Venture deal activity hit a 12-year high during the third quarter, and big VC investments in Uber, Kymeta, and Flipboard helped push venture funding for U.S. mobile startups over $1 billion for the first time, according to a report today from CB Insights. The New York financial data firm says the 857 venture deals nationwide … Continue reading “Venture Goes Mobile as 3rd Quarter Deal Activity Hits 12-Year High”
Tag: Uber
Total Transit Acquires San Diego Mobile App Developer GoFastCab
Total Transit, a Glendale, AZ-based transportation company and taxi cab operator, has acquired GoFastCab, a five-year-old San Diego startup that had developed mobile apps that enable smartphone users to get a taxi immediately or to schedule a future pickup. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. GoFastCab founders Josh Komenda and Jeremy Schrage, who … Continue reading “Total Transit Acquires San Diego Mobile App Developer GoFastCab”
Fight Over Uber is Battle Over Innovation in Dallas
I’ve lived in Dallas almost my entire adult life, but until this week I had never attended a city council meeting. The meeting started off with a bang as a woman dressed in traditional African costume (along with an accompanist on drums,) who serenaded Mayor Mike Rawlings just before she accused the sergeant-at-arms of “wanting” … Continue reading “Fight Over Uber is Battle Over Innovation in Dallas”
Uber Sued Again Over Tip-Skimming Claims, Case Could Go National
Car-hailing startup Uber, which just raised an enormous amount of money from Google Ventures and other investors, will have to earmark some of that new cash for legal bills. The San Francisco-based company is being sued again in federal court, this time over claims that it’s stiffing drivers on tips. A similar case was previously … Continue reading “Uber Sued Again Over Tip-Skimming Claims, Case Could Go National”
Sift Science Uses Machine Learning to Weed Out Credit Card Fraud
Google has team of 120 engineers dedicated solely to fighting fraud and webspam. Its leader, Matt Cutts, is probably the most familiar face at the company, after founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin and chairman Eric Schmidt. Up in Seattle, Amazon has more than twice as many full-time fraud-fighters. And when you consider that online … Continue reading “Sift Science Uses Machine Learning to Weed Out Credit Card Fraud”
Uber Receives $361,200,000 Series C Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0bf58493-48b5-4f1b-8ae5-597970036434 Date 8/22/2013 Company Name Uber Mailing Address 182 Howard St. San Francisco, CA 94105 Company Description The company has created a mobile application that allows users to request car service to pick them up wherever they are located. Website http://www.uber.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $361,200,000 Transaction Round Series C … Continue reading “Uber Receives $361,200,000 Series C Funding”
GetTaxi at Last Launches Its Car Hailing Service App in NY, Raises $12M
More than a year after setting up its U.S. headquarters in New York, Israel’s GetTaxi announced today that its app is now live in this city for hailing black cars—yellow taxi service is still pending here. The company also announced it raised $12 million in a Series C round led by Kreos Capital with existing … Continue reading “GetTaxi at Last Launches Its Car Hailing Service App in NY, Raises $12M”
The Antidote for Strike Stress: Take Carma to Work
California Governor Jerry Brown intervened to stop another BART strike this week, and observers say he’s likely to impose a 60-day cooling-off period on negotiators, meaning Bay Area commuters may not have to worry about transit disruptions again until October. But memories of last month’s 4.5 day strike, which left 200,000 commuters stranded, spurred long … Continue reading “The Antidote for Strike Stress: Take Carma to Work”
Uber Boston: $9M of Fares in 15 Months, Barely Denting Cab Market
Smartphone car-booking startup Uber has made a big splash since its debut in Boston, inciting political battles and court fights with competitors seeking to protect their turf. But according to revenue figures disclosed as part of a lawsuit, the well-funded startup still looks like a pipsqueak in the city’s lucrative car-for-hire market. Between its October 2011 … Continue reading “Uber Boston: $9M of Fares in 15 Months, Barely Denting Cab Market”
Uber Still Fighting Two Federal Lawsuits in Boston
Car-booking startup Uber has claimed one victory in court, recently defeating Boston-area officials who were seeking to slow the company’s expansion. But the well-financed startup still has two more federal lawsuits on the docket in Massachusetts. That pair of court battles has pitted San Francisco-based Uber, which has raised nearly $50 million in venture investment, … Continue reading “Uber Still Fighting Two Federal Lawsuits in Boston”
Boston Roundup: Rapid Micro Bio, Athenahealth, RunKeeper, & More
[Updated 2:30 pm] A dose of deals, legal, and hiring news to liven up the week: —Rapid Micro Biosystems, a supplier of quality-control testing equipment for the pharmaceutical industry, has raised a $32.6 million Series B investment round. The Bedford, MA-based company has developed technology that can quickly identify tiny microbes, which are serious contaminants … Continue reading “Boston Roundup: Rapid Micro Bio, Athenahealth, RunKeeper, & More”
Roundup: Mirabilis Medica, Exo Labs, Yabbly, Ninu Attract Investment
Investors are betting on Seattle-area companies working on everything from uterine fibroids (Mirabilis Medica) to video storage and licensing (Ninu). Those companies, along with microscope camera maker Exo Labs and social decision-making platform Yabbly, raised capital recently. Meanwhile, car-sharing services are getting closer scrutiny from the city. The details: —Mirabilis Medica has raised $4 million … Continue reading “Roundup: Mirabilis Medica, Exo Labs, Yabbly, Ninu Attract Investment”
Postmates Sets Up Shop in New York—Right in Seamless’s Backyard
Today Postmates revealed it has expanded its app-driven, shopping and delivery service to New York with a team operating in the Flatiron neighborhood. This puts the San Francisco startup in three cities, including Seattle, and on New York-based Seamless’s home turf. Postmates lets consumers order prepared food, groceries, and even office supplies that will be … Continue reading “Postmates Sets Up Shop in New York—Right in Seamless’s Backyard”
Amid Ridesharing Wars, Hailo Sticks to Cabs (and Loves It)
In the rush to revolutionize taxicabs, the hot new property isn’t a fancy black sedan or a network of hustling cabbies. Instead, digital entrepreneurs are suddenly racing toward the 21st century version of hitchhiking. So-called “ridesharing” services, which enlist everyday people to make some money by picking up other folks, have been spreading from the … Continue reading “Amid Ridesharing Wars, Hailo Sticks to Cabs (and Loves It)”
Uber Launches On-Demand Car Service in Detroit
If you’re a car-challenged Detroiter like me, you have at least five phone numbers for taxis in your contact list. There’s the industry standard Checker Cabs, whose line is busy more often than not; there’s the friendly cab driver you had one time who gave you his private number and said to call that number … Continue reading “Uber Launches On-Demand Car Service in Detroit”
Dennis Crowley Reveals His Plans for Foursquare’s Mountain of Data
At last night’s New York Tech Meetup, Foursquare CEO and co-founder Dennis Crowley talked about some of his company’s plans for its technology and wealth of data, which he said can curate places and events that users of the app may want to visit. He displayed a video heat map of daily Foursquare check-ins in … