Outright raises $5.5M to help small businesses with their finances
Outright, which offers a free online application to help small businesses manage their finances, has raised $5.5 million in a first round of institutional funding led by Sequoia Capital. The firms that invested in Outright’s seed round — First Round Capital, Shasta Ventures, and SoftTechVC — also participated. The Campbell, Calif., company has now raised a total of $7.5 million.
PowerFile closes in on $12M for online archiving
PowerFile, maker of appliances for online archiving, has brought in a little under $11.85 million in a fifth round of preferred stock and common stock, according to a filing with the SEC. Based in Foster City, Calif., the company is backed by Sequoia Capital and Silver Creek Ventures.
Eventbrite scores $6.5M for online event coordination
Eventbrite, a web-based company that tracks event invitations, ticketing and RSVPs for large events, has brought in $6.5 million in equity, debt, rights and security from Sequoia Capital, according to a filing with the SEC. Based in San Francisco, it is also backed by European Founders Fund. Bebo founders Michael and Xochi Birch and YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim have also contributed to Eventbrite’s now $9.5 million in financing.
Loopt aims for that mobile, social and real-time sweet spot with Pulse
Mobile social network Loopt is getting into the real-time game with Pulse, which will bring recommendations for things to do to depending on where you are and what’s popular at the moment.
It pulls in data from content partners like Zagat, Daily Candy and Thrillist along with its own users’ activity to figure out which places are busy. CEO Sam Altman calls it “social local discovery” — where should you go given where you are now… Continue Reading
Xceive takes in $378K for RFID circuits
Xceive, maker of RFID-based circuits used in a range of electronic devices, has brought in $378,000 in promissory notes, according to a filing with the SEC. Based in Santa Clara, Calif., it is backed by Sequoia Capital, Alliance Ventures, BA Venture Partners and Ignite Group.
Twilight of the venture gods: Is Sequoia spreading itself thin?
Along with Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, Sequoia Capital is probably the most famous venture capital firm around, but it may have overreached in the last couple years, writes Adam Lashinsky in Fortune.
Lashinsky writes that Sequoia attempted to branch out from venture capital into a broader range of investments, with a project modeled on college endowments and dubbed the Heritage Fund. However, Sequoia’s plans collided with last year’s financial crash. The firm has yet to announce… Continue Reading
Jive’s Social Business Software gets another $12M from Sequoia
Jive Software, which uses social networking to help businesses collaborate internally and externally, has raised another $12 million from Sequoia Capital.
Portland, Ore.-based Jive’s products include sites where employees can collaborate, customer discussion forums, and company social networks. Despite being part of the flood of companies offering business social networking tools, Jive seems to have done well. The company says its revenue doubled in the third quarter of 2009 compared to the same period last year… Continue Reading
Barracuda gobbles up majority stake in Phion to beef up enterprise security
Barracuda Networks, a Campbell, Calif.-based maker of appliances to block spam and viruses transmitted over the web and email, announced that it bought a controlling interest in Austria-based Phion, a publicly-traded company that installs firewalls for enterprises, for about $18.7 million. Barracuda has been backed by Sequoia Capital and Francisco Partners, having raised $40 million in a 2006 first round of funding.
Financial reporting software maker HyperRoll sells off assets to Oracle
HyperRoll, developer of software for data aggregation and financial reporting, says it will sell off its intellectual and technology assets to Oracle. Based in Mountain View, HyperRoll was backed by Sequoia Capital and Greylock Partners. The deal continues Redwood Shores-based Oracle’s strategy of acquiring smaller companies to expand its own software offerings, particularly its Enterprise Performance Management portfolio.
Previously, HyperRoll provided software to help large companies tally up their finances at the end of each quarter… Continue Reading
Unisfair captures $3.2M to host virtual events
Unisfair, a firm that hosts virtual events, particularly job fairs that you don’t have to attend in person, has brought in $3.2 million of an anticipated $9.3 million round of equity, according to a filing with the SEC. The Menlo Park, Calif.-based company just bolstered its offerings by integrating Facebook and Twitter into its event experiences.
Unisfair’s platform allows you to create a digital character, or avatar, that you can navigate through a faux exhibition hall… Continue Reading
A123Systems is ready for its close up — preps for tomorrow’s IPO
A123Systems is the name on everyone’s lips today as the most gabbed-about IPO of the week — maybe even of the last few months — preps to go live on the Nasdaq tomorrow morning as AONE. The Watertown, Mass., company made news yesterday, hiking its share prices. And today, industry analysts are stepping back, looking at what the sale might mean for other advanced energy storage companies hoping to follow suit.
