Posted on 22 September 2010
Tags: clean-tech, cleantech, deals & more, francisco-based, intel-capital, latest, latest-funding, manage-power, michael reinstein, mike reinstein, million-round, startup-raised
Nexant, a clean-energy consulting firm, has closed a $43 million round of funding, the company announced today. The round was led by Oak Investment Partners and Intel Capital with participation from TeleSoft and Beacon. The San Francisco-based startup raised the first $32 million of the round in July.
Nexant plans to use this latest funding for product growth and expansion. Founded in 2000, the company has completed projects for clients like electric utilities and grid operators in more than 100 countries. The firm offers consulting services and analysis software to help clients improve energy efficiency and manage power grids.
The funding from Intel Capital is part of Intel’s Invest in America Technology fund. The company announced last week that it invested $30 million in four tech companies including Nexant.
Tags: clean tech, cleantech
Companies: beacon, Intel, Intel Capital, Invest in America Technology, Nexant, Oak INvestment Partners, TeleSoft


Article courtesy of VentureBeat » Deals & More
Posted on 17 September 2010
Tags: bargains-each, deals & more, francisco, francisco-food, harrison-metal, million-round, popular-site, program-called, ventures, women-between

Daily deals site Bloomspot has closed a $9 million round of funding, the company announced today. The round was led by Menlo Ventures with participation from True Ventures and Harrison Metal.
Like popular site Groupon, Bloomspot offers group bargains each day, but Bloomspot focuses on deals from high-end merchants like hotels, restaurants and spas. The startup targets affluent yet bargain-conscious women between the ages of 30 and 50, and the average deal is more than $75–though some are much pricier.
If users sign up for a program called Community Circles, Bloomspot will donate a percentage of each purchase to a local non-profit organization. The San Francisco Food Bank and Kiva are just two organizations that benefit from the program.
Currently in San Francisco, New York City and Los Angeles, the company plans to expand to Boston and Washington D.C. this fall. Founded in 2009, Bloomspot raised $2 million in seed funding that year and the site has been live since January.
Companies: Bloomspot, Groupon, Harrison Metal, Kiva, Menlo Ventures, San Francisco Food Bank, True Ventures


Article courtesy of VentureBeat » Deals & More
Posted on 21 August 2010
Tags: capital, carta-logo, facebook, facebook-places, from-investors, funding-comes, location based services, location-based, million-round, mobile, mobile-venture, mobius-venture, norwest-venture, Venture Capital, wire

deCarta, maker of geospatial software for location-based apps, has raised $6.2 million of an expected $10.2 million in a fourth round of funding, according to a filing with the SEC. The San Jose-based company develops a platform that powers local search and mapping apps. The funding comes at the end of a busy week for location-based services, including the launch of location check-in feature Facebook Places and Facebook’s acquisition of location-based startup Hot Potato. deCarta last raised a $35 million round in 2008 from investors including Norwest Venture Partners, T-Mobile Venture Fund, TransLink Capital, Mobius Venture Capital and Cardinal Venture Capital.
Tags: LBS, location based services
Companies: Cardinal Venture Capital, DeCarta, Facebook, Facebook Places, Hot Potato, Mobius Venture Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, T Mobile Venture Fund, Translink Capital


Article courtesy of VentureBeat » Deals & More
Posted on 12 August 2010
Tags: deals & more, generate-more, legal-support, management, michael reinstein, million-round, online, reinstein, tiger-global, wire
Russian online marketplace Wikimart has closed a $5 million round of funding, according to a filing with the SEC. Private equity firm Tiger Global Management acquired 50% of the company through the deal, according to TechCrunch. Founded by Stanford MBA students, the online mall lets retailers open shop for free but charges them 3% per transaction once sales begin. Wikimart also provides retailers with services including accounting and legal support and marketing. The company currently has 2,000 online merchants who generate more than $1.5 million in sales per month.
Wikimart previously raised $0.7 million from angel investors when it launched in 2009.
Companies: Stanford, techcrunch, Tiger Global Management, Wikimart


Article courtesy of VentureBeat » Deals & More
Posted on 26 July 2010
Tags: capital, chief-executive, deals & more, innovations, lambda, million-round, reinstein, such-as-botnets, such-as-mobile
Red Lambda has raised a $10 million round of funding for its network security software.
The round was led by Saad Al-Barrak, former vice chairman and managing director of wireless carrier Zain Communications. The company said it is also launching the latest version of its AppIron Grid Platform this week at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas. AppIron uses virtualization and grid computing — two technologies that have swept through enterprise computing in recent years — to address network security problems. The company’s new product uses active user identification technology, which captures data about a user’s login session to identify the user and protect him or her from threats such as botnets, intrusions, anomalies, and file sharing malware.
The funding suggests that the landscape is changing for security as new technologies such as mobile computing, cloud computing, and other innovations arise. Orlando, Fla.-based Red Lambda is positioning itself to deal with those changes, said company chief executive Bahram Yusefzadeh. The company will use the capital to support marketing, sales and international business expansions. Other investors include V2R Group and an unnamed angel fund.
Companies: Red Lambda


