Google Ventures Launches Co-Managed by Rich Miner - Cambridge, MA
Rich Miner, the former vice president of mobile platforms at Google, will head the company’s newly announced venture capital fund and will be based in Cambridge, according to blog reports. The new group will focus on early-stage investments in a range of industries, including consumer Internet, software, clean-tech, bio-tech, health care “and, no doubt, other areas we haven't thought of yet,” Miner posted Monday night on Google’s blog. “If you think you have the next big idea, or if you just want to learn more, please see our website,” Miner said.http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/googles-newest-venture.htmlhttp://www.google.com/ventures
SpaceClaim raises Series C round of funding - Concord, MA
SpaceClaim, provider of the world’s fastest and most innovative 3D Direct Modeling solutions, today announced that the company has secured an additional $7 million in funding to support ongoing R&D in product innovations, and to drive sales and marketing expansion as the demand for direct modelers increases for the performance of conceptual design, engineering analysis, and simulation-driven design. The round is co-led by existing investors including Borealis Ventures, Kodiak Venture Partners, Needham Capital Partners, and North Bridge Venture Partners. http://www.spaceclaim.com
InStream Media raises first round of funding - Waltham, MA
InStream Media Inc., a provider of targeted marketing programs delivered through brick-and mortar-retailers at the point of sale, has completed a Series A financing (approxmiately $2M) co-led by CommonAngels and Stage 1 Ventures and joined by individual investors. http://www.instreamglobal.com
Charles River Ventures Raises $320 Million for 14th Fund - Waltham, MA
Charles River Ventures (CRV), a Waltham-based venture capital firm, announced on Monday that it has raised $320 million for its fourteenth investment fund. CRV, which focuses on early-stage businesses, said it will continue to invest in early-stage information technology companies within the communications, Internet, and software segments as well as emerging companies focused on energy and intellectual property. Founded in 1970, CRV now has about $2.1 billion under management.http://www.crv.com
LaunchCapital Announces 6 Startup Investments - Cambridge, MA
LaunchCapital, a newly formed, Cambridge-based venture capital firm that invests in seed-state deals, announced that it has done six deals in the last three months. The firm typically invests between $50,000 and $150,000, in a variety of industry sectors. The six start-up businesses that LaunchCapital recently invested in include Vigix, iTeam, Cardiophotonics, FMP Products, SafePorch and Helix. Background on the companies is available at the link below.http://www.launch-capital.com
Visible Measures Raises $10M Series C - Cambridge, MA
Visible Measures, the independent third-party measurement firm for Internet video publishers, advertisers, and viral marketers, announced today that it has secured a Series C round of financing of $10 million, led by new investor Northgate Capital with participation from existing investors General Catalyst Partners and MDV-Mohr Davidow Ventures. Visible Measures has raised over $29 million in total financing to date. This new financing will help solidify Visible Measures’ market position as the third-party measurement provider of choice for the Internet video industry’s leading advertisers, publishers, and aggregators.http://www.visiblemeasures.com
Spark Capital Launches New Seed-Stage Investment Fund - Cambridge, MA
Spark Capital announced on Wednesday the launch of Start@Spark, an initiative focused on seed stage investments in the New York and Boston areas. The firm focuses on businesses media, entertainment, and technology sectors. Its new fund will offer seed-stage investments of up to $250,000. “Yes, we are in a global economic recession and yes the new media markets are being impacted,” the announcement said. “So, this must be a terrible time to fund a start-up company. Correct? Au contraire. This may be the best time in the last 8 years to start a company. While capital is scarce, the tectonic plates continue to shift creating major rifts. The walls are coming down and the barriers to entering new markets are falling along-side.”http://www.sparkcapital.com/news/article/why_are_we_doing_this/
Extreme Reach raises an additional round of Venture Capital - Needham, MA
Extreme Reach, the Needham-based provider of a video advertising management platform for multiple media, announced on Tuesday that it has secured a venture capital round from a Greycroft Partners, Village Ventures and Long River Ventures. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Extreme Reach’s platform connects advertisers and agencies with thousands of media destinations and allows them to manage, deliver and track their campaigns across TV, Web and mobile. The Extreme Reach SaaS platform is an all-software technology that provides ad-streaming and ad-delivery capabilities.http://www.extremereach.com/press/2009_03_10_news.html
