VentureBeat

The VC walking dead: Extended edition

A couple weeks ago, Dan Primack of PE Hub blogged a list of venture capital firms he termed the “VC Walking Dead” — firms that by all indication appear to still be in business but lack the cash to bring new investments on board. This… Continue Reading

Airband books $3M for its fixed-wireless network

Airband, the Dallas-based provider of a fixed-wireless network for businesses, announced that it brought in $3 million in sixth-round funding from undisclosed investors to continue building out its existing network.

The nine-year-old company gives its clients access to broadband wireless data, voice over IP service, and… Continue Reading

Metaplace raises more funding to be the MySpace of virtual worlds

Metaplace, a company that will allow anybody to build their own virtual world and access it through through an ordinary web browser, has taken $6.7 million in funding as it nears a public release.

There hasn’t been much hype around Metaplace yet, probably because of the… Continue Reading

Envivio raises $25M for video compression

Envivio, a South San Francisco, Calif. company that handles video compression for broadcasting companies, has taken a significant $25 million financing.

The platforms that Envivio is aimed at include most of the largest markets — mobile TV, Internet TV and IPTV. The company works with standard… Continue Reading

eASIC announces a 45-nanometer custom design process for smaller fish in chips

The hardest thing about starting a chip company these days is the cost. A big team of engineers has to work for 18 months or more to create a custom chip. Then it takes $1 million for the templates, or masks, that the factory needs… Continue Reading

Networking chip firm Arteris raises $7.5 million

Arteris has raised $7.5 million in a third round of financing to fund its networking chip technology.

DoCoMo capital came aboard as a new investor, joining existing investors Crescendo Ventures, TVM Capital, Ventech and Synopsis Inc. in the round, according to VentureWire.

Current customers include STMicroelectronics NV… Continue Reading

CoreOptics raises $25M for optical networking systems

CoreOptics designs 10/40/100 Gbps optical networking subsystems for tier-1 networks. Along with sales of optical fiber, the company also makes signal processing technology aimed at lowering error rates in transmission.

Founded in 2001, CoreOptics has taken over $90 million to date. The company is co-based in… Continue Reading

eASIC melds custom chips with fast-turnaround approach

Do chip start-ups really exist anymore?

Not seeing many, we were going to propose changing the name of Silicon Valley to Social Networking Valley. But now eASIC, a maker of rapid-turnaround custom chips, comes along to remind us that it’s still possible for start-ups to raise… Continue Reading

ShoZu raises $12M to connect mobile phones to Web

ShoZu, a London-based company that lets users connect their cell phones to social networking sites, has raised $12 million in a third round of funding.

ShoZu was one of the finalists for “best mobile start-up” in the 2007 Crunchies awarded this month. The company says its… Continue Reading

Quorum, cellphone chip maker, sold to Spreadtrum for $70M

Spreadtrum Communications, a Shanghai maker of wireless chips, has acquired Quorum Systems, a San Diego, Calif., CMOS RF transceiver maker, and its unclear whether Quorum’s Silicon Valley  investors were able to make a significant return.

The deal is valued at $70 million including $55 million in… Continue Reading

Roundup: [Update: Facebook takes dip, maybe?], Crescendo Ventures, and more

Here’s the latest:

1) Another Googler goes to Facebook, to head its developer platform
2) Facebook traffic apparently took a dip last month — [Update: Or didn't. See Om's update, and a big looping conversation about Facebook on Techmeme]
3) Madonna latest in string of musicians to ditch… Continue Reading

Metaplace, building a universe full of virtual worlds

When Raph Koster spoke to us in December about his startup Areae, he implied that independent games had a greater earning potential than traditional studio-produced games.

Now he’s putting his money where his mouth is, launching the website Metaplace and launching today at the TechCrunch40 conference.

Metaplace,… Continue Reading

Pure Digital raises $40M, its camcorders share with YouTube

Pure Digital, the San Francisco maker of low-cost camcorders, releases tomorrow (Tuesday) a new line of devices that let you upload video directly to YouTube.

Called Flip Video camcorders, they are the first that easily let you upload directly to YouTube. We reviewed Pure Digital in… Continue Reading

QuikCycle, lab automation software co., raises $8.9M

QuikCycle, a Santa Clara, Calif. company that sells software for lab automation and test management, said it has changed its name from Lumenare Networks to QuikCycle.

QuikCycle also said it has raised a $8.9 million round of funding from the struggling venture capital firm, Crescendo… Continue Reading

Dash fills coffers for Web-connected car navigation

updated

Dash, the start-up offering the first car navigation device designed to be permanently linked to the Internet, has raised $25 million in a second round of funding.

The Mountain View Dash will launch its device in the Bay Area in late April, and nationally this fall,… Continue Reading

Next generation game start-ups, Bigdog Games and Areae, raise millions

D2C Games (also known as Bigdog Games) and Areae are two of the latest game start-ups boasting “next generation” technology, and they’ve just raised millions of dollars in venture capital.

D2C, of San Mateo, has raised $1.5 million in a first round of funding (Dan… Continue Reading