VentureBeat

Ad network Ecast raises funds to the tune of $17M

Ecast Network, a San Francisco-based company that disseminates advertising through digital juke boxes, has brought in $17 million in a round of equity, according to a filing with the SEC. It is backed by Crosslink Capital, DCM, El Dorado Ventures, LG Electronics, Foundry Group, Focus… Continue Reading

E-Cast snags $17M for bar and club entertainment

E-Cast Media, a company that provides interactive media in the form of music, videos and games to display monitors located in bars, clubs and other entertainment venues, has brought in $17 million in equity, according to a filing with the SEC.

Based in San Francisco, the… Continue Reading

Force10 lands $30M for networking hardware

Force10 Networks, developer of 10-gigabit networking hardware, has raised $30 million in equity, according to regulatory filings. The San Jose, Calif. company previously raised $125 million in its last, sixth round of funding in 2007. Past backers include Advanced Equities, Crosslink Capital, Meritech Investment Partners,… Continue Reading

Newscale lands $2.2M to monitor IT services

NewScale, a provider of software that helps companies track how much they are using IT services — and how much it is costing them — has raised $2.2 million of a targeted $3 million in rights, reports VentureWire.

Almost exactly two years ago, the San Mateo,… Continue Reading

Plato Networks rakes in $7.5M for energy-efficient chips

Plato Networks, maker of chips used to make data centers more energy efficient, brought in $7.5 million of an anticipated $10 million round of preferred stock. Based in Santa Clara, Calif., the company previously raised $20 million in a second round of financing from Crosslink… Continue Reading

Luxim brightens with $12M for efficient plasma lighting

Luxim, provider of high-efficiency solid-state plasma lighting systems, has nabbed $12 million in a third round of funding from Sequoia Capital and others. Based in Sunnyvale, Calif., the company plans to use the money to scale production of its existing products, which are largely used… Continue Reading

OpSource scores $10M for on-demand app delivery

OpSource, provider of software-as-a-service and web applications for a variety of functions, just raked in $10 million in fifth-round funding from Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT), Velocity Venture Capital, Key Venture Partners, Crosslink Capital and Artiman Ventures to continue expanding its software portfolio. Its flagship… Continue Reading

Force10 and Turin merge, pool their capital and clients

Network builder Force10 Networks has merged with Ethernet services provider Turin Networks to create a powerhouse in both spaces, with an impressive list of clients, numbering 1,300 (including eHarmony and Facebook), reports peHUB. More significant than that is the marrying of two significant pots of… Continue Reading

Strix strings together funds for wi-fi expansion

Strix Systems, a Calabasas, Calif. provider of wi-fi equipment, announced that it raised an undisclosed round of strategic investments to fuel expansion of its mesh-like wireless networks nationwide and overseas. To this end, it has already established a toehold in Africa with six networks of… Continue Reading

Force10 rolls out virtualization products

Force10 Networks, a developer of 10-gigabit networking hardware, will be launching a new line of products over the next half year to help companies set up automated and virtual networks. Currently, it provides routers and switches to web companies like Facebook and eHarmony, to help… Continue Reading

SiliconBlue takes $24M for low-power mobile chips

SiliconBlue, a company that provides programmable logic chips for use in mobile devices, has landed $24 million in a second round of funding led by New Enterprise Associates and including BlueRun Ventures and Crosslink Capital.

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company plans to sink its new funds into… Continue Reading

Controversial ad company Jellycloud shuts down

The deteriorating economy, and cloudy horizon for the advertising industry, has claimed one more victim: Jellycloud, the ad company I wrote last month that was the latest incarnation of team that ran the controversial Gator and Claria.

Last weekend, it threw in the towel, sent home… Continue Reading

The ad network that keeps changing its stripes: Gator, Claria, and now JellyCloud?

Can a tiger change its stripes? JellyCloud, an ad network company with a controversial past, hopes so.

About eight years ago, it operated under a different name: Gator. The Silicon Valley company attracted lots of users with a useful online vault to save all their personal… Continue Reading

Chip maker SliceX raises $15M, gets new CEO

SliceX, a maker of analog and mixed-signal chips, has raised $15 million in a second round of funding. The round was led by Crosslink Capital, with participation from existing investors Global Catalyst Partners and BlueRun Ventures, and brings SliceX’s total funding to $25 million.

The San… Continue Reading

[Update] Confirmed: T-shirt site CafePress buys art marketplace Imagekind

Update: Imagekind has confirmed the purchase.

Imagekind, an online marketplace for original and reprinted artwork, has been bought by online t-shirt and gift seller CafePress, a reliable source tells us, with rival Zazzle losing out on the deal. We hear the acquisition price may have been… Continue Reading

Efficient light company, Luxim, raises $21M more

Luxim, a Sunnyvale, Calif. company that boats it produces one of the most efficient light sources on the globe — 144 lumens per watt — or almost twice as efficient as other sources, has raised $21 million more in financing, we’ve learned.

The money comes from… Continue Reading

Validity raises $20M for fingerprint scanners

Validity Sensors, based in San Jose, Calif., develops technology for fingerprint sensors used in laptops and other devices.

The company works with partners like Cogent Systems and Synaptics to develop and commercialize its products, which it began selling earlier this quarter.

Crosslink Capital led another $20 million… Continue Reading

LucidEra raises $15 million — to bring lucidity to “business intelligence?”

LucidEra offers a web-based service that helps companies collect and analyze data across their internal software systems to make them more efficient, and has just raised $15.6 million.

LucidEra is another company in the somewhat crowded “business intelligence” industry.

These companies try to help a company’s management… Continue Reading

Solopower raises $30M more

SoloPower, the Milpitas, Calif., company building a new solar power technology based on “electroplating,” which saves costs by placing expensive carbon material only in areas high voltage potential, has raised $30 million in venture backing.

We reported the round before, but at the time the amount… Continue Reading

Plato Networks, chip company for low-power data centers, raises $20M

Plato Networks, a Santa Clara, Calif. fabless semiconductor company specializing in communications IC’s for the energy-efficient datacenter, said it has raised a $20 million second round of funding. The investment was led by Granite Ventures, who was joined by STIC International and founding investor Crosslink… Continue Reading