Jingle Networks keys up $7.5M for directory assistance
Jingle Networks, the company that operates national telephone directory assistance (1-800-FREE-411), landed $7.5 million in a fourth round of funding, according to VentureWire. The Menlo Park, Calif. firm will add this sum to the $75 million in capital it previously raised from Goldman Sachs, Hearst, IDG Ventures, Liberty Associated Partners and Comcast Interactive Capital. First Round Capital joined for the recent round.
Jingle Networks operates through voice-recognition software that breaks down callers’ queries. It brings in… Continue Reading
Free 411 service Jingle raises $13M
Jingle Networks, a provider of free telephone directory services, has raised $13 million in a third round of funding, according to VentureWire.
The service, called “1-800-FREE-411″, is pretty simple, and it’s completely automated: You dial a number, listen to an ad and then get the information you need. The Boston-based company has signed up around 150,000 advertisers.
When we covered Jingle back in 2006, the startup had just raised $30 million to build out its network —… Continue Reading
Jingle Networks rings up $13M for directory assistance
A competitor to free phone directory assistance services offered by Microsoft and Google, Menlo Park’s Jingle Networks runs 1-800-Free-411, one of the most popular in the category.
We’ve written about Jingle before. Back in 2006, we reported that it had just taken $30 million with a $150+ million valuation, driven by advertising played back to callers.
In the interim, the company has grown from a base of some 200 advertisers to over 50,000, according to the Investor’s… Continue Reading
Roundup: Digg’s crisis, Odeo, Amidzad’s touch, Mobio’s movies, HAVA for Christmas
Happy Thanksgiving weekend, folks. Here’s a roundup of the latest.
The crisis at Digg — Digg, the San Francisco company that lets users rank news, is facing a credibility test. A fake story about Sony recalling its PlayStation 3 stayed on the site’s front-page for several hours, even though the content was clearly questionable — people blindly digged the article nonetheless. This led to some sleuthing by Niall Kennedy, who turned up evidence of some major spamming…. Continue Reading
Roundup: FON’s gambit, Obvious, Zachary’s blog, Vox & more
Roundup in Silicon Valley:
FON exploits opportunity to stir up WiFi interest in San Francisco — Search engine company Google is having a heck of a time getting “crazy nut job” local SF residents to agree to its plans for a city-wide WiFi project. So while big Google is stymied, another company, FON, is hoping to slip under the regulatory radar with a grassroots campaign: Offering hundreds of its La Fonera wireless routers at an event it… Continue Reading
Jingle gets $30M to grow its free directory assistance service
(Updated below with comments from chief executive George Garrick)
Jingle Networks, a Menlo Park start-up which provides free phone directory assistance, has raised a whopping $30 million more in venture capital — upping the ante in what is now a crowded field.
This area has become popular because people find this an easy way to avoid the $1 to $3 they get charged using regular DA service.
Jingle, which markets itself as 1-800-Free-411, supports the free service by… Continue Reading
Roundup of best Silicon Valley news: YouTube, FON, Ning & more
Catching up:
YouTube is making $7.5 million a month –Everyone has been guessing whether YouTube is profitable, given the high costs it faces hosting all its videos. This guy says YouTube is doing $7.5 million a month in ads, and is profitable.
FON, the company that wants to encourage people to share their WiFi routers, having problems? — The general manager of US division has left. We’re beginning to think this Fon idea my be too clunky to fly…. Continue Reading
PodShow raises $15M more for….podcasting. Yikes!
Podshow, a company that promotes podcasts and finds sponsors for them, has raised $15 million more in a second round of venture capital from its big-name investors, following up on $8.85 million in a first round last summer.
Dan Primack has the scoop.
This is, frankly, surprising, because the business model still hasn’t been proven for this medium. This is a lot of money. There are other players out there, too, like Odeo (funding from Charles River… Continue Reading