Betabrand Obtains $15,000,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5d31fec1-a4ea-4088-ae44-17023bca3a88 Date 10/21/2015 Company Name Betabrand Mailing Address 3435 Cesar Chavez San Francisco, CA 94110 USA Company Description Betabrand is an online-only clothing company based in San Francisco. We design, manufacture, and release new inventions every week, thanks to collaborations with all sorts of local designers as well as our growing global … Continue reading “Betabrand Obtains $15,000,000 New Funding Round”

AppDirect’s $140M Series E Follows Closely on $50M Round

App marketplace maker AppDirect, which raised $50 million early this year and recently announced its fourth acquisition, announced today that it has added another $140 million to its coffers and signed up J.P. Morgan as its newest investor. The San Francisco-based company creates online storefronts where Web-based software makers like Microsoft and software re-sellers like … Continue reading “AppDirect’s $140M Series E Follows Closely on $50M Round”

AppDirect Secures $140,000,000 Series E Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d0d35077-238d-47c9-9683-6fd0bdd3911b Date 10/7/2015 Company Name AppDirect Mailing Address 650 California St. 25th Floor San Francisco, CA 94108 USA Company Description Our Business Application Network allows businesses to easily find the perfect software solution for their needs through our application marketplaces. Businesses can now benefit from one bill for all their applications and … Continue reading “AppDirect Secures $140,000,000 Series E Funding”

Pioneer Square Labs Obtains $12,500,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2b18848f-b8c0-4059-84ca-08ae9b612c6a Date 10/2/2015 Company Name Pioneer Square Labs Mailing Address Undisclosed Seattle, WA 98104 USA Company Description Building a great startup is hard. Really hard. It requires domain expertise, uncommon talent at all levels, great execution, perfect timing, and a little luck. If you are an experienced, execution-oriented business person or technologist, … Continue reading “Pioneer Square Labs Obtains $12,500,000 New Financing”

Big Name VCs Back Seattle ‘Startup Studio’ Pioneer Square Labs

Some of the biggest names in Northwest investing and entrepreneurship, including prolific angel investor Geoff Entress and startup founder/venture capitalist Greg Gottesman, have opened a “startup studio” to form new companies with financial backing from most of the region’s venture firms, along with notable players from Silicon Valley and beyond. Pioneer Square Labs (PSL), based … Continue reading “Big Name VCs Back Seattle ‘Startup Studio’ Pioneer Square Labs”

TeamSnap to Add League Services, Double User Base After $10M Funding

TeamSnap has always done well at biding its time. The six-year-old Boulder, CO-based startup provides Web and mobile apps meant to help players, coaches, parents, and league officials, among many types of teams, manage everything from rosters to practices to game schedules. Rather than focusing on corporate partnerships or gaining users quickly for advertising purposes, TeamSnap … Continue reading “TeamSnap to Add League Services, Double User Base After $10M Funding”

Raleigh-Durham Roundup: Biotech Center, AvidExchange, Cempra, & More

Here are some of the top headlines from the last week in North Carolina biotech, tech, and cleantech news. —The North Carolina Biotechnology Center’s funding was preserved in the $21.7 billion state budget, approved and signed into law last week—two months after the scheduled close of the legislative session. The Senate had initially proposed slashing … Continue reading “Raleigh-Durham Roundup: Biotech Center, AvidExchange, Cempra, & More”

AvidXchange Lands $225,000,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1f52c955-84d9-4dca-9d39-df0112cbf6f9 Date 9/15/2015 Company Name AvidXchange Mailing Address 1111 Metropolitan Avenue Charlotte, NC 28204 USA Company Description AvidXchange is the leader in on-demand invoice management services. More customers trust their accounts payable data to AvidXchange than to any other company in the world. Website http://www.avidxchange.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $225,000,000 … Continue reading “AvidXchange Lands $225,000,000 New Financing Round”

Unified Garners $30,000,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3f6e4ad0-4987-4b4c-a0d8-f9bde34fad7e Date 9/14/2015 Company Name Unified Mailing Address 180 Madison Ave. 23rd Floor New York, NY 10016 USA Company Description Unified is the enterprise marketing technology company for top global brands and agencies to activate social audiences and impact consumer actions. Website http://www.unifiedsocial.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $30,000,000 Transaction Round … Continue reading “Unified Garners $30,000,000 New Funding”

