MyHeritage is an Israeli company that is second in the market behind Ancestry.com, which was recently purchased for $1.6 million. The model is similar. Users enter their personal data into the site to create a family tree, and can search through billions of records to uncover new information and connect with long lost family members. Users can also follow family members, and share photos and messages.

There are 72 million users and each user follows an average of 16 family members. There are 1.5 billion profiles  and 27 million family trees on the site. The basic service is free, but a yearly subscription gets additional features and allows members to invite their family members into the community. MyHeritage distinguish itself from Ancestry.com by emphasizing the social component and its collaboration tools. It also targets an international audience, and the platform is available in 40 languages.

David Sacks founded Geni in 2006 as a place where “casual genealogists and experts” can discover new relatives and stay in touch with family members. It raised $16. 5 million in funding from Founders Fund and Charles River Ventures. Sacks stepped down as CEO of Geni to run Yammer full time in 2011, which was subsequently acquired by Microsoft for $1.2 billion in June.

With this purchase, MyHeritage will gain 7 million users. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, MyHeritage’s CEO Gilad Japhet said he is also excited about the complementary technology.

“They have excellent technology, a unique vision about connecting everyone into a single family tree if you can implement it properly, and it just complements us. MyHeritage is a forest of private hyperlinked family trees, and Geni is building a family tree of the whole world. If you combine the two, you end up with a reference of the world, everyone is on there, just like everyone is on LinkedIn.”

This latest funding found was fronted by new investor Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from existing investors Index Ventures and Accel Partners. MyHeritage previously raised $15 million in 2008 and this brings its total amount raised to $49 million. It

The investment will be put towards continuing global growth, adding in new features, and to support more acquisition opportunities.

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Mocavo grabs funding for its family tree

TechStars 2011 alum Mocavo has raised $4 million in its first round of funding in a bid to help people find their ancestors through its search engine. The funding comes from Foundry Group. Seth Levine, Foundry Group’s Managing Director, will join Mocavo’s board.

Wave Accounting nabs $12M

Small business startup Wave Accounting has raised $12 million in its second round of funding, the company announced today. Wave, which offers free accounting software for small companies, says managing “the books” is a complicated and dreaded task that isn’t any easier thanks to desktop accounting software. Social+Capital Partnership led the round. Charles River Ventures and OMERS Ventures also contributed.

Big data, big money for Palantir

Data analysis company Palantir has raised $56 million in its latest round of funding, through two unknown investors, according to an SEC filing today. Palantir has seemingly been very successful with its tools that analyze all sorts of data.

Bitly may have new funding in the works

Four-year-old link shortening service Bitly is reportedly working on raising a $20 million round and launching a few new products. The link shortening service also offers enterprise link analytics. So far Bitly has raised $15 million from a laundry list of investors including Ron Conway, SV Angel, and AOL Ventures.

Fotolia wins $150M

Fotolia received a $150 million growth equity investment from leveraged buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co. The company claims to be the leading stock photography site in Europe.

HomeMe raises $5M

Russian home shopping site HomeMe has raised $5 million in funding. Mangrove Capital, ABRT, and AddVenture led the round for the Moscow-based company.

Vox Mobile gets funded

Vox Mobile grabbed a $7.5 million investment to help manage mobile devices for businesses. The company also helps train employees on how use mobile devices. Edison Ventures led the round and Permal Capital also participated.

Appcelerator raises $3M

App development platform Appcelerator has closed a $3 million funding round, The Next Web reported. Presidio Ventures led the round. Appcelerator helps companies build device-specific apps.

ModCloth grabs $25M funding round

Clothing and home decor site ModCloth has raised $25 million in funding. The site offers vintage inspired clothing and accessories. Norwest Venture Partners led the round.

Woman with shopping bags image via Shutterstock

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