jennifer Van Grove
Jennifer Van Grove

Just five months after raising $18.5 million, online legal services provider Rocket Lawyer has added $10.8 million in funding to its bank account, according to an SEC filing VentureBeat uncovered today.

“This is a combined Series D financing of $18.5M …