First Round

Wikipedia Offshoot Wikia Raises $4 Million in First Round

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 28, 2006 - 10:36am.

St. Petersburg, Fla. - Wikia, a provider of advertising-supported platforms for developing and hosting online communities, has raised $4 million in its first round of venture capital, led by Bessemer Venture Partners. Previously called Wikicities, Florida-based Wikia allows online groups to share information, news, stories, media and opinions. The company was launched in 2004 by Angela Beesley and Jimmy Wales, who previously founded Wikipedia, the free, "open source," online encyclopedia. Both Wales and Beesley serve as board members of the Wikimedia Foundation.

Wikipedia Offshoot Wikia Raises $4 Million in First Round

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 23, 2006 - 3:07am.

St. Petersburg, Fla. - Wikia, a provider of free online content hosting and licensing services, has raised $4 million in its first round of venture capital, led by Bessemer Venture Partners, Private Equity Week reported, citing a regulatory filing. Wikia was founded in 2004, originally as a project to create a search engine. The company subsequently expanded with Wikicities, with the aim of creating freely hosted, advertising-supported "wiki communities."

Social Networking Site Tagged Raises $7 Million in First Round

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 8, 2006 - 4:17am.

San Francisco - Tagged, a social networking site for teens with over 2 million members, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $7 million in its first round of venture capital financing, led by Mayfield Fund. Launched in 2004, Tagged.com was designed for teens ages 13 to 19 and offers features similar to social networking sites MySpace or Friendster. San Francisco-based Tagged says it counted 2.4 million unique visitors, and 391 million page views during December 2005. The company will use the funds to expand services and features on Tagged.com.

Wireless Firm Kajeet Raises $27 Million in First Round

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 6, 2006 - 6:19am.

Bethesda, Md. - Kajeet, a cell phone service designed specially for "tweens," confirmed on Monday that it has raised $27 million in venture capital financing. Tweens are a marketing term for children between the ages of 8 and 14. The investors were Bessemer Venture Partners, Gabriel Venture Partners, InterWest Partners, and FidelityVentures. The company was co-founded by Daniel Neal, the former CEO of VCampus Corp; Matthew D. Baker, co-founder of STSN, and Ben Weintraub, former COO and co-founder of SimplyWireless.com. "With Kajeet, I'm helping to build the mobile devices and services I want my own daughter -- and her parents -- to have," said Neal.

tags: Wireless | Raise | First Round | Kajeet |

Blog Search Engine Feedster Closes First Round of Funding

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 3, 2005 - 2:36am.

San Francisco -- Feedster, a San Francisco-based Internet search engine and advertising network for blogs and RSS feeds, said on Thursday that it has raised an undisclosed amount in its first round of funding. The company said that it will use the money to accelerate development and marketing, as well as "greatly expand" its server infrastructure. Selby Venture Partners led the round, with participation from Omidyar Network, members of the New York Angels and other prominent angel investors. Feedster’s angel investors include Kevin Hartz, the co-founder of Xoom; Joe Kraus, the co-founder of Excite and Jotspot; Josh Kopelman, the founder of Half.com; Scott Kurnit, the founder of About.com; Mark Pincus, the founder of Tribe.net and Support.com; and Narendra Rocherolle, the founder of Webshots.

tags: First Round | Fund | Blog | Feedster |

ChoiceStream Raises $7 Million in First Round

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 23, 2005 - 4:24am.

Cambridge, Mass. -- ChoiceStream, a Massachusetts-based developer of software for online consumer services, has raised $7 million in its first round of venture capital, led by General Catalyst Partners. ChoiceStream provides personalization technology that makes it easier for consumers to navigate the web and iTV-based applications, allowing online services, search services, e-retailers and iTV providers to personalize the search results, content and products presented to consumers. AOL is one of ChoiceStream's largest customers.

tags: VC | ChoiceStream | First Round |

Wolfson Electronics Wins First Round in Patent Dispute

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 17, 2004 - 5:00am.

Edinburgh -- Wolfson Microelectronics, a Scotland-based semiconductor specialist that floated on the London stock exchange four years ago, announced on Wednesday that it has won a significant battle in its protracted patent dispute with Cirrus Logic, a U.S.-based maker of chips for audio and consumer electronics. Wolfson said the International Trade Commission ruled that Cirrus's claims over its "928" patent, which involved no fewer than 15 Wolfson products, were "unenforceable." While the Commission did say that Wolfson had infringed on Cirrus's "501" patent, the patent affects only three of Wolfson's products, two of which have already been discontinued, the Scottish firm said. Cirrus now has 10 days to appeal the ruling. Meanwhile, Wolfson said it planned to continue with its counter-suit claiming that Cirrus improperly interfered with its initial public offering (IPO) in 2000.

tags: First Round | Patent Dispute | Wolfson Electronics |

Online Marketing Firm Fastclick.com Raises $75 Million in First Round

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 1, 2004 - 9:34am.

