D.light: Bringing light to the developing world
At first glance, the Kiran solar-powered lamp made by D.light is just plain cute — it would look right at home in an Apple store. But the real news is that it could save people in the developing world a substantial amount of money, and spare the atmosphere millions of tons of carbon dioxide by replacing kerosene lamps in countries where they are still the primary source of light.
The Kiran (the Sanskrit word for “ray… Continue Reading
Simply Hired hits profitability with new $4.6M
Simply Hired, a job listing search engine based in the Silicon Valley, announced today that it has crossed into profitability with a new $4.6 million in fourth-round capital from IDG Ventures and Foundation Capital. The company is also marking four consecutive quarters of positive cash flow.
Simply Hired says it plans to use the funds to expand its global presence, making it one of the top job databanks in the business. It will also grow its… Continue Reading
Travel deal finder cFares lands $3.1M, names new CEO
cFares, a search engine that scours the net for airfare and other travel bargains, announced today that it brought in both $3.1 million in second-round financing and a new chief executive to help strengthen its brand.
At first glance, cFares operates pretty similarly to other discount airfare sites like Travel Zoo and Cheap Tickets, but there’s a twist. The Redwood City, Calif. company gives site members access to much cheaper “wholesale” airfares, particularly to international destinations…. Continue Reading
Qumu raises $10.7M for enterprise video
Qumu, which provides the infrastructure for the use of video communication in a corporate environment, has raised $10.7 million in a third round of funding. The round was led by Advanted Technology Ventures.
The Emeryville, Calif. startup’s enables live and on-demand webcasts, recorded video conferences, employee training executive briefings and product announcements. Customers include AT&T, Dell, Microsoft and eBay.
SAP Ventures, Storm Ventures, Garage Technology Ventures, Halo Opportunity Fund and the Angels Forum also participated. We wrote… Continue Reading
Yet more local reviews, with the launch of Praized
What’s the best local place for coffee? What about a burrito? Chances are if you don’t know, you know where to find out: Citysearch, Yelp, Zagat or any number of other sites. But that isn’t preventing a new generation of startups from trying to get their foot in the door. The latest is Praized Media, which is launching into public beta today.
Despite the ubiquity of local listings, sites like Yelp have some weak points that… Continue Reading
WhiteHat Security secures $7M
WhiteHat Security, a provider of website security services has raised a fourth round of funding.
Claiming to be the only complete solution for website security, the company’s WhiteHat Sentinel service is a subscription-based service that offers control of site vulnerabilities that are customer-controlled and expert-managed.
This new funding will be used to expand on service such as its Sentinel program.
This $7 million round was led by Horizon Ventures and existing backers Altos Ventures, Garage Technology Ventures and… Continue Reading
D.light Design sets out to replace the kerosene lamp, with eco-friendly lighting for India
A San Francisco-based company with plans to help the developing world snuff out its kerosene-burning lamps and replace them with cheap, solar-powered LEDs and compact fluorescents has finally unveiled its production models and announced the details of its for-profit business plan.
We’ve followed the progress of D.light Design from a Stanford design competition in late 2006 through its launch in the non-academic world, to the present moment. Started by two Stanford MBAs, D.light has been working… Continue Reading
Cheap lights and hot heat — two more cleantech innovators
Following in the theme of great-but-unusual cleantech startups I talked about last week, I recently took some time to talk to Bill Reichert of Garage Technology Ventures about a couple of his firm’s latest investments in the field.
Garage is the firm that Reichert heads up with Guy Kawasaki and Joyce Chung. An early-stage investor, the fund also had one of cleantech’s first IPO exits with its investment in Hoku Scientific, which makes materials and equipment… Continue Reading
STEP Labs to reduce headset noise, raises cash
updated
Last week we covered Jawbone’s noise-cancelling bluetooth headset, but this week STEP Labs debuted a headset technology that STEP chief executive Robert Mitro says will blow the competition out of the water.
Mitro says STEP’s technology creates a virtual acoustic bubble six inches from your mouth, so that all the other noises are blocked away. He says its minimal processing power, instantaneous voice transmission and lack of voice distortion give STEP an edge over its competitors…. Continue Reading
Garage Technology Ventures adds two partners
Garage Technology Ventures, a Palo Alto, Calif. venture capital firm, has added Joyce Chung and Henry Wong as investors.
Joyce Chung (pictured here) joins Garage as managing director, while Henry Wong joins as venture partner, a position that doesn’t carry as much responsibility as a managing director.
Joyce Chung co-founded Cardinal Venture Capital in 2000, and invested in Chipcon (acquired by Texas Instruments), Live Capital, Mobilygen, Valista and Zilliant. Prior to Cardinal, Joyce was a Director at… Continue Reading
Solar cell company Miasole raises $50M
Miasole, the Silicon Valley company developing a new, flexible type of solar cell, has raised a significant $50 million in a fourth round of financing.
The funding deal, which comes after Miasole struggled to meet quality deadlines for its technology, was widely rumored to have been underway during the summer. News that it was in fact completed in July was first reported this morning by VentureWire (subscription required).
The Santa Clara, Calif. company says it has started… Continue Reading
CFares raises $4.5M more for wholesale travel ticket offering; Lessno raises $4.1M for Europe
CFares, the Redwood Shores, Calif. company that you could call the “Costco” of travel sites, has raised $4.5 million in a first round of venture capital led by Claremont Creek Ventures, and including existing backer Garage Technology Ventures. The company had raised $1.5 million in seed funding last year, and has been looking to raise money ever since.
We first wrote about them here.
Meanwhile, Lessno.com, a Sofia Bulgaria company with offices in New York and London… Continue Reading
IndieVest, a way for wealthy individuals to mingle with Hollywood, seeks more money
IndieVest, an independent film studio designed to produce feature films paid for by wealthy individuals, has raised half of a $5 million planned first round of funding, according to VentureWire (sub required).
The round came from undisclosed individuals. The company is now searching for more capital and hopes to close the round next month.
Its seed money comes from Garage Technology Ventures, along with Empire Ventures.
This is the latest in a long list of film-related companies… Continue Reading
Miasole, the super thin solar cell co., raises $35M more
Miasole, the Santa Clara start-up which makes super thin solar cell technology, has raised $35 million more in venture capital.
VentureWire has the scoop today (sub required). Miasole is one of a handful of players producing solar technology based on CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium Selenium) and other new materials. CIGS allows the production of a paint-like product that is much more flexible than the traditional silicon, allowing it to be used in more areas, and potentially… Continue Reading