Visual search engine Superfish nets $5.3M
Superfish, a stealthy startup that will eventually let users search by sight, reeled in $5.3 million in second-round financing. The Palo Alto, Calif. company has been in research mode for a couple of years and plans to launch the service in the next several months.
Very little is known about the actual product, though the firm is able to maintain another office in Israel. Paid Content has compared it to Russian visual search engine Quintura, which… Continue Reading
HD electronics maker VizionWare short circuits
VizionWare Inc., a producer of cables and adapters, has shuttered — and fast. The announcement went out today and the company’s website has already disappeared. Attributed to disappointing sales in Blu-ray connectors, its close leaves investors who contributed $21 million since its 2002 founding out in the cold, including Novus Ventures (with a 27 percent stake), Access Venture Partners, DFJ Mercury Venture Partners, Individuals’ Venture Fund and InterWest Partners.
The Austin, Tex.-based company started to unravel… 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
Online digital marketplace Zipidee launches public beta, raises funding
Zipidee, a company that lets you sell digital information through an online marketplace, is launching its public beta service tomorrow.
The service is targeting musicians, videographers, researchers or anyone else with digital information — that people are willing to pay for. Sellers create accounts with Zipidee, upload and display their digital goods on the Zipidee home site, or in a Zipidee widget on their own site. Buyers make direct online purchases through the Zipidee system. The… Continue Reading