Ignite Game Technologies, the San Francisco-based online gaming startup that specializes in car racing games, has raised $5 million in new funding, bringing its total investment to $17.5 million. The company makes massive multi-player online racing games in which people compete in real time…
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Health 2.0 startup Keas gets $6.5 million in new funds
Keas, a San Francisco-based startup co-founded by veteran technologist Adam Bosworth has raised $6.5 million in new funds from existing investors Atlas Ventures and Ignition Parters. The company is finding success with focus on wellness as a social game and selling it to large companies.…
Read MoreTaskRabbit gets rocket fuel with $17.8M funding round
TaskRabbit has raised $17.8 million in a Series B funding round. It's just been 7 months since the company announced its $5 million Series A, but growth has been fast and furious: TaskRabbit has tripled net revenue and seen a seven-fold increase in customers since May.…
Read MoreThe state of e-commerce: M&A surging, daily deals still big
It's been a big part of the Internet picture for well over a decade, but right now e-commerce is really hitting its stride, according to a new report out of CB Insights and the [email protected] Conference. M&A activity is surging and investment dollars are growing steadily.…
Read MoreIt’s time for startup founders to think bigger
It's easier than ever to build a web or mobile app and call yourself a startup. But with new funding opportunities and technology tools, entrepreneurs can easily -- and cheaply -- use technology to solve larger problems, rather than create another lifestyle app.…
Read MoreAwe.sm nets $4M for social data monitoring platform
Awe.sm has secured $4 million in Series A funding. Awe.sm is probably best known to most people for its URL shortening service, but the San Francisco-based startup says it's actually rooted in a deeper software platform attached to those shortened links that provides analytics tools.…
Read MoreData-as-a-Service startup Infochimps swaps out CEO
Infochimps, the two-year-old company that runs a "data marketplace" where owners of datasets can charge for their usage, is swapping CEOs. Co-founder Nick Ducoff has stepped down from the CEO role, and the company is looking for a "seasoned executive" to take his place.…
Read MoreNVCA survey: VC industry still very white, mostly male
There's been a lot of media buzz in recent months about the lack of racial and gender diversity in the tech startup landscape. Now new data from the National Venture Capital Association indicates that the VC field is similarly homogenous: It's very white and mostly male.…
Read MoreYelp top brass cashed out $36M in pre-IPO stock sale
Six of Yelp's top executives and investors cashed out $36.8 million worth of company stock during Yelp's Series E funding round in early 2010, according to the company's IPO filing, with CEO Jeremy Stoppelman and board chairman Max Levchin each selling some $15 million of stock.…
Read MoreHotel Tonight raising $9.1M, filings reveal
Hotel Tonight, the app that lets you book last minute hotel rooms for discounted rates, is currently raising a $9.1 million funding round, according to documents filed with the SEC Wednesday. The company has raised $8.65 million in the round so far, the filings show.…
Read MoreKontagent gets $12M to keep score on the social web
Kontagent on Thursday announced it has raised $12 million in fresh venture funding, bringing the company's total VC investment to $19.5 million. The company says it'll put the new money toward R&D on deep tech such as big data processing and predictive analytics tools.…
Read MoreParse raises $5.5M to give any mobile app a home in the cloud
Parse, which makes a software platform that adds a cloud component to any mobile app, has raised $5.5 million. The funding round serves as a Series A for the company and brings its total investment to $7 million. Parse calls itself "the Heroku for mobile apps."…
Read MoreEric Schmidt: Web competition is alive and well — just ask VCs
Google chairman Eric Schmidt says his company is not quashing competition in the web industry -- and has pointed to the fact that search startups like Hipmunk are still receiving millions in venture capital funding as proof. But does this really mean there's a level playing field?…
Read MoreUstream gets $6M funding, on the hunt for new CEO
Live video streaming pioneer Ustream is going through some pretty major changes, the company said Friday. First, it has landed $6 million in new funding from two existing investors -- and second, its co-founder, John Ham, is leaving his job as the company's CEO.…
Read MoreStealth startup Iddiction gets $3.5M to help apps get discovered
Iddiction, a new startup led by Outfit7's founding CEO Andrej Nabergoj, has secured $3.5 million in a seed round of funding. Details on what exactly Iddiction will do are scarce, since Nabergoj says the company is currently in stealth mode, but it already has big-name backers.…
Read MoreKaggle gets $11M to crowdsource big data jobs
Big data technology is attracting some big bucks. Kaggle, a startup that helps companies outsource large business analytics projects by turning them into large-scale competitions for scientists around the world, will announce Thursday it has secured $11 million in venture capital funding.…
Read MoreRounds gets $3M to take its video chat app beyond Facebook
Rounds, a startup that makes a popular video chat app for Facebook, has raised $3 million in new funding. The Israel-based company says it will use the money to expand its video chat service beyond Facebook to other social networks and onto mobile devices.…
Read MorePhoto app Waddle lands funding, launches updates
Waddle, the San Francisco-based startup that makes a group photo sharing app for the iPhone, is preparing to get a bit bigger: The company has landed seed funding from Chinese Internet giant Tencent. It has also released an update to its photo sharing app, Waddle 2.0.…
Read MoreSincerely secures $3M funding, debuts greeting card line
Sincerely, the San Francisco startup aimed at making it easier to get physical copies of the photos taken on mobile phones, is announcing Wednesday it has secured $3 million in Series A funding. The company is also set to launch a holiday card app, "Sincerely Ink."…
Read MoreNextdoor launches to bring your real neighborhood online
If you're like most people, you probably don't know your neighbors all that well -- if at all. That's where a startup called Nextdoor wants to help. Nextdoor lets neighbors create private websites where they can exchange local information while getting to know each other better.…
Read MorePeter Thiel launches Breakout Labs to fund bold early-stage research
Peter Thiel, the tech industry magnate known for co-founding PayPal and being an early investor in Facebook, is launching a new program called Breakout Labs aimed at funding cutting edge technology research ideas. It's a big effort, but Thiel himself is known for bold ideas.…
Read MoreZaarly goes big: $14.1M funding, Meg Whitman joins board
Peer-to-peer marketplace Zaarly has secured some major support -- from some of the tech industry's biggest names. Zaarly has closed on $14.1 million in a series A funding round. In addition, Hewlett-Packard CEO and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman has joined Zaarly's board of directors.…
Read MoreAt Qwiki, trouble over company’s future
Qwiki, the San Francisco-based search startup, may be going through a rough patch. Qwiki's two top technical executives and at least one early engineer left abruptly last week, sources say, after major disagreements with the CEO over the company's future product strategy.…
Read MoreLiftopia closes on $1.3M to help you hit the slopes
Liftopia, a website that sells discounted ski lift tickets and alpine resort packages, has closed on $1.3 million in new funding. The five-year-old company, which was founded by former Hotwire executives, says it plans to add deals on summertime "mountain-related activities" to make more year-round revenue.…
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