SandForce gathers $21M for flash memory processors
SandForce, maker of flash memory processors, has raised $21 million in a third round of funding. Based in Santa Clara, Calif., the company is backed by TransLink Capital, UMC Capital, LSI Corp., Red Maple Ventures, Darwin Ventures, A-Data Technology, DCM, Storm Ventures and unnamed others.
RiseSmart lands $4.6M for online job search services
RiseSmart, a job search site geared toward employees who make over $100,000 a year, has raised $4.6 million in a first round of funding from Storm Ventures and Norwest Venture Partners. It has now raised about $9 million in funding, including the participation of several angel investors. Based in San Jose, Calif., the company touts its Job Concierge and Transition Concierge services, designed to help top-tier job seekers find the right fit for them.
Employee smartphone manager MobileIron raises $11M
MobileIron, a company that helps corporate IT departments manage employee smartphones, originally caught my eye because it had the backing of some impressive venture firms — Sequoia Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, and Storm Ventures. Now the Sunnyvale, Calif. company has raised an $11 million second round co-led by the same investors.
MobileIron launched officially just a couple of weeks ago. The company’s key technology involves the creation of a virtual version of each employee’s smartphone that… 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
SandForce emerges from stealth with new flash chip line
SandForce, maker of flash memory processors, has left stealth mode to release its first line of products tailored to enterprise applications like data centers and personal computers. The Saratoga, Calif. company says its SF-1000 model is more reliable and allows for more data retention than other chips of its kind. It previously raised an undisclosed amount of funding over two rounds from DCM and Storm Ventures.
SandForce uses flash memory in enterprise and mobile computing applications… Continue Reading
Transera raises $17M for on-demand call center technology
Transera, provider of software that lets its clients set up cost-effective call centers with agents (in-house or outsourced) all over the world, announced that it brought in $17 million in a fourth round of funding from Accel Partners, Apax Partners, Lighthouse Capital Partners and Storm Ventures. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company says it will use the money to go after new customers, improve its service infrastructure and continue developing its products.
In particular, Transera’s software, called Seratel,… Continue Reading
Bivio nets $15.8M for flexible networking systems
Networking systems developer Bivio Networks just took in $15.8 million in a round led by Silver Creek Ventures and including new Japanese investors Itochu Techno-Solutions Corporation and Cross Technology Partners, as well as existing backers InterWest Partners, Storm Ventures, Venrock and Goldman Sachs. The Pleasanton, Calif.-based company builds systems through Linux that can be used for security, management or compliance purposes. It will use its new financing to expand sales overseas.
Appcelerator launches open source platform for desktop apps
Appcelerator, a Mountain View, Calif. startup that that builds open source tools to ease the development of web applications, is now offering a platform called Titanium for creating hybrid web/desktop applications for your computer and mobile phone. The company also announced a first venture round of $4.1 million.
The obvious precedent here is Adobe AIR, a technology used by companies like The New York Times to build desktop applications that pull data from the web but… Continue Reading
Kineto Wireless raises $15.5M for mobile base station technology
Kineto Wireless Inc., developer of software that lets mobile phones work on both cellular and Wi-Fi networks, brought in $15.5 million in fourth-round funding to advance the technology of wireless base stations — known as femtocells — which would expand home broadband coverage.
The new 3G and 4G femtocells would connect to customers’ existing broadband service to infuse home zone coverage for smart phones, and could even bridge gaps between coverage areas.
The investment round included contributions… Continue Reading
3Leaf Systems raises $35 million round for enterprise virtualization technology
Virtualization technology is still buzzing with activity, as its adoption by large companies remains one of the biggest trends in the economy right now.
Virtualization grabbed headlines 13 months ago, when VMware raised nearly $1 billion in an initial public offering. Now virtualization chip maker 3Leaf Systems has raised $35 million in a third round of funding to expand its offering.