Harmonix Reloaded: Music Videogame Maker Raises $15M

[Updated, 9/8/15. See below] For a 20-year-old company, Harmonix Music Systems sure looks like a startup. Now the Boston-based videogame maker, best known for the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises, has raised $15 million in new equity funding, according to a regulatory filing. The company isn’t talking yet, but the presence of venture capitalists … Continue reading “Harmonix Reloaded: Music Videogame Maker Raises $15M”

Codementor Receives $700,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8ec9666f-4079-422d-a20d-0f9ed0d0cd06 Date 8/28/2015 Company Name Codementor Mailing Address 600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 USA Company Description Codementor is the open marketplace for both instant 1:1 help and long-term mentorship. We use these technologies to build our scalable real-time session connection via screen sharing, video, and chat: WebRTC, Firebase, and Opentok. … Continue reading “Codementor Receives $700,000 New Funding Round”

Spare5 Lands $10,000,000 Series A Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c32fd6f3-eaff-4799-85e1-f059959c3fb6 Date 8/25/2015 Company Name Spare5 Mailing Address 1008 Western Ave. Seattle, WA 98104 USA Company Description Spare5 is designed to be the default do work now app for every smartphone owner on the planet. A tremendous opportunity exists to better people’s lives by making time they spend on mobile devices more … Continue reading “Spare5 Lands $10,000,000 Series A Round”

In New York, A Digital Health ‘Mashup’ Builds A Startup Army

[Corrected 8/24/15, 12:40 pm. See below.] The booming field of digital health means different things to different people. Even the president of StartUp Health, a New York-based firm that wants to help build 1,000 digital health startups—yes, literally—acknowledges his company is a little tough to define. “We’ve had a challenge with how people bin us … Continue reading “In New York, A Digital Health ‘Mashup’ Builds A Startup Army”

Chewse Receives New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5e263f65-5071-4282-a1c0-78d88cb6c8a6 Date 8/3/2015 Company Name Chewse Mailing Address 5419 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90027 USA Company Description The company is has developed a marketplace for groups to order food together. Website http://www.chewse.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed by the … Continue reading “Chewse Receives New Financing”

3D Sensor Startup Occipital Closes $13M Series B, Plans Expansion

Occipital, a San Francisco startup founded by two University of Michigan alums, announced this week that it has raised $13 million in a Series B round. Participating in the round is a previous investor, Colorado-based Foundry Group, as well as Intel Capital, Shea Ventures, and Grishin Robotics. Adam Rodnitzky, Occipital’s vice president of marketing, said … Continue reading “3D Sensor Startup Occipital Closes $13M Series B, Plans Expansion”

Venture Investing Hits Record $19B in Second Quarter

[Updated 7/17/15, 7:40 a.m. See below.] There’s plenty of talk about a potential bubble in the market, whether in tech, biotech, or elsewhere. True or not, one fact that’s real is that there is plenty of money flowing into startups. The second quarter of 2015 produced the highest level of venture funding since at least 2010, and possibly … Continue reading “Venture Investing Hits Record $19B in Second Quarter”

Foundry Group Looks to Raise New $225M Fund Following Fitbit IPO

The Foundry Group is raising another venture capital fund, according to SEC documents. The Boulder, CO-based VC firm is looking to raise $225 million. The fund, named Foundry Venture Capital 2016, is the firm’s fifth. The new fund would bring the total amount of money managed by the Foundry Group to $1.125 billion. All of … Continue reading “Foundry Group Looks to Raise New $225M Fund Following Fitbit IPO”

Seattle Startup Tests Ways to Attract Under-Represented Applicants

If actions speak louder than words, Seattle startup Glowforge is becoming a leading voice on the tech industry’s diversity problem—and potential ways to address it. The company, which is building a consumer-grade laser cutter, announced this week a $5,000 bounty “for referrals that lead to us hiring under-represented minorities.” It also published the terms of … Continue reading “Seattle Startup Tests Ways to Attract Under-Represented Applicants”

Fitbit Races Across IPO Finish Line, Makes Day for Investors, News Punsters

Newly public San Francisco fitness wearables company Fitbit (NYSE: [[ticker:FIT]]) made skeptical Wall Street observers believe in unicorns on its first day of trading today, as its shares sold for 50 percent more than the $20 price set for its initial public offering. Fitbit’s line of business—tech-enabled wristbands and other wearable items that track jogging … Continue reading “Fitbit Races Across IPO Finish Line, Makes Day for Investors, News Punsters”

