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VC News
UpTake (Kango) Received $3.95 Million for Travel Search Site
July 04, 2008
UpTake (Kango) Received $3.95 Million for Travel Search Site
UpTake raised $3.95 Million in series A funding from Shasta Ventures.
What does UpTake do?
UpTake is an aggregator of travel planning information.
VCU says:
UpTake used to be named Kango, with this recent round of funding they also changed their name. UpTake is an aggregator of travel planning information. They state you can search over 1,000 travel websites and 20,000,000 opinions.
Not only do they aggregate travel information for searching they also categorize information in groups such as family information, or by city and by hotel, which is typical of travel planning sites. However what they also offer, and you can see the topics on the homepage of their site, is information categorized by "things to do" by destination such as "Baltimore things to do". A great way to learn and plan activities ofr a trip.
Take a look at UpTake here.
Founders:
NA
Funders:
Read more about Shasta Ventures here.
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Nimbuzz Received $15 Million for Mobile VoIP and IM
July 02, 2008
Nimbuzz Received $15 Million for Mobile VoIP and IM
Nimbuzz raised $15 Million in Series B funding from Naspers/MIH and Mangrove Capital Partners. Series A funding was $10 Million
What does Nimbuzz do?
Nimbuzz is a free mobile application for VoIP and IM bridging social networks and the mobile phone.
VCU says:
You can use Nimbuzz on your mobile phone, download an application to your PC or use their web version. They even have Nimbuzz in a widget to place on social networks.
Nimbuzz is free for calling, group calling, instant messaging, chat, group chat, file sharing across popular IM communities, including Skype, MSN, GTalk, Yahoo!, AIM, ICQ, plus 23 social networks including Facebook and MySpace.
Take a look at Nimbuzz here.
Founders:
NA
Funders:
Read more about Mangrove Capital Partners here.
Naspers/MIH
TopTenReviews Received $6 Million for their Review Site
July 02, 2008
TopTenReviews Received $6 Million for their Review Site
TopTenReviews raised $6 Million in Series A funding from Highway 12 Ventures and Village Ventures.
What does TopTenReviews do?
TopTenReviews provides reviews on everything from electronics to movies.
VCU says:
TopTenReviews is very unique in that each product or service is not only reviewed but always compared against competitors. Detailed product reviews are provided, however it is the side-by-side comparisons that are most helpful and the focus of Top Ten Reviews.
They also provide helpful buying guides, articles explaining how to get the most out of a product, and an easy way to get it. The categories are broad, everything from electronics to movies. Next time you are looking for anything, it would be best to take a look at Top Ten Reviews, I wish I had before my most recent purchase. I searched for reviews online, then compared as best I could myself, however Top Ten Reviews compares them for me in one place. Great idea, very useful.
Take a look at TopTenReviews here.
Founders:
NA
Funders:
Read more about Village Ventures here.
mFoundry Raised Undisclosed Amount for Mobile Financial Services
July 01, 2008
mFoundry Raised Undisclosed Amount for Mobile Financial Services
mFoundry received undisclosed amount from Banc of America Strategic Investments.
What does mFoundry do?
mFoundry provides mobile banking and payment products.
VCU says:
mFoundry provides mobile banking and payments solution for financial institutions and wireless carriers.
From their website "mFoundry’s Spotlight Financial Platform offers a comprehensive, secure solution for the entire mobile financial ecosystem. Spotlight incorporates mFoundry’s leading mobile banking and payments product into the platform and has been adopted by some of the largest banks and operators in the United States. Additionally, the Spotlight Platform offers a fast, easy and affordable solution for banks of all sizes. mFoundry provides the only equitable mobile banking and payments solution for operators and financial institutions."
Allowing individuals to bank with their mobile phones is a great idea, and the company to do it first, successfully, easily, and securely should do quite well.
See the mFoundry site here.
Founders:
NA
Funders:
Banc of America Strategic Investments
"Im In Like With You" Raised $1.5 Million for Gaming Site
July 01, 2008
"Im In Like With You" Raised $1.5 Million for Gaming Site
ImInLikeWithYou raised $1.5 Million in funding from Spark Capital.
What does ImInLikeWithYou do?
ImInLikeWithYou is a site for gamers.
VCU says:
ImInLikeWithYouis a site with games, sort of a social network around their games as you can play with others, meet others and invite others.
Take a look at ImInLikeWithYou here.
Founders:
NA
Funders:
Read more about Spark Capital here.
Venture Capital Update : Week of June 23rd to June 30th 2008
June 30, 2008
Click here to listen to the Venture Capital Podcast
Kaltura Received Undisclosed Amount for Open Source Video Platform
Miyowa Received $8 Million for their Mobile Messaging
SodaHead Received $8.4 Million for their Opinion Community
Moxsie Received $1 Million for a Fashion Social Network
Blog Talk Radio Received $4.6 Million for their Social Radio Network
Yoono Received $4 Million for their Social Networking Plugin
Jaxtr Received $10 Million for their Free Calls and Private Numbers
Jitterbug Received $38 Million for Cell Phones & Service
Kaltura Received Undisclosed Amount for Open Source Video Platform
June 28, 2008
Kaltura Received Undisclosed Amount for Open Source Video Platform
Kaltura raised an undisclosed amount from .406 Ventures.
What does Kaltura do?
Kaltura has an open-source video platform.
VCU says:
Kaltura provides video editing and management tools. However the difference between Kaltura and competitors is that their platform is open source.
Anyone can add video capabilities. They recently cut a deal wit Wikipedia whereby Wikipedia users will soon be able to use their own clips or other media available from the Creative Commons to make mashups.
Take a look at Kaltura here.
Founders:
NA
Funders:
.406 Ventures
Miyowa Received $8 Million for their Mobile Messaging
June 28, 2008
Miyowa Received $8 Million for their Mobile Messaging
Miyowa raised $8 Million in Series B funding from Techfund and Credit Agricole Private Equity. Total funding is now at $12.7 Million.
What does Miyowa do?
Miyowa provides universal, handset-independent, standard-compliant Mobile Instant Messaging technology.
VCU says:
Miyowa has a messaging technology which they call MoveMessenger (TM) for mobile IM. They also provide additional products, all products are available white-labeled. The additional products have what they call Mobile Web 2.0 Instant messaging related content and services. Currently they state they are processing over 3 million interactions per day.
Take a look at Miyowa here.
Founders:
NA
Funders:
Techfund and Credit Agricole Private Equity
SodaHead Received $8.4 Million for their Opinion Community
June 28, 2008
SodaHead Received $8.4 Million for their Opinion Community
SodaHead raised $8.4 Million in Series B funding from Mission Ventures and Mohr Davidow Ventures. Series A funding was $4.3 Million.
What does SodaHead do?
SodaHead is an opinion community focused on discussing recent hot topics.
VCU says:
SodaHead is an online community, social network, focused on discussing hot topics. You can start conversations, simply ask a question, or give your opinion.
They have categories such as politics, pop culture, music, sports or relationships. It is a community with a focus on a particular type of content - opinions.
Take a look at SodaHead here.
Founders:
NA
Funders:
Read more about Mohr Davidow Ventures here.
Read more about Mission Ventures here.
Moxsie Received $1 Million for a Fashion Social Network
June 28, 2008
Moxsie Received $1 Million for a Fashion Social Network
Moxsie raised $1 Million in Series A funding from Alloy Ventures.
What does Moxsie do?
Moxsie is a social network focused on fashion.
VCU says:
Moxsie is a social network focused on a niche - fashion. As a member you connect to others as well as designers, buyers and retailers.
They provide videos, fashion shows, pictures, and stories about independent designers. They also give you tools to manage your online shopping across the web all in one place.
Expect more and more niche social networks to appear.
Currently Moxsie is in Beta. Take a look at Moxsie here.
Founders:
NA
Funders:
Read more about Alloy Ventures here.
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