Virtualization technology saves money for big companies, because it reduces the number of machines or other… Continue Reading
IDF: Intel gets behind start-up MetaRAM’s server memory solution
Silicon Valley start-up MetaRAM is announcing its second-generation chip set today with backing from Intel. MetaRAM’s technology can quadruple the memory capacity in a server, cutting the server costs as much as 90 percent. The Intel endorsement is a big win for a little San Jose company that has proven more clever than giant memory chip makers.
It’s no surprise that Intel will give MetaRAM some of the limelight at its “digital enterprise” keynote speech today… Continue Reading
DeviceVM’s ‘instant on’ software gets another $15M
DeviceVM, a company that allows you to use your computer while it’s booting up, has raised another $15 million in funding.
The San Jose, Calif. company’s software is called Splashtop, and it comes preinstalled on PCs and motherboards. When those PCs are turned on, or when users hit a special key, they can use Splashtop within a few seconds to check their email, chat with friends, get on the Internet and more. (See screenshot below.) Although… 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
Ad optimizer YieldBuild raises $6 million — this area is getting competitive
YieldBuild offers software that lets a web publisher optimize text advertisement placement and formatting, so the ads will receive the maximum number of click-throughs. In other words, it helps publishers make more money.
Optimizing text ads without this type of software typically involves a lot of manual effort — compiling data from across ad networks on a site, running tests on format changes, etc. And, even after optimization, readers may stop clicking once they get used… Continue Reading
Mobile coupon company Cellfire raises $12m
Mobile phone coupon company Cellfire has raised $12 million in a third round of funding.
The round includes a new investor, Silver Creek Ventures, and existing ones, including Menlo Ventures and Storm Ventures.
People who sign up for Cellfire’s service automatically receive coupons on their cell phones. If they accept the coupon, users receive a unique redemption code that’s redeemed at the store.
San Jose-based Cellfire was founded in January 2005. The company says it has distributed more… Continue Reading
Ad Infuse takes on $12M more, builds market share in mobile advertising
This may well be the year that the leaders in the mobile advertising space emerge, and startup Ad Infuse has taken on another $12 million to try to ensure its place at the table.
As we reported in an October story, Ad Infuse is distinguished by its focus on targeted user data. Stats like age, gender and geographical location are used to determine the best ad to serve to any particular mobile user, a method the… Continue Reading
Inovys, structural testing for semiconductors, acquired by Verigy
Inovys, a Pleasanton, Calif. company that makes software and hardware for structural testing of semiconductors, was founded in 1999.
The company picked up nearly $40 million in funding over the years, from venture investors including Storm Ventures, CMEA Ventures, Palomar Ventures, Techfarm, HIG Ventures and Hotung Ventures. Two corporations, Advantest and Synopsys, also put money into Inovys.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed, although a company representative told VentureWire (subscription required) that virtually all Inovys… Continue Reading
Adomo raises round to unify messaging at big businesses
For years, companies like Cisco, and all the little piranha start-ups nibbling at Cisco, have sought to make communications simpler for companies and their employees.
Adomo, of Cupertino, Calif., is the latest Silicon Valley start-up attempting to give employees a way to bring together voice and email messages on a single networked “platform.” It comes at a time when there are more opportunities than ever to open up such platforms to integration with other social web… Continue Reading
Qwaq, offering a 3D virtual workplace
Qwaq, a Silicon Valley company seeking to let company work groups collaborate in a 3D online virtual environment, has just raised $7 million in financing.
Virtual collaboration might sound fanciful, but increasingly experts are saying this is where the office environment is headed. Well-known venture capitalist John Doerr is just the latest to speak of a 3D “radically immersive” Web and to say that he is looking to invest in it, though he is not the… Continue Reading
Ad Infuse, for highly targeted mobile advertising
Ad Infuse is ready to serve you targeted ads on your cellphone — and may surprise you with how much it knows.
The company can pinpoint a user’s age, gender, income level, and location, among other things. Advertisers pay handsomely for such information, sometimes more than the going rates for banner ads on the internet.
In their race to become early winners, companies like AdMob (our coverage) and Third Screen Media have also been working on their… Continue Reading