Yesware Says Yes to $13M VC Funding, No to Tech Bubble

Somewhere between the early-stage rocket ships and later-stage unicorns, there is a group of tech companies quietly building their businesses. Yesware is one of those companies. The Boston-based maker of software for salespeople occupies a mid-stage niche in the startup market. The 70-person company has been around since 2010 and has been growing steadily. No … Continue reading “Yesware Says Yes to $13M VC Funding, No to Tech Bubble”

Glowforge Gets $9M From Foundry, MakerBot Vets for Consumer Laser Cutter

If there’s one Seattle-area startup making something I really want, Glowforge is it. The company just raised $9 million from Foundry Group, True Ventures, and leaders of 3D-printing company MakerBot to build a consumer-grade “3D laser printer”—more commonly known as a laser cutter and engraver. Co-founder and CEO Dan Shapiro said Glowforge aims to have … Continue reading “Glowforge Gets $9M From Foundry, MakerBot Vets for Consumer Laser Cutter”

Techstars NYC Firms Up Its Technology Muscles in Latest Class

Brad Feld, a Techstars co-founder, did not mince words when he grabbed the microphone at demo day. “I think this Techstars class is the most technically deep Techstars class that I’ve seen,” he said. “It’s pretty incredible to see it here in New York City.” That was his assessment of the winter 2015 class of … Continue reading “Techstars NYC Firms Up Its Technology Muscles in Latest Class”

Why Etsy’s IPO Could Silence Haters of the New York Tech Scene

Over and over, it seems technology startups in New York have to validate their existence to outsiders. Whether it is comparisons to the legacy of Silicon Valley or the depth of research in Boston, this city never measures up for some folks. Hecklers in the peanut gallery want to see big exits or companies go … Continue reading “Why Etsy’s IPO Could Silence Haters of the New York Tech Scene”

Boston-Based Help Scout, Though Profitable, Takes $6M Series A

Help Scout, a Boston company whose software aids small and medium-sized businesses with e-mail customer support, is taking a $6 million Series A funding round four years after its founding, and after already achieving profitability. The company, profiled by Xconomy in 2011 after it graduated from Techstars Boston, plans to use the funding to invest … Continue reading “Boston-Based Help Scout, Though Profitable, Takes $6M Series A”

Chute: Tracking Underground Oscar Winners By Photo-Sharing Buzz

Two respected characters actors, Julianne Moore and Eddie Redmayne, won the top acting honors at the Academy Awards show Sunday night. But the award for biggest buzz, according to the social media bounce on Instagram during the broadcast, goes to actress and singer Jennifer Lopez for a full-length photo of herself in a sweeping Elie Saab gown. … Continue reading “Chute: Tracking Underground Oscar Winners By Photo-Sharing Buzz”

Cloud Commerce Service AppDirect Raises $50M for Global Expansion

San Francisco-based AppDirect, which helps companies buy and manage their subscriptions to Web-based software, has raised $50 million in a Series D round led by Mithril Capital Management, a global firm co-founded by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel. The new financing round, AppDirect’s second in less than a year, brings the company’s total fundraising to $110 … Continue reading “Cloud Commerce Service AppDirect Raises $50M for Global Expansion”

FullContact Releases First iOS App, Raises $7M

FullContact announced today it has raised $7 million in a Series C round and is releasing new mobile apps it thinks will help everyone tame their address books and contact lists. The Denver-based company’s new app for iOS is available Thursday through the Apple App Store, and it plans to release apps for Android and … Continue reading “FullContact Releases First iOS App, Raises $7M”

Olympics, NFL Lessons Guide Integrate’s Bloom in First Year as CEO

A lot of entrepreneurs have circuitous career paths before becoming a first-time CEO. Few have the Olympics or the National Football League on their resumes. But that’s the case for Jeremy Bloom, co-founder and CEO of Integrate, a venture-backed marketing software company. Bloom has been in the top spot for about eight months as the … Continue reading “Olympics, NFL Lessons Guide Integrate’s Bloom in First Year as CEO”

As VCs Move Upstream, Madrona Venture Labs Builds Its Own Startups

In recent years, venture capitalists have been investing earlier in promising entrepreneurs and startups, nurturing their ideas in incubators, and creating programs to select the best teams and accelerate their growth. Seattle-based Madrona Venture Group is going one step further with an effort to directly form and develop high-potential software startups—based on the ideas of … Continue reading “As VCs Move Upstream, Madrona Venture Labs Builds Its Own Startups”

Boulder’s TeamSnap Acquires Mobile App, Keeps on Growing

TeamSnap has just snapped up another rival and is adding about 30,000 users to its roster. The Boulder, CO-based startup makes software that sports teams, recreational leagues, and activity groups can use to create and manage rosters, coordinate schedules, track stats, inform players of schedule changes, and now track their team’s live scores and chat … Continue reading “Boulder’s TeamSnap Acquires Mobile App, Keeps on Growing”

SendGrid Raises $20M, Plots New Strategy for New Markets

The past two months have been busy ones for SendGrid and its new CEO Sameer Dholakia, who joined the company in September. The Boulder-based company announced today it has raised a $20 million Series C round and landed Bain Capital Ventures as a new investor. SendGrid makes cloud-based software that customers use to deliver e-mail … Continue reading “SendGrid Raises $20M, Plots New Strategy for New Markets”

Arts and Crafts-Focused Online Ed Site Craftsy Sews Up $50M Round

Craftsy continues its march to take over the e-learning world, one online instructional video—and megabucks funding round—at a time. The Denver-based company announced it has closed a $50 million Series D round led by the Stripes Group, a New York City-based growth equity firm. Prior investors Foundry Group, Tiger Global, Adams Street Partners, Access Venture … Continue reading “Arts and Crafts-Focused Online Ed Site Craftsy Sews Up $50M Round”

Seattle Roundup: UW Startups, CSE Expansion; New Funding Flows

Northwest technology companies have racked up more than $67 million in fresh funding over the last two weeks, including investment rounds for Limeade, Acumatica, Urban Airship, Blue Box, and Lytics. Meanwhile, we’re following news of another wireless sensors company emerging from the University of Washington’s computer science department, which has already run out of space … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: UW Startups, CSE Expansion; New Funding Flows”

Nest Buys “Smart Home” Startup Revolv, Discontinues Automation Hub

Revolv’s idea for a smart hub that could control lights, speakers, locks, and more won’t come to fruition. Nest, a division of Google that makes smart thermostats and home automation technology, has acquired Revolv, a startup based in Boulder, CO. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Nest was after the Revolv team, which will … Continue reading “Nest Buys “Smart Home” Startup Revolv, Discontinues Automation Hub”

Taking a Hachette to Amazon in the Market for Dead Trees

There’s a strange battle going on right now. Weird enough to fit into the science fiction and fantasy section of your local bookstore, but with enough intrigue to make for a good thriller. One of the big five traditional New York publishing houses, Hachette, is mired in a guerrilla campaign against mega online retailer Amazon. … Continue reading “Taking a Hachette to Amazon in the Market for Dead Trees”

Franklin Out, VMLogix and Citrix Exec In as SendGrid Replaces CEO

SendGrid, the Colorado-based e-mail delivery company, has a new CEO. Sameer Dholakia will take the reins of the company, SendGrid announced Tuesday. Dholakia formerly was a vice president with Citrix (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CTXS]]) and CEO of VMLogix. Dholakia replaces Jim Franklin, who led the company since 2011. During his tenure, SendGrid has grown into one of … Continue reading “Franklin Out, VMLogix and Citrix Exec In as SendGrid Replaces CEO”

Colorado Tech Roundup: Big Bucks for Biofuel and Mapquest’s New App

Here is a quick roundup of recent news from Colorado startups and tech companies, including a great week for a Fort Collins biofuels startup, smart sprinklers, and a new app from Mapquest. Biofuel startup’s big week: The past few years have been rough ones for cleantech startups, as the enthusiasm around the industry has waned … Continue reading “Colorado Tech Roundup: Big Bucks for Biofuel and Mapquest’s New App”

Brad Feld, Blackstone, & ViaWest: Denver Tech Leaders Talk Community

Along with the parties, networking, and workshops, Denver Startup Week is an opportunity to take a look at the city as a startup community, evaluate what it needs, and generate ideas about what should be done going forward. That was the topic Thursday, when influential leaders in the Colorado tech industry sat down to talk … Continue reading “Brad Feld, Blackstone, & ViaWest: Denver Tech Leaders Talk Community”

Colorado Tech Roundup: TeamSnap Buys Rival, Corgenix Sells for $16M

Here is a quick roundup of some news from Colorado startups and tech companies, featuring TeamSnap and Corgenix, which is making a test for the Ebola virus. TeamSnap Snaps Up Competitor: TeamSnap, a Boulder, CO-based startup, continues to grow. This week, the company announced it bought Easy Team Manager from Kranitz Enterprises for an undisclosed … Continue reading “Colorado Tech Roundup: TeamSnap Buys Rival, Corgenix Sells for $16M”

