Today’s funding announcements include services that help users discover TV shows, music and fashion accessories:

Peel lands $16.7M to help you decide what to watch: The developer of a television recommendation iPhone app has raised a second round of funding led by Lightspeed Venture Partners with participation from existing investors. The company, also a producer of hardware that turns the app into a universal remote control, plans to use the latest funding to sell the hardware through retail channels and expand the app to other mobile platforms. Peel was founded in 2009.

NoiseToys scores $1.2M for social apps: The developer of music promotion app Hitmaker has raised debt funding, according to a filing with the SEC. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based mobile app developer focuses on apps that combine game mechanics with social sharing, and NoiseToys is currently developing Apptitude, an iPhone app that will act as a social app store. The company’s first app Hitmaker reached #9 on the App Store in October 2010.

Send the Trend gets $3M for personalized fashion tips: The web site for fashion accessories has raised a first round of funding led by Battery Ventures to offer members customized recommendations for fashion accessories each month. Today, the company also launched a revamped web site with social capabilities including voting and sharing. Send the Trend, which launched in October 2010, gives users suggestions based on survey responses, and users have the option to buy accessories for a flat rate of $29.95 each month.

Xlumena raises $7M for endoscopy products: The Mountain View, Calif.-based company has raised a second round of funding led by Aperture Venture Partners, according to a filing with the SEC. The company develops an innovative technology for interventional endoscopy, or the practice of examining the inside of an organ for medical reasons.

Companies: Aperture Venture Partners, Battery Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, NoiseToys, Peel, Send the Trend, Xlumena

Article courtesy of VentureBeat » deals

Add FBR Capital’s Craig Berger to the list of folks warning of poor trends in the PC business. Eric, in his column over the weekend, noted the trend to recent low-balling of Q4 by Dell (DELL), and Autodesk (ADSK), as well as Chris Danely with JP Morgan warnings of Asian [...]

Article courtesy of BARRONS.com: Tech Trader Daily

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Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

The Silicon Valley Venture Capital Confidence Index is a quarterly survey of venture capitalists in Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area, done by researchers at the University of San Francisco.

The latest report says, “An improved exit environment is increasing liquidity opportunities for venture firms and providing better returns to limited partners …. Further, disruptive market opportunities are being exploited by venture-backed firms,making them attractive acquisition targets by corporations who may have cut their R&D budgets … and are now flush with cash.”

Still, writes USF professor Mark Cannice, there’s an obvious shift happening in the VC world. Capital is being concentrated among a shrinking number of high-visibility firms. Cannice says, “This trend may lead to less risky investments,a higher hurdle for less experienced entrepreneurs, and fewer game-changing technologies in the long term.”

Cannice’s full report also includes a full list of the VCs he surveyed. Separately, he also prepareda report on Chinese investors. No surprise, they’re more confident than Sand Hill Road right now.

People: Mark Cannice

Article courtesy of VentureBeat » Deals & More