Skyfire raises $5M more for better mobile browsing
Skyfire, make web browsing on your mobile phone as fast and easy as it is on your desktop computer, has raised $5 million in new funding.
The Mountain View, Calif. company said it had more than 1 million users when it lest beta testing a few months ago. The browser’s main strength is its ability to load and help you navigate complex or media-heavy websites — like, say, social network Facebook. Skyfire recently announced a new… Continue Reading
User-generated fashion mag Polyvore grabs $5.6 million
As fashion mags grapple with vanishing ad pages, user-generated fashion site Polyvore has raked in $5.6 million in a second round of funding.
Users on the site grab images of shoes, clothes and accessories from Polyvore’s library to create outfits and share them with friends — it’s like getting to be an editor in charge of a fashion spread in Vogue or Lucky. The start-up can earn a commission when users buy clothing items through the… Continue Reading
Matrix Partners closes ninth fund at $600M
Matrix Partners announced today that it’s closed its ninth fund at $600 million, with plans to finance consumer internet, software and telecommunications startups.
This is a pretty impressive feat for any fund considering how difficult it has been for most firms to raise money since the downturn. Matrix simply says it is fortunate to have committed limited partners. Maybe this is because it’s been around for 30 years and has an established reputation. Even when returns… Continue Reading
Fanfare Group takes in $7M for equipment-testing software
Fanfare Group, maker of software used to test companies’ networking equipment, has raised $7 million of an expected $9.6 million round of equity. Based in Mountain View, Calif., the company previously raised $12 million in a 2007 third round of funding from Focus Ventures, Matrix Partners and Redpoint Ventures, reports VentureWire.
Fanfare says its software packages speed up testing times by cutting down on manual tasks, encouraging collaboration, and virtualizing more processes to enable offline testing…. Continue Reading
Tigo Energy charges up with $10M for solar power balancing
Tigo Energy, a company that ties together hardware and software systems to improve solar array efficiency, has raised $10 million in a second round of preferred stock, reports VentureWire. By balancing power evenly across solar deployments, the service prevents outages, improves reliability and increases net energy generated, Tigo says.
It raised $6 million in a first round of funding last June from Matrix Partners and OVP Venture Partners.
Wireless media delivery co. Digital Fountain sells to Qualcomm
Digital Fountain, a company specializing in sending media over wireless networks — especially streaming video — just sold to San Deigo goliath Qualcomm. It’s unclear whether the flagging economy played a role, but the Fremont, Calif. company may have been running short on funds. It had raised a total of $45 million over several rounds of funding since its inception in 1999, most recently pulling in $5 million in a fifth pass in 2004. Past… Continue Reading
Pixel8 sets itself up to be online video game-changer
Pixel8 Networks, a stealthy San Jose, Calif.-based provider of online video distribution technology, announced plans to roll out a line of products in September that could fundamentally change the way online video is delivered. Very little information has been released about what’s in store, but co-founder Randy Chou told VentureWire that the company is working on better ways to transfer video and large amounts of data.
On its web site, Pixel8 (not to be confused with… Continue Reading
CloudSwitch secures $7.4M for stealthy cloud software
CloudSwitch, a Waltham, Mass. company that creates cloud management software, just brought in $7.4 million in first-round funding to continue development on several stealthy projects. Little is known about what may distinguish its products from those offered by similar cloud firms RightScale, Hyperic and Amazon Web Services, only that they “will help enterprises dramatically reduce costs,” according to its web site.
The company, backed by Atlas Ventures and Matrix Partners, also says it’s hiring but doesn’t… Continue Reading
Xtalic raises $10M for nanocoatings
Xtalic is a Marlborough, Mass. company that makes nano-scale material coatings based off the work of an MIT professor. The company has raised $10 million in a second round of venture funding.
Despite their high-tech origins, Xtalic’s coatings can be applied by customers through a simple electroplating process. The nanocoatings resemble chrome, and can be used for either decorative or protective purposes.
The funding was provided by Matrix Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners. A third investor,… Continue Reading
Cisco acquires email startup PostPath for $215M
Networking giant Cisco Systems has agreed to acquire an email startup called PostPath for $215 million.
To explain the acquisition, Cisco touts PostPath’s security, scalability and compatibility with other email solutions — the Linux-based email service’s interoperability with Microsoft Exchange has been a selling point in the past. Cisco says it plans to incorporate the Mountain View, Calif. startup’s email and calendaring features into its WebEx software (acquired by Cisco last year), which is trying to… Continue Reading
Roundup: A123 files for IPO, Nokia opens in Africa, Calera comes out, and more
A123 Systems files proposal for IPO — Lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems, which aims to sell into the electric vehicle market, has filed the initial registration statement required for an initial public offering. The number of shares to be sold or price has not yet been determined.