MobileDay Raises $6.6M to Cut Enterprises’ Conference Call Bills

Pretty much everyone who has ever dialed into a conference call knows it’s a hassle to keep track of the numbers and to dial in, especially when away from the office. But they’d probably be surprised to learn just how costly conference calls are for their employers, especially if they work for a large multinational … Continue reading “MobileDay Raises $6.6M to Cut Enterprises’ Conference Call Bills”

Sexism and Misogyny in Tech: How Investors Can Help Drive Change

The image of some technology startups has been tarnished of late by bad behavior. It might be up to investors who are board members to ensure changes get made. Accusations of sexism and misogyny have circled Tinder, the dating-app startup owned by IAC. If the charges prove to be true, it is just one recent … Continue reading “Sexism and Misogyny in Tech: How Investors Can Help Drive Change”

Number of Investments in Colorado Companies Reaches Five Year High

Last year was almost a billion-dollar year for Colorado’s venture-backed companies, and over the past five years investors have bet $4.2 billion on emerging companies in the state. That’s according to CB Insights, a New York City-based company that tracks venture capital and private equity investments. The firm released a report this week taking a … Continue reading “Number of Investments in Colorado Companies Reaches Five Year High”

Pogoplug: One Service to Back Up All Your Devices

I’m a little obsessive when it comes to backups. In my Windows days, in the early 2000s, I used to make complete CD-ROM copies of my PC’s hard drive every couple of months. Until last year, I had two separate online backup services running on my Macbook Pro—Carbonite and Backblaze—along with an external hard drive … Continue reading “Pogoplug: One Service to Back Up All Your Devices”

SoftTech’s Hudson Talks Strategy, Key Factors in Out-of-Town Deals

When SoftTech VC partner Charles Hudson came through San Diego last month, he explained why his firm is increasingly taking bigger stakes—and bigger risks—in funding early stage tech companies. He also explained what SoftTech is looking for when it invests in startups outside Silicon Valley. As one of the first “micro VCs” in the Bay … Continue reading “SoftTech’s Hudson Talks Strategy, Key Factors in Out-of-Town Deals”

Uvize Determined to Help Veterans Make Transition to College Life

Stepping off the military base—or battlefield—and on to a college campus can be a surprisingly difficult transition, but Uvize, a Boulder, CO-based startup, is looking to change that. Uvize is a software startup that develops what co-founder and CEO Dave Cass calls virtual veterans centers. Veterans can use its online community features to connect with … Continue reading “Uvize Determined to Help Veterans Make Transition to College Life”

Boulder Startup Week Kicks Off With Look at Angel Investing Pitfalls

Angel investing isn’t for the faint of heart. Doing it right takes patience, acceptance of risk, and the knack for spotting entrepreneurs who can work together as a team. Those were the major themes at a panel discussion Monday that was part of the first day of Boulder Startup Week. The panel, titled “Trouble in … Continue reading “Boulder Startup Week Kicks Off With Look at Angel Investing Pitfalls”

Orbotix Raises $15.5M to Develop Next Generation of Toys

Orbotix remains on a roll, announcing today that it has closed a $15.5 million funding round that the company will use to continue developing the next generation of high-tech toys that bridge the physical and the digital worlds. Orbotix is best known as the maker of Sphero, the robotic ball that can be controlled with … Continue reading “Orbotix Raises $15.5M to Develop Next Generation of Toys”

PivotDesk Launches in 23 New Markets in Rapid Nationwide Expansion

Fresh off raising a $3.8 million Series B round, PivotDesk is expanding its footprint dramatically, announcing today it is launching its service in 23 new markets. The move nearly quintuples the startup’s number of markets and puts it in hubs such as Chicago, Seattle, and Austin, TX. PivotDesk is a Boulder CO-based startup that has … Continue reading “PivotDesk Launches in 23 New Markets in Rapid Nationwide Expansion”

Twitter to Buy Boulder, CO-based Social Data Startup Gnip

Twitter will acquire social data startup Gnip for an undisclosed price, the companies announced Tuesday. Boulder, CO-based Gnip collects public social-media activity from sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr and sells it to clients such as marketing and business intelligence firms. Not many details about the deal have been made public yet. According to a … Continue reading “Twitter to Buy Boulder, CO-based Social Data Startup Gnip”