Nice timing: Netbook OS startup Jolicloud raises $4.2M
Jolicloud, the company created by Netvibes founder Tariq Krim to build an operating system for netbook computers, just announced it has raised $4.2 million in a first round of venture funding.
As you may have heard, Google announced last night that it’s preparing Chrome OS, its own operating system for netbooks (the smaller, cheaper alternative to laptops), so this is both a good time (yay netbooks!) and a bad time (uh-oh, Google’s coming after you) to… Continue Reading
Skype cofounders seeking $266M for their Atomico Ventures fund
Skype cofounders Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis are raising $266 million for their new fund, Atomico Ventures, within the year. This timeline — expedited by placement agent Probitas Partners — requires limited partners to provide a minimum of $13.3 million.
Based on Grand Cayman island (a conveniently tax-neutral locale), the early-stage venture capital fund will focus on “disruptive” consumer-facing startups in Europe, according to its web site. The dynamic duo of Zennström and Friis has had… Continue Reading
TrialPay gets you stuff for free — with just a bit of a catch
(UPDATED: See below.)
Getting stuff for free is always an attractive proposition from the consumer’s point of view, if not necessarily the greatest business model for the company doing the giving (go ahead and recall your favorite dot-com example here). Now TrialPay, a self-described arranger of “alternative payments” that just raised another $13 million, thinks it’s found a way to square that circle by updating an old department-store offer: Buy one, get one free.
TrialPay gets online vendors… Continue Reading