Nokia opens research unit in Africa — Aiming to keep ahead in Africa’s growing telecommunications market, handset maker Nokia has opened a unit to study which services will work best on… Continue Reading
Rohati Systems raises $12M for network security
Network security company Rohati Systems has raised a $12 million second round of financing from existing investors Foundation Capital and Matrix Partners, bringing its total funding to $22.6 million.
The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based startup plans to release the first product in its Rohati Transaction Networking System platform by the end of this month. Chief executive Shane Buckley says Rohati will make it easier for companies to control access within their networks. Once a company has allowed someone… Continue Reading
VideoIQ raises round for fancy video surveillance cameras
VideoIQ is one of the companies pursuing “intelligent video surveillance.” That means it is bringing security cameras and their accompanying equipment into the modern computer age. This includes cameras that transfer video over the Internet for storage on hard drives, where the video can be indexed and searched for events that trigger alarms. A security officer doesn’t have to scroll through hours of dull video to find a possible suspicious incident.
The Bedford, Mass., company has… Continue Reading
Tigo Energy raises $6M for solar panel boost
A Los Gatos company that says it brings together innovations from solar, IT and the semiconductor industry, Tigo Energy has raised a first round of funding for a combined hardware / software designed to improve solar panel installations.
Power output, up-time and reliability are all improved, according to Tigo, speeding payback time and heightening the effectiveness of solar panels.
The $6 million funding was co-led by Matrix Partners and OVP Venture Partners.
Skyfire raises $13M to improve mobile web browsing
Skyfire has raised a $13 million second round of funding as it ramps up its campaign in the mobile browser wars.
The Mountain View, Calif. startup’s goal, says chief executive Nitin Bhandari, is to make a browser that makes the mobile web experience as close to the PC-browsing experience as possible, rather than settling for the simplified web presented on most mobile browsers like Opera Mini. Some of that comes down to the interface: Like the… Continue Reading
Marketing software company HubSpot raises $12M
HubSpot, a startup that offers a free “website grader” to promote its marketing software, just received the venture equivalent of an “A” — namely, a $12 million second round of funding led by Matrix Partners.
The Cambridge, Mass. startup specializes in what it calls “inbound marketing” — in other words, it focuses less on trying to grab people’s attention wherever possible, and more about drawing people to a company’s website and then converting those visitors into… Continue Reading
Ringside Networks brings Facebook to your website
Facebook remains an extremely popular destination site. But an increasing number of companies are trying to take elements of the popular social network and distribute them elsewhere on the web.
We’ve mentioned several, including most recently Deluux, which we called promising. Even Facebook is trying to extend itself elsewhere on the Web. Now there’s Ringside Networks, which allows Facebook applications to run (and stay synced) on any website.
The Marlton, NJ-based company launched in public testing mode… Continue Reading
Buzzwire, streaming media for mobile phones, raises $8 million
Buzzwire, which streams video and radio to mobile phones without the need for a download, has raised $8 million in its second round of financing.
The Boston-based company, which we wrote about here, says it has secured a distribution deal with one of the top U.S. carriers, and plans to use the money to expand into international markets.
Sequel Venture Partners led the round, which included existing investors Spark Capital and Matrix Partners.
Roundup: Forterra, Appfuel, AOL’s plans? and more
Here’s a summary of the latest action. See below for more:
1) In-Q-Tel invests in Forterra Systems, a private virtual world creator
2) Appfuel, another Facebook ad network, but with better ad targeting
3) AOL to spin out advertising arm?
4) Project Playlist, for sharing music playlists on other sites, raises $3 million
5) Four Interactive, a local business review site, gets $10 million from Valley VC’s
In-Q-Tel invests in Forterra Systems, a private virtual world creator – San Mateo-based Forterra’s software… Continue Reading
Caring.com, a site for caregivers, to launch this week
(Update: Turns out, Care.com, a very similarly named site, has just raised $2M. More below.)
Caring.com, a Silicon Valley web site aimed to help people care for aging parents, plans to launch its Web site Friday, and has raised $6 million in a first round of venture funding.
Split Rock Partners led the round. DCM, which previously backed the Palo Alto, Calif. company with $750,000 in seed capital, also participated according to VentureWire (subscription required).
Founder Andy Cohen… Continue Reading