Amid turmoil and news of $700B federal bailout, is the sky falling for venture capitalists and start-ups?

Amid turmoil and news of $700B federal bailout, is the sky falling for venture capitalists and start-ups?

We’ve asked some prominent players in venture capital and start-ups about where the venture capital industry and start-ups are headed over the next year, given the economic turmoil.

The $700 billion federal bailout plan still being negotiated by Congress and the Bush Administration may restore… Continue Reading

Sportgenic raises $10M for sports ad network

Sportgenic, a company that claims to provide high-value market reach to sports advertisers and marketers, has raised $10 million in a second round of funding.

The company targets specific groups of sports enthusiasts based on their predilections, from country club members to outdoorsmen and team athletes…. Continue Reading

Social network Redux raises $3.5M

Updated

Redux, a Berkeley, Calif.-based social networking site (or, as the company calls it, a “discovery network”), has raised $6.5 million in a second round of venture funding, according to PE Hub. Backers include Alsop Louie Partners and Draper Fisher Jurvetson.

[Update:  Nathan Dintenfass, the company’s vice… Continue Reading

Ribbit, “Silicon Valley’s first phone company”

Ribbit, “Silicon Valley’s first phone company”

Ribbit is a remarkable new company, and it knows it: It calls itself “Silicon Valley’s first phone company.”

That sounds like marketing overreach for a young company barely launched, but when you look at what it’s doing, you can see why they can get carried away.

Ribbit,… Continue Reading

Justin.tv raises money, lets users broadcast themselves live

Justin.tv raises money, lets users broadcast themselves live

Justin.tv, a site that features streaming videos of personalities running around with live cameras, has launched tools to let anyone play their own live broadcasts on its site.

It has also announced an undisclosed round of funding from Alsop Louie Partners.

The San Francisco-based company began letting… Continue Reading

Cake Financial tracks your stock portfolio, rates your performance

Cake Financial tracks your stock portfolio, rates your performance

Cake Financial is a new service for helping any stock market investor better manage their own performance.

The San Francisco company lets you import all of your financial data from online brokerage firms into your Cake profile, then compare your performance against other investors using the… Continue Reading

FlickIM, a better chat for iPhone

FlickIM, a better chat for iPhone

FlickIM is a new lightweight chat feature designed specifically for the iPhone.

It’s more nimble than competitors, and lets you exchange YouTube videos and Apple movie trailers.

More significantly, it’s the first feature produced by a group of nine young developers led by two former UC Berkeley… Continue Reading

Ex-CIA investor Gilman Louie makes first secretive investment: Duality

Gilman Louie, who used to run In-Q-Tel, the indepedent venture arm of the CIA, appears to have made his first investment since leaving that group.

Louie, who has teamed up with former NEA investor, Stewart Alsop at a firm called Alsop Louie Partners, has invested $2… Continue Reading