A123 is of particular interest… Continue Reading
Oorja nabs $500K for methanol fuel cells
Oorja, maker of methanol fuel cells used to charge batteries for forklifts, pallet loaders and other industrial vehicles, has landed $500,000 in convertible promissory notes, according to a filing with the SEC. Methanol is an alcohol-based fuel that produces zero greenhouse gas emissions. Based in Fremont, Calif. the company markets primarily to large retailers and manufacturers, aviation companies, and distributors, like truckers.
According to the company, many companies in these sectors have taken note of the… Continue Reading
Ruckus nabs $10.7M for Wi-Fi for internet TV
Ruckus Wireless, maker of Wi-Fi routers for internet television, has brought in $10.7 million of an anticipated $12 million sixth round of venture funding, according to a filing with the SEC. The Sunnyvale, Calif., company did not disclose investors in the round so far but says it has previously been backed by Investor AB, Motorola Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Sutter Hill Ventures, and T-Ventures, among others.
Ruckus has now raised about $50 million to date.
fbFund’s dating site Thread raises $1.2 million from Sequoia, Founders Fund
Thread, a dating site that uses Facebook’s social graph to suggest potential matches, raised $1.2 million from Sequoia Capital, First Round Capital, Founders Fund and angel investor Ron Conway.
The site, founded by some of PayPal’s original product managers, helps people find dates through their Facebook friends.
“The best people to date are friends of friends,” said CEO Brian Phillips, who went on a third date with someone he met through the site. “Not all the best… Continue Reading
Sequoia Capital investing in . . . Chinese vegetables and dairy?
Huh, well Silicon Valley’s most respected venture capital firm, Sequoia Capital, has taken an agrarian turn.
It has just invested $63 million into a publicly traded Chinese dairy company, American Dairy Inc., which distributes infant formula, milk powder and soybean, rice and walnut products in China.
Sequoia Capital has steadily been diversifying its geographical focus, increasing its investments in places like China and India. And because technology startups are not as attractive in those regions, it’s backing… Continue Reading
CalPERS commits $60M to Khosla’s new seed fund
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System announced today that it has committed $60 million dollars to Khosla Ventures for its new seed-stage fund. The firm, based in Menlo Park, Calif., and founded by former Kleiner Perkins higher-up Vinod Khosla, has invested in 70 early and late-stage companies to date with a strong focus on the cleantech area — including the solar, energy efficiency, battery and biofuel spaces. It has raised $250 million for its seed… Continue Reading
MobileIron gives enterprise IT more control over employee smartphones
Smartphones continue to proliferate in large, “enterprise”-size companies, but those phones aren’t well-integrated into enterprise IT, says Bob Tinker, chief executive of a startup called MobileIron. He thinks MobileIron (which boasts several impressive venture backers) is going to change that.
The Sunnyvale, Calif., company is launching its Virtual SmartPhone Platform today, which purportedly creates a virtualized version of every employee’s smartphone that runs on the company’s data center. On the employee side, the phone works as… Continue Reading
Quantenna adds new funds for wireless video chips
Quantenna, maker of chipsets used to improve video functionality in televisions and laptop, has added an unspecified amount to its third round of funding, which previously amounted to $13.8 million.
Based in Fremont, Calif., the company has now raised $44 million to date ($2 million more than it reported having in April), according to VentureWire. Its backers include Grazia Equity, Sequoia Capital, Sigma Partners, Southern Cross Venture Partners and Venrock.
Voice messaging startup Bubble Motion confirms $6M in funding
Bubble Motion, a company that allows users to send voicemails as if they were SMS text messages, announced today that it has raised $6 million in a third round of funding. Based on a regulatory filing, we first covered the Mountain View, Calif. company’s funding in June, but now Bubble Motion has confirmed the news and identified the new investor, Palomar Ventures, which led the round.
Here’s the company’s concept: If you want to send your… Continue Reading
eMeter takes $32M to help utilities switch to smart meters
eMeter, maker of software that helps utilities integrate data channeled from new smart meters in residential and commercial areas, has brought in $32 million in a third round of funding to meet rising demand.
While this financing, provided by Sequoia Capital and Foundation Capital, will help the San Mateo, Calif., company expand its marketing efforts and deliver more product, it says it’s still waiting for utilities to receive their chunks of the $4.5 billion in stimulus… Continue Reading