Santa Barbara, Calif. -- Fastclick.com, a provider of online direct response marketing services, announced on Monday that it has raised $75 million in its first round of venture capital financing. Highland Capital partners and Oak Investment Partners led the investment round; Walt Disney's Steamboat Ventures also participated. Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Fastclick operates a targeted advertising network that serves ads to over 80 million unique users each month through a network of more than 7,500 websites. As part of the transaction, the company completed a stock repurchase plan, with the balance of the new funds to be used for strategic initiatives and general corporate purposes.

tags: Internet | VC | First Round | Fastclick.com |

Zoom Systems Raises $6.3 Million in First Round

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 13, 2004 - 10:55am.

San Francisco -- Zoom Systems, a San Francisco-based maker of automated retail systems used in hotels, airports, retail locations and campuses, said on Tuesday that it has landed $6.3 million in its first round of venture capital financing, led by Menlo Park-based Sierra Ventures. All of the company's current investors and board members also participated. "We are excited about Zoom because we believe that Zoom's new channel can change retail consumer behavior just like ATMs and Internet e-commerce," said Jeff Loomans, a venture partner with Sierra Ventures. Zoom makes stand-alone retail stores with more than 100 products, where consumers select items via an interactive touch screen. Each shop is centrally controlled using a network management system that constantly provides sales, inventory and operational data.

tags: VC | Zoom Systems | First Round |

Haptics Developer Sensitive Object Raises $2.4 Million in First Round

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 9, 2004 - 4:55am.

Paris -- Sensitive Object, a France-based technology start-up focusing on haptics, or interfaces using the sense of touch, announced that it has received 2 million euro ($2.4 million) of first-round funding. The company is developing a technology that can turn just about any object into an input device. Using sensors and a process called "time reversal acoustics," the technology allows users to change TV channels, control personal computers or answer telephones merely by touching tables, windows or chairs. Sofinova, a venture capital firm based in San Francisco, led the round. Under the terms of the investment, Jean Schmitt of Sofinova will join Sensitive Object's board, the company said. Separately, Sensitive Object also announced that co-founder Ros-Kiri Ing had been named president and Hubert Cospain chief executive officer.

tags: VC | First Round | Haptics Developer | Sensitive Object |

Game Developer Turbine Entertainment Raises $18 Million in First Round

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 15, 2003 - 5:09am.

Westwood, Mass. -- Nearly ten years after its founding, Turbine Entertainment Software, a developer of massively multiplayer online games, has raised $18 million in its first round of venture capital. Highland Capital Partners led the investment, which included funds from Polaris Venture Partners and existing individual investors in the company. Massachusetts-based Turbine created Microsoft's popular "Asheron's Call" online game, and is currently developing both "The Lord of the Rings: Middle-Earth Online" for Vivendi Universal Games, and an online version of the popular roleplaying game "Dungeons and Dragons," for which Turbine holds a sublicense. The company employs about 120 people.

tags: Games | VC | First Round | Turbine Entertainment |

Wireless Game Developer Chasma Raises First Round Funding

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 27, 2003 - 4:52am.

Nashua, N.H. -- Chasma, a developer and publisher of games for wireless devices, announced that it has raised an undisclosed amount in its first round of funding from Orchid Venture Partners. Founded in 2000 by "a group of teenagers," New Hampshire-based Chasma develops games for J2ME and BREW platforms. The company said the funds will help accelerate its product development and roll-out plan; Chasma plans to release seven mobile games within the next quarter on Verizon Wireless, Alltel, US Cellular, Telstra and China Unicom networks. http://www.chasma.net/chasma_corp/january222003.htm

Digital Interactive Streams Raises $4 Million in First Round

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 13, 2003 - 6:51am.

Jacksonville, Fla. -- Digital Interactive Streams (DiStream), a provider of technology for delivering streaming video-on-demand, has raised $4 million in its first round of venture capital. The lead investors included Crossbow Ventures and DigaComm LLC, a private equity firm. Florida-based DiStream develops secure software for encoding, digital rights management and automated delivery of digital video. The company is targeting the consumer electronics, automotive, healthcare, and defense industries. http://www.newsalert.com/bin/story?StoryId=CpIjh0bKbytiYnZ

tags: VC | First Round | Digital | Interactive Streams |