ThousandEyes sniffs out performance problems on-site, off-site wherever
Startup says it can keep an eye on both your internal IT and your SaaS providers to pinpoint problems fast. Read more »
MadeiraCloud nets $1.5M to paint a pretty picture of your Amazon cloud
Startup says its visualization tool is an easier way to see all AWS resources associated with a given application and will use its new money to advertise that feature. Read more »
Chrysalix VCs: Well, we’re making money in cleantech
VCs at firms like Sequoia Capital or Andreessen Horowitz might scoff at the call for attention to a positive fund value, but in the cleantech ecosystem a significant positive growth in value is pretty rare. Read more »
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Okta gets $25M more to take on cloud identity management
The enterprise IT market is undergoing a radical shift thanks to cloud computing. On-demand computing has added agility but also increased complexity, and Okta, a startup that helps track who can access what corporate assets, has raised $25 million to bring identity management into the future. Read more »
Embattled video startup Color says it won’t fade to black (for now)
photo: Color
UPDATED: Color is not shutting down, said a company spokesman, contrary to a report earlier today that Color was “winding down” its business. Color has gotten its share of criticism after a failed launch and $41 million in funding. Read more »
iPad publisher Inkling expands to iPhone
In a move aimed primarily at users of its textbooks, iPad publisher Inkling is making all of its titles available for the iPhone. The company’s interactive ebook publishing platform, Habitat, now works for iPhone as well. Read more at paidContent »
Songkick’s Tourbox is a one-stop shop for live bands
Gig listings startup Songkick has started its expansion into broader music services, with a new feature called Tourbox that lets bands manage and promote their live dates across the web, through integrations with the likes of YouTube, Spotify, SoundCloud and Bandcamp. Read more »
Sunrun raises $60M for residential solar service
Investors may not be so keen to put money into solar manufacturing these days, but they are pumping quite a bit of money into the solar retail sector. Sunrun is benefitting from this investor sentiment and announced Wednesday that it’s raised a $60 million in equity. Read more »
Super VC Mike Moritz diagnosed with rare medical condition, steps back
Mike Moritz, arguably one of the few super VCs has been diagnosed with a rare, incurable medical condition and has decided to take a step back from active daily duties at Sequoia Capital. He still intends to continue making investments and work with younger partners. Read more »
Another $40 million for Jawbone from Kleiner Perkins, Deutsche Telekom
Jawbone, a San Francisco-based company that makes mobile lifestyle accessories such as Jambox and Up, a personal health device has raised another $40 million in new funds from Deutsche Telekom, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, private investor Yuri Milner and J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Read more »
Michael Moritz: Easy to start, tough to keep a company going
It’s easier than ever to start a company, according to Sequoia Capital General Partner Michael Moritz, but there’s still the question of how companies will stand the test of time. That was one takeaway from his chat with Om Malik at GigaOM RoadMap on Thursday. Read more »
Super VC Michael Moritz headlines GigaOM RoadMap
Michael Moritz, general partner at white shoe venture firm, Sequoia Capital is going to be a headline speaker at our GigaOM RoadMap conference, on November 10 in San Francisco. Moritz, along with other tech luminaries will help us figure out how connectedness will change our future. Read more »
Now Evernote wants to become a productivity platform
Fresh off its $50 million in funding, note-taking and memory service Evernote is preparing for its first-ever developer conference next month, where it will outline its broader strategy and how it plans on becoming a 100-year company by building a productivity platform. Read more »
Sequoia hires — and kicks tires — with Talenthouse deal
Sequoia will be crowdsourcing its job application process through Talenthouse, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup that allows companies and artists to hold design contests for things like album art and logos. Sequoia isn’t an investor in Talenthouse– yet. Could this essentially be a public tire-kicking session? Read more »
Taykey launches out of stealth mode with $11M VC
Online advertising platform startup Taykey officially launched out of stealth mode Thursday with the announcement of a $9 million funding round led by Sequoia Capital. The round officially serves as the two-year-old company’s series B funding and brings Taykey’s total investment to $11 million. Read more »
Tumblr Confirms $30 Million Funding Round
Micro-blogging service Tumblr has raised $30 million in new funding with backing from Sequoia Capital, Union Square Ventures and Spark Capital. The latest funding, which follows up on Mathew’s report last month that the company had raised another round, brings Tumblr’s total to about $45 million. Read more »
Bubblicious? Tumblr Raises Huge New Funding Round
Tumblr, the web-publishing platform that has seen spectacular growth over the past several months, has landed a huge new round of funding led by veteran Sand Hill Road VC firm Sequoia Capital that values the three-year old, New York-based startup at about $135 million. Read more »
Evernote Grabs $20 Million For Cloud-Based Notetaking
Evernote announced it has raised $20 million, enabling it to expand on its mission to capture memories and ideas in the cloud. The new round of funding will allow for faster product development and expansion into new markets and validates Evernote’s freemium model. Read more »
There’s No Mystery to The Event‘s Social Media
Whether you liked or loathed the premiere of NBC’s The Event last night, the transmedia elements accompanying the series are super-disappointing. While there are a few sites and Twitter accounts, their level of success ranges from mildly entertaining to flat-out disjointed. Read more »
SunRun Raises $55M in Round Led By Sequoia
SunRun, after announcing a $100 million solar fund with utility PG&E last week, has closed a $55 million Series C round led by VC heavyweights Sequoia Capital. The solar financier plans to use the funds to ramp up sales and expand its U.S. operations. Read more »
Stealthy Sequoia-backed C12 Energy on Dealmaking Out West
Sequoia Capital-backed carbon capture startup C12 Energy now has “several early stage CCS projects,” in the works, according to testimony from founder Kurt House, who pulled back the curtain on what he sees as keys and challenges for deployment of carbon capture tech. Read more »
Sequoia's Kvamme: Social Media Marketing Can Replace Advertising
Citing examples from campaigns run on Funny or Die and AdMob, Sequoia Capital partner Mark Kvamme told an audience of marketers at OMMA Global in San Francisco today, “If you can harness social media marketing, you don’t have to pay for advertising any more.” Read more »
Why Vevo Might Not Fail: People Watch a Ton of Music Videos
From the ownership to the user experience to the embarrassing way the site fell flat on its face at launch, there are plenty of reasons to believe Vevo might not end up being the revolutionary force that Bono thinks it will be. But if there’s one […] Read more »
Dropbox Raises $7.25M, Crosses 3M Users
Updated with new information from Dropbox: You don’t go into file backup and syncing for the fame and glory, but that’s what it seems to be yielding for 2-year-old Dropbox. Simply put, people — including my GigaOM coworkers and I — love Dropbox because it works. […] Read more »