FirstBest Systems Raises $6 Million in Second Round - Bedford, MA
FirstBest Systems, a Bedford-based developer of insurance underwriting management software, announced that it has raised $6 million in its second round of venture capital, which was led by Flybridge Capital Partners and Brookstone Partners. FirstBest’s system combines an insurance underwriting workstation with an agent portal for commercial insurance carriers. The software helps promote enhanced underwriting discipline and best practices. FirstBest was founded in 2006.http://www.firstbest.com/8ec9a359-d16e-457d-b9d7-530ee92f4600/press-release-detail.htm
MedAptus raises $6M in 4th round of funding - Boston, MA
MedAptus, market leader for charge capture technologies, today announced that it has secured $6 million in capital in a financing led by existing investor, Boston Millennia Partners. This investment will enable MedAptus to further support the growth of its Intelligent Charge Capture suite of products.http://www.medaptus.com
Quattro Wireless Raises $10 Million in Third Round - Waltham, MA
Quattro Wireless, a Waltham-based publisher ad network, on Monday announced that it raised an additional $10 million in its third round of venture capital to accelerate international growth and continue developing predictive mobile targeting technology. The financing deal was led by Highland Capital Partners and Globespan Capital Partners. Founded in 2006, Quattro provides digital advertising services across all channels (mobile web, SMS, applications, video) and platforms (iPhone, Blackberry and Android). http://www.quattrowireless.com
Veracode Raises $5 Million in Third Round - Burlington, MA
Veracode, a Burlington-based provider of software security testing services, has raised $5 million in its third round of venture capital, which included funds from Polaris Venture Partners, .406 Ventures and Atlas Venture, according to a report in peHUB Wire, which cited a regulatory filing. Founded in 2006, Veracode offers services for code analysis and dynamic web analysis to assess application security threats including vulnerabilities and malicious code. The company’s service is designed to reduce operational cost and achieve compliance without requiring any hardware, software or training.http://www.veracode.com/
Onset Technology Lands $3 Million in Funding - Waltham, MA
Onset Technology, a Waltham-based developer of software that helps companies comply with regulatory requirements for monitoring and archiving wireless messages, said that it has secured $3 million in a new round of funding, led by the Cedar Fund. The Challenge Fund and Jerusalem Global Ventures also participated. The 12-year-old company said that it will use the proceeds to bolster its research and development activity, expand its support for BlackBerry smartphones and introduce new versions of its software for iPhone, Windows Mobile and Symbian devices. Onset's tools allow companies to scan, block and archive all wireless communications, helping them stay in compliance with regulations from the SEC and NASD, as well as federal rules such as Sarbanes-Oxley.http://www.onsettechnology.com/news/48780
Digital Reef emerges from stealth mode with $20M in funding - Boxborough, MA
Digital Reef Inc., a provider of software for managing unstructured data, has formally emerged from stealth mode with $20 million in venture backing. VC investors include Matrix Partners and Pilot Hill Ventures.http://www.digitalreefinc.com
Verivue Launches Operations, Releases First Products - Westford, MA
Following two years in stealth mode, Westford-based Verivue said that it officially has launched operations by releasing its first media storage and delivery system for telecoms, cable operators and content delivery networks. The company, which reportedly has raised $65 million since its inception in 2006, said that its system integrates servers, storage, networking and applications into a unified platform, allowing it to better address the rapid growth of IP video then traditional server-based delivery methods.http://www.verivue.com
CashStar Lands $4M, Launches Gift Card Platform - Portland, ME
Following its incubation by Coupons Inc., Portland-based CashStar said that it has raised more than $4 million to launch its new interactive gift card platform. The platform, already in use by clients such as Uno Chicago Grill, Travelocity Incentives and Gorham Bike & Ski, allows retailers to securely email monetary value, such as interactive gift cards, rewards, incentives and rebates. "Coupons.com has been incredibly successful at connecting online and physical markets as consumers shift from newspaper to the web," said Steven Boal, the president and CEO of Coupons Inc. "We anticipate that the same will happen in the gift card market, as more consumers shift from plastic gift cards to… virtual gift cards that can be redeemed online or in-store." CashStar utilizes Coupons Inc.'s print barcode technology, and also uses the company's network to promote its customers' gift card offerings.http://www.couponsinc.comhttp://www.cashstar.com
