first venture
A/B Tester Optimizely Raises Funding From Battery And Google Ventures, Plans Mobile Launch
techcrunch.com
Optimizely, the Y Combinator-incubated startup that helps companies A/B test their websites, just announced that it has raised new funding from Battery Ventures, Google Ventures, and InterWest Partners. The startup previously raised $1.2 million from angels including Ron Conway, Chris Sacca, and Ashton Kutcher, but this is its first venture...
Shapeways Raises $30M for 3D Printing Led by Andreessen Horowitz's Chris Dixon
allthingsd.com
The idea of dreaming up a physical object and having a computer help you bring it to life — aka 3D printing — is very cool today, but there’s a long way to go. Some of the challenges include faster creation times, more accessible software, a greater variety of materials...
Spark Capital Brings On Former Zynga Executive As A Venture Partner
www.businessinsider.com
Spark Capital, a Boston-based venture capital firm with investments like Twitter, Tumblr and Admeld, has made a new hire. Former Zynga executive Nabeel Hyatt will join as the firm's first venture partner. He will help lead Spark's investments in consumer Web, social and mobile startups. Hyatt cofounded Conduit Labs,...
Serendip hopes to help you find your music soul mates with its free web app
thenextweb.com
Serendip has launched a free web app called MyMusicSoulMates (MMSM), the Israeli startup has announced. As you may have guessed from its name, MMSM lets you find people who share your music tastes. You have three options to get started with MMSM: connect it to your Facebook and Twitter accounts, or simply...
Microsoft's Surface: Hiding in Plain Sight
allthingsd.com
When Microsoft first showed off its Surface tablet in June, it was a surprise to many that the company was entering the computer business. After all, Microsoft had spent three decades sticking to PC software, letting others make the machines. Even Microsoft’s longtime hardware partners had just a brief heads-up....
China to get first official taste of Surface Pro outside of North America
www.engadget.com
Microsoft's Surface Pro will mark its first venture outside the cozy confines of the Americas by heading to China on April 2nd, according to its Weibo site. That could also mean that lovers of the convertible tablet in Australia, parts of Europe and elsewhere might also be able to...
CareZone, A Service For Caregivers, Raises $13M From NEA, Catamount And Jonathan Schwartz
techcrunch.com
CareZone has been busy discovering a few key markets since launching in February, chief executive Jonathan Schwartz tells me. And the results are good enough to warrant a big round of funding: nearly $13 million from New Enterprise Associates, Catamount Ventures, and Schwartz himself. Founded as an intranet for people...
Endgame Raises Another $23M To Take Its Gov't Security Solutions To A Wider Commercial Market
techcrunch.com
The rise in cybercrime, malware and other malicious hacking is seeing a subsequent rise in the fortunes of tech startups that are setting out to fight it. Today, Endgame announced that it has raised $23 million in a Series B round of equity finance, which it will partly use to...
New London Incubator SeedCloud Puts £500,000 into Sentience Technology, Aims At Big Data Startups
techcrunch.com
As if there weren’t enough technology startup accelerators already in Europe, yet another launched today with the hope of attracting ‘cloud’ based startups in the areas of Big Data, Machine Learning and other similarly high-end areas. But unlike some, this one will have some pretty heavyweight serial entrepreneurs involved. SeedCloud...
The story behind BrightSource’s ditched IPO
gigaom.com
The tower at the Chevron, BrightSource solar oil plant When solar thermal company BrightSource Energy withdrew its IPO plans last week there was a collective groan from greentech and solar industry watchers. The company was the strongest out of the handful of greentech IPO hopefuls last month, and if BrightSource...
Amazon Studios Branches Out Into Original TV for Web and Network
www.wired.com
Screenshot from studios.amazon.com Amazon is looking for television executives to develop original half-hour kids‘ and comedy series for both online and traditional distribution, according to two new job postings at Amazon.com. The driving force behind these hires is Amazon Studios, which solicits screenplays, pitches and test movies from anyone on...
Honest Buildings raises first venture round for green building data
gigaom.com
Honest Buildings, a startup that aggregates information about buildings’ energy use and green characteristics, has raised its first round of venture funding led by RockPort Capital and Mohr Davidow Ventures. Previously the startup, which is about a year old, had raised an angel round from Spring Ventures, Jason Scott, Managing...
Walkie-Talkie App Voxer Popular With Investors, Too, Raising $15M to $20M At Up To $300M Valuation
techcrunch.com
There’s been a few walkie-talkie mobile apps that have come out on iOS and Android over the last year or two, but it wasn’t until last fall that when one of them had a breakout moment. Voxer suddenly hit it big with young black people in Cleveland and a few...
11-year-old Atmail lands its first venture funding: $2m from Starfish Ventures
thenextweb.com
The enterprise email and communication company Atmail has announced a $2 million investment from the Australian fund Starfish Ventures. The company plans to use the funding to “drive product development, expand the technical team, and increase its US, Asia and European focus,” stated Atmail in its press release. Apart from...
Spherical glass lens concentrates sunlight by up to 10,000 times, boosts solar cell efficiency
www.engadget.com
Eking out more power from solar cells is an ongoing challenge for scientists, and now architect André Broessel has developed a spherical glass energy generator that's said to improve efficiency by 35 percent. Acting as a lens, the rig's large water-filled orb concentrates diffused daylight or moonlight onto a...
