Research In Motion (RIMM) plans to start selling its BlackBerry Playbook tablet computer in the first quarter, with price under $500, Bloomberg reports.
“The product will be very competitively priced,” Co-CEO Jim Balsillie told the wire service in an interview in Seoul, South Korea, while declining to be more specific. The [...]

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Forte Design Systems, a firm that makes semiconductor design software, has raised $2.7 million in equity. Lanza Tech Ventures, Infinity Capital and Maywood Capital Partners participated in the round, according to a filing with the SEC. The San Jose-based company develops products to help engineers create production-ready chip designs.

The company was founded in 1998 as C2 Design Automation.

Companies: C2 Design Automation, Forte Design Systems, Infinity Capital, Lanza Tech Ventures, Maywood Capital Partners

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DriverSide, a Web site that gives car advice to consumers, has raised $2 million of an expected $3 million in a third round of funding. Allegis Capital and Catamount Ventures participated in the round, according to a filing with the SEC.

Based in San Francisco, DriverSide helps car owners get estimates for auto repair, track recall notifications and get advice from mechanics. The site also calculates a car’s depreciation, allowing consumers to figure out the best time to sell.

DriverSide last raised $5.3 million from the same investors in March 2009 and has raised more than $10 million to date.

Companies: Allegis Capital, Catamount Ventures, Driverside

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Wi-Fi hotspot advertising network JiWire has raised $2.1 million of a planned $6.3 million in debt, options, warrants and other securities. Existing investors Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Panorama Capital and Comcast Interactive Capital participated in the round, according to a filing with the SEC.

Based in San Francisco, JiWire delivers ads to users of hotspots in locations like Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, hotels and airports. Because JiWire knows the location of each hotspot, it is able to target ads toward expected users, such as business travelers in airports. This week, JiWire released a report saying coupons and discounts are the most appealing location-based ads for Wi-Fi users. JiWire also reported that 55% of public Wi-FI locations in the U.S. are now free.

JiWire last raised $11 million from the same investors in April 2009.

Tags: location based services

Companies: Barnes & Noble, Comcast Interactive Capital, DFJ, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, JiWire, Panorama Capital, Starbucks

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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

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Redbeacon, a startup that links consumers with price quotes from local service providers, has raised $7.4 million in a first round of funding. Mayfield Fund and Venrock led the round, which the company will use to expand beyond the San Francisco Bay Area. The site helps consumers get bids and book appointments with local businesses like contractors and movers. The service is free for consumers to use, and service providers only pay commission if they win a job. Founded in late 2008 by former Google employees, Redbeacon was previously self funded.

PRESS RELEASE

Redbeacon, an online service allowing consumers to receive price quotes and book appointments for virtually any local service, announced today it has completed a Series A round of financing from Mayfield Fund and Venrock. Raj Kapoor, Managing Director at Mayfield, and Brian Ascher, General Partner at Venrock, will join the Company’s board. The funding will help Redbeacon achieve its goal of connecting consumers to the best local service professionals to handle their job or project.

“They have succeeded in turning a manual, time-consuming, phone-based experience into a streamlined, online e-commerce experience.”

Since launching at the TechCrunch50 Conference, where it won the grand prize in September 2009, Redbeacon has quickly emerged as one of the most innovative solutions to the vexing problem of local search. When consumers request services on Redbeacon, they specify when and where they need the service and describe what they need done. Redbeacon notifies local businesses using a proprietary algorithm that takes into account location, availability, ratings, and recommendations from the consumer’s own social graph. “Consumers expect more from the Internet than a directory,” explained Cofounder and CEO Ethan Anderson. “Our product goes well beyond previous local search attempts by allowing consumers to receive actual price quotes and book their appointments online with local service providers.”

The investment from Mayfield and Venrock will allow Redbeacon to scale up its engineering and marketing teams as the Company prepares for its geographic expansion beyond the pilot San Francisco Bay Area market. It will also be used to support distribution partnerships in which the Redbeacon service is embedded into the websites of partners wishing to offer local services to their own customers.

“The local services opportunity for Redbeacon is one of the largest and most underserved markets on the Internet. We believe they have the winning combination of a star team, strong product success in their first market, and great timing as both consumers and local service providers are comfortable researching and buying services online,” said Raj Kapoor, Managing Director, Mayfield Fund.

“Redbeacon’s very talented team and break-through product have the potential to redefine local services procurement for consumers and lead generation for local service providers,” said Brian Ascher, General Partner of Venrock. “They have succeeded in turning a manual, time-consuming, phone-based experience into a streamlined, online e-commerce experience.”

“We’re thrilled to be working with such a world-class group of investors,” said Anderson. “Mayfield and Venrock will help Redbeacon create a future where it is as natural to book a house cleaning appointment online as it is to book your own flight reservation.”

Companies: Google, Mayfield Fund, Redbeacon, Venrock

People: Brian Ascher, Ethan Anderson, Raj Kapoor

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iScience Interventional, a startup that makes instruments for eye operations, has closed a $3.6 million seventh round of funding, according to a filing with the SEC. The Menlo Park, Calif.-based company develops a micro-catheter that can reach small, sensitive spaces in the eye without causing tissue damage. iScience also offers iForum, an online community for eye surgeons. The professional network allows ophthalmologists to discuss new findings and techniques, like those developed by iScience.

The company last raised $20.5 million in April 2009 from investors including Three Arch Partners, Johnson & Johnson Development Corp., Affinity Capital Management and Clarian Health Ventures.

Companies: Affinity Capital Management, Clarian Health Ventures, IScience Interventional, Johnson & Johnson Development Corp., Three Arch Partners

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GreenVolts, a company that develops solar concentration technology for utility companies, has raised $7.5 million of an expected $11.3 million in debt funding. Oak Investment Partners participated in the round, according to a filing with the SEC. Based in Fremont, Calif., the company focuses sunlight on high-efficiency solar cells and is currently building a 3 MW power plant for Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) in Tracy, Calif.

GreenVolts has raised more than $50 million to date from Oak Investment Partners, Greenlight Energy Resources and Avista Corporation.

Tags: Solar

Companies: Avista Corporation, Greenlight Energy Resources, Greenvolts, Oak INvestment Partners, Pacific Gas & Electric, PG&E

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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

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Netpulse, a maker of touch screen displays for exercise equipment, has raised $2 million in equity,according to a filing with the SEC. The San Francisco-based company launched its entertainment platform at New York Sports Clubs in March, after raising $3.1 million in its first round of funding last October. Founded in 1993, the company was started by Intuit co-founder Tom Proulx and is backed by DFJ Frontierand Javelin Venture Partners.

Netpulse’s displays offer consumers live HDTV, on demand music videos and iPod connectivity. Twitter and Facebook will soon be available as well. Netpulse users also have access to personalized workout data, which they can tap into both online and from any gym with Netpulse displays, and the company promises advertisers the opportunity to reach affluent consumers with highly targeted ads while they exercise.

Companies: DFJ Frontier, Facebook, Javelin Venture Partners, Netpulse, Twitter

People: Tom Proulx

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