Article courtesy of VentureBeat » Deals & More
Posted on 14 July 2010
Tags: claremont-creek, deals & more, michael reinstein, million-round, moffett-field, regain-mobility, research-park, saratoga-ventures, wire
Tibion Bionic Technologies, a startup that develops orthopedic devices to help patients regain mobility, has closed a $3 million round of equity, according to a filing with the SEC. The company’s knee technologies can be used during physical therapy to help patients dealing with a stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease or other traumas.
Tibion, which is based at NASA Research Park in Moffett Field, Calif., is backed by Claremont Creek Ventures and Saratoga Ventures. The company previously raised $3.5 million in 2006 and $3.15 million in February.
Companies: Claremont Creek Ventures, NASA Research Park, Saratoga Ventures, Tibion


Article courtesy of VentureBeat » Deals & More
Posted on 22 March 2010
Tags: benchmark-capital, capital, deals & more, ignition-partners, make-it-easy, mike reinstein, million-round, partners, right-one, seattle, wire
Avvo, a web site that lists and ranks lawyers to make it easy for people to find the right one, has raised $9.9 million of a targeted $10 million round of equity, according to a filing with the SEC. Based in Seattle, Wash., the company is backed by Benchmark Capital, Ignition Partners, and DAG Ventures.


Article courtesy of VentureBeat » Deals & More
Posted on 16 March 2010
Tags: 26-2-million, deals & more, mike reinstein, million-round, reinstein, review-site, ventures, wire
PowerReviews, a service that aggregates consumer reviews for e-commerce retailers looking to improve their businesses, has brought in $4.9 million of a targeted $9 million round of equity, according to a filing with the SEC. Based in San Francisco, the company, which also operates product review site Buzzillions, previously raised $26.2 million, and is backed by Menlo Ventures, Draper Richards, and Lehman spin-off Tenaya Capital.
Companies: Draper Richards, Menlo Ventures, powerreviews, Tenaya Capital
Article courtesy of VentureBeat » Deals & More
Posted on 15 March 2010
Tags: expertise, irish, michael-smurfit, mike reinstein, million-round, reinstein, search-engines, social-networking, social-platform, venturebeat
Weedle, a social platform that lets users connect with people who need their skills or expertise, announced today that it has raised a $4 million round of funding to expand its platform in the U.S. and around the world.
The recently-launched beta version combines the basic elements of social networking with advanced semantic web technology to create a network of individuals showcasing specific skill, expertise or talent. If you’re in need, for example, of a social media specialist, then through Weedle you can connect with people marketing that as their skill.
The platform also lets users promote their expertise to a network of contacts. That way they are highlighted in search results if they share a mutual friend with the person looking. They can also be found through search engines like Google.
The Ireland-based site, founded just this year, is free to join and looking to target professional services, trade, and craft professionals.
Funding came from several investors, including Irish business entrepreneurs Michael Smurfit and Weedle co-founder and CEO Iain MacDonald, as well as the Irish government agency, Enterprise Ireland.

Companies: Weedle
Article courtesy of VentureBeat » Deals & More
Posted on 09 March 2010
Tags: allows-users, angel-investors, deals & more, facebook, michael reinstein, million-round, personal, peter-hershberg, reinstein, social-networking
TellaPal, a new social network and recommendation engine in one, has raised $1.6 million of a targeted $5 million round of equity, according to a filing with the SEC. Based in San Francisco, the startup allows users to write recommendations for products or services, and then share their comments virally via instant message, e-mail, blogs and social networking sites (like Facebook, hi5, MaySpace) all at once. TellaPal allows users to include special offers with their recommendations, so their personal networks can benefit from the service. At the same time, recommenders can earn rewards for evangelizing for various products and services.
TellaPal previously raised $750 million in a seed round in April 2009. The company is backed by a handful of angel investors, including Joshua Stylman and Peter Hershberg, co-founders of social marketing agency Reprise Media.
Companies: TellaPal
People: Joshua Stylman, Peter Hershberg
Article courtesy of VentureBeat » Deals & More