UnitedLex raises $6 million to build expert legal team
UnitedLex, a provider of legal consulting, technology and outsourcing services, brought in $6 million this week in a second round of funding led by Canaan Partners and including Helion Venture Partners. The new money will go toward scaling the Atlanta-based company both in the U.S. and India.
Working with about 30 clients, UnitedLex offers support in a range of legal areas — from administration and billing to intellectual property issues and litigation. It even has its… Continue Reading
Blurb raises $5M for self-publishing software
Blurb. Inc., developer of free downloadable software that lets anyone lay out and print their very own book, announced today that it nabbed $5 million in third-round funding to continue building its feature BookSmart tool, according to peHub. Backers in this round included Canaan Partners and Anthem Venture Partners, both of which contributed to the $14 million the company raised prior. The San Francisco-based company also received $2.5 million in venture debt from Hercules Technology… Continue Reading
Apieron seeks $25M under new leadership
Apieron Inc. plans to score $25 million in its currently open fourth-round of funding to advance development and build up sales of an asthma monitoring device.
This round is the first of Holly McGarraugh’s brand new tenure as president and chief executive officer. She joined the Menlo Park, Calif.-based company in January as vice president for marketing. While the company is still busy hammering out term sheets with venture capital firms, McGarraugh says the round should… Continue Reading
Tyco acquires Vue Technology for $43M
Tyco International subsidiary Sensormatic Electronics Corporation announced today that it bought Vue Technology, Inc., a developer of RFID software, for $43 million.
Sensormatic is known for technology used to prevent inventory loss and improve supply chain efficiency. The acquisition of Lake Forest, Calif.-based Vue is expected to give Sensormatic’s retail clients even more options when it comes to keeping track of inventory. Its RFID platform lets businesses identify and track items with radio waves, allowing them… Continue Reading
Dexterra raises $21.5M to expand mobile platform, carrier partnerships
Mobile business software provider Dexterra announced today that it scored $21.5 million in sixth round financing from existing investors led by New Enterprise Associates and including Canaan Partners, Intel Capital, Mesirow Financial, Motorola Ventures and Sigma Partners. This brings the company’s total funding to $106.5 million.
Bothell, Wash.-based Dexterra develops mobile applications to meet different business needs and the software used to distribute them wirelessly to employees’ phones. One application would let a service company track… Continue Reading
EBillme raises $12M for online payment
Online payment startup eBillme has raised $12 million more in venture funding. The Delaware, Md.-based company says its payment solution, which competes with services like Paypal and Google Checkout, says it’s superior because payments are bank-to-bank (rather than credit-based) and don’t require the disclosure of any personal information online.
The round was led by Canaan Partners and existing investor Celtic House Venture Partners.
Vivox scores deals for voice-communication in online games for 38 Studios and Sony
Once considered an afterthought in games, voice communication is becoming a bigger part of the online gaming experience. Now players can use sound strategically in large games known as massively multiplayer online games (MMOs). You can engage in a high-quality group voice chat with a large team of players to coordinate play. You can disguise your voice so that you sound like a game character instead of a 12-year-old kid. And with 3-D directional sound,… Continue Reading
Soasta raises $6.4M for cloud-based testing
Mountain View, Calif.-based Soasta, a company that tests applications on cloud networks to iron out problems before users migrate to the cloud, has raised a second funding round of $6.4 million.
Soasta sells its services to other companies, who want to move their data or users onto cloud networks — remotely stored information and applications.
Formative Ventures led the round, with participation from Canaan Partners and The Entrepreneurs’ Fund. Soasta’s first round, taken in January 2007, was… Continue Reading
Sports site The Active Network raises $80 million, for more acquisitions
The Active Network, a company that offers sports community sites like Active.com, has raised an $80 million fifth round of funding, led by existing investor and strategic partner ESPN, with additional funding from venture firms.
The San Diego-based company offers a range of events, marketing and online community services based around participatory sports. It was founded in 1998 and tried to IPO in 2004 before pulling back. It currently makes most of its $102 million in… Continue Reading
The next revolution in advertising? Peer39 thinks it’s semantics
Though still arguably in its juvenile stages, the online advertising market has already been through several major technological shifts, with the introduction of behavioral, contextual and demographic targeting for ads. What’s next has been a subject for debate. Several early pioneers have bet that it’s semantic technology, with a company called Peer39.
In stealth mode for the last two years, Peer39 has begun slowly unveiling its product. Like other companies based on semantics and natural language… Continue Reading
Dating site Zoosk raises $4.1M
Social network dating application Zoosk has raised $4.1 million from Canaan Partners, with participation from existing investors Amidzad Ventures and ATA Ventures.
The San Francisco company claims it has more than 400,000 daily unique visitors across its applications on Facebook, MySpace and Bebo, and is growing up to seven percent a week. It competes most directly with other social network dating applications like Frengo’s Flirtable. Press release with more details here.
Disclosure: VentureBeat has also received… Continue Reading
SenSage raises $15M for data storage
Data warehousing startup SenSage has raised a $15 million round of funding led by new backer FTVentures.
The San Francisco company performs “log management”; In other words, it collects and stores data about a company’s online and IT activities, and that data can later be used for legal compliance, security and systems management. SenSage’s software is being used for a variety of purposes, including fraud detection by analyzing bank transactions, or sorting through call records for… Continue Reading
Video transmission technology company LiveU raises $9M
LiveU builds video transmission technology that transmits live videos over wireless networks including 3G, Wi-Fi and WiMAX to the internet and television.
The Fair Lawn, New Jersey company has raised $9 million from Canaan Partners and Carmel Ventures.
Prime Sense claims to have the best 3D game controller
A few months ago, VentureBeat editor Matt Marshall highlighted the various players in the gesture recognition technology space, speculating that “one day, very soon, you’ll be able to control an avatar or character on a screen with a mere gesture of your hands or body.”
That day is here, says Prime Sense CEO Inon Beracha. The Tel Aviv, Israel-based company believes it will be the “Intel inside” for the 3D peripheral world, and with a new… Continue Reading
Life-science briefing: Thursday, April 3, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Mirna Thera spins out of Asuragen with $3M (release)
Stroke-therapy startup CoAxia raises $12M (release)
Stealthy device maker Synvascular gets $6.5M (peHUB)
AndroScience seeks $3.5M for anti-testosterone drugs (VentureWire)
Austria’s ProtAffin takes in €1.1M grant (release)
Singapore’s Moleac receives $3.5M for Chinese medicine (release)
Alethia Bio gets C$2.4M for antibody drugs (release)
Alba Thera names Bruce Peacock as CEO (release)
SkinMedica names Mary Fisher as CEO (release)
Mirna Thera spins out of Asuragen with $3M – Mirna Therapeutics, a newly minted Austin, Tex., startup focused… Continue Reading
Canaan Partners raises large $650M venture fund
updated
Silicon Valley venture firm Canaan Partners has raised its latest venture capital fund, at $650 million — relatively robust when compared to most venture capital firms these days.
The firm said it is focusing on seed and early stage deals, and seeks to target digital media, in an effort to draw in the younger entrepreneur.
Last year, by comparison, big-name firm Kleiner Perkins raised a more modest $600 million fund.
One reason for the relatively large size is… Continue Reading
Roundup: McCain and Obama lead in California, AOL acquires buy.at, Blue Frog bankruptcy, and more
Here’s the latest action:
1) Super Tuesday looks good for McCain, Obama in California
Update: But California went to Clinton / McCain
2) AOL acquires affiliate network buy.at
3) Blue Frog Media files for bankruptcy
4) Google Apps adds security from Postini
5) Solar panels that work even when the sun’s down
6) Baidu sued for linking to pirated music
7) Middle East cable break speculations
Flickr users still hate Microsoft
Super Tuesday looks good for McCain, Obama in California — According to the third… Continue Reading
MotionBox raises $7M for private video-sharing tools
Motionbox, a video-sharing site focused on trusted family use, said it has raised $7 million in a second round of financing.
Motionbox is one of several companies that is turning away from the YouTube model and the public expression that comes with it. It lets you shoot video, upload it to its Web site and then edit it — and the share it privately with family and personal friends. OneTrueMedia is a similar company, by Kleiner… Continue Reading
Vivox, voice chat for virtual worlds, raises $7.8M
Vivox adds voice chat capabilities to online games and worlds like Second Life, where players otherwise must use text to communicate.
Many players prefer speaking directly to one another, but there are a number of problems that can pop up. Adding voice can slow down online games, for example, and badly-designed voice systems can confuse or overwhelm people with the babble of other players.
The Framingham, Mass. company got its start as part of FreeWorld Dialup, a… Continue Reading
PicksPal raises $3M more for fantasy sports betting
PicksPal, a Silicon Valley company (Mountain View, Calif.) that says it is the American Idol for sports, has raised $3 million in a third round of funding including former investors Bay Partners and Canaan Partners.
We wrote about the company here, when it raised $6 million.
Sports fans bet on the outcome of sports games, including baseball, NFL football, pro football, and other games. The best performers get profiled.
No word on how much money the company is… Continue Reading