Sources: SnapChat Raising "North Of $10M" At Around $70M Valuation, Led By Benchmark's Mitch Lasky
techcrunch.com
We now have a foil for all the young consumer startups trying to raise their first venture rounds. Snapchat, an increasingly popular mobile app that auto-deletes photos shortly after viewing, is about to close a big new round of funding from Benchmark Capital. We’ve been chasing for the last week...
Boot up: Google tests augmented-reality glasses, Silicon Valley backs Facebook in Yahoo battle, and more
www.guardian.co.uk
Plus Flashback trojan 'controls half a million Macs' and Google's Larry Page opens upA quick burst of 4 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology teamGoogle's Page: Apple's Android Pique 'For Show' >> BusinessweekLatest interview with Larry Page.Flashback trojan reportedly controls half a million Macs and...
Boot up: Google tests augmented-reality glasses, Silicon Valley backs Facebook in Yahoo battle, and more
Foxconn planning $1B plant in Indonesia, will create a million jobs
venturebeat.com
Electronics manufacturer Foxconn, which has gained notoriety as Apple’s key manufacturing partner for mobile devices, is in talks to open a $1 billion facility in Indonesia. The aim: making “good quality products and make them available in the markets at lower prices,” the company announced Tuesday. It likely doesn’t...
Google's New Line Of Nexus Devices Challenge Apple On All Fronts
readwrite.com
The three new Nexus devices Google announced on Monday - two tablets and a smartphone - will be the Android linchpins for the holiday shopping season. This is the first time that Google has announced more than one of its flagship Nexus touch screen devices at once and the trio diversifies the company's...
Viewdini: Could this app be Verizon’s first pass at toll-free mobile data?
gigaom.com
Verizon Wireless revealed a new incarnation of its old V Cast streaming mobile video service on Tuesday; this one built on the back of its new LTE network. Called Viewdini, the Android app aggregates content from premium video services such as Hulu, mSpot — now a Samsung-owned property — and...
American site for finding nannies and carers, Care.com expands into the UK
thenextweb.com
Care.com, the service that helps American families find and connect with carers, is launching in the UK today. This is the first venture outside of the US for the Boston-based company which was founded in 2006. Already, there are thousands of carers registered on the UK site and to celebrate...
Saban Brands buys kid-safe online content company Zui
thenextweb.com
Saban Brands has acquired kid-safe online content platform Zui to strengthen its position in the kids entertainment segment across all media, the company announced today. The amount of the deal wasn’t disclosed. The startup is best known for Zui.com, which lets children access a curated library of videos and online games as part of a...
Servers: The Original Google Hardware Device Makes a Comeback
www.wired.com
The GSA — the original Google hardware device. Image: Google Nowadays, Google is known for all sorts of hardware. It designs servers and networking gear and other stuff for its massive data centers. It sells smartphones and tablets to the world at large. But before everything else, there was the...
Snoop Lion Reincarnated album gets a companion iPad app
www.guardian.co.uk
Will tablet 'liner notes for the 21st century' help the music industry return to growth?Snoop Dogg's reinvention as reggae artist Snoop Lion is yielding a documentary film and album, both called Reincarnated and due for release this month. Now there's an app for that too.Snoop Lion's Reincarnated: Track Notes App...
Gojee Raises $2.8M From InterWest For Beautiful Recipe Aggregation
techcrunch.com
Gojee, an aesthetically pleasing recipe-sharing site, has raised a first venture round of $2.8 million from InterWest Partners. The New York startup has pivoted its way into a growing site with more than 500,000 registered users — and it’s also been getting attention for its simple and beautiful design. It was nominated for...
MicroVentures Investment Challenge is like fantasy football for venture capitalists
venturebeat.com
MicroVentures is an investment marketplace easing the process by which startups interest and gain new investors. The Austin, Texas-based company recently joined forces with social media and game developer Zobee to make the first venture capitalist-themed Facebook game. The title makes a game out of picking the best startups,...
Care.com welcomes a new family member with acquisition of payroll and tax specialists Breedlove & Associates
thenextweb.com
Fresh from its recent $50 million investment, Care.com is putting some that money to good use with the acquisition of US payroll company Breedlove & Associates, which will now operate as a subsidiary of its new parent company. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but with 7 million members in more than 15 countries, Care.com...
Care.com welcomes a new family member with acquisition of payroll and tax specialists Breedlove & Associates
VIDEO: Microsoft unveils Surface tablet
news.bbc.co.uk
The Windows maker's first venture into an own-brand family of tablets...
If you were offline over the weekend, here's what you missed
thenextweb.com
If you took the opportunity for some time away from the Web this weekend, here’s a chance to catch up on stories and features from The Next Web and beyond. The news It was reported that music streaming service Deezer had raised $130m from Access Industries. The company today confirmed...
Watch out for Bigfoot! 'Series A crunch' sighting reported in Silicon Valley
venturebeat.com
The Series A crunch has left the realm of Bigfoot and Nessie and is entering the realm of truth, at least according to Fenwick & West. The law firm released the results of its 2012 Seed Financing Survey today, which found that the number of startups obtaining Series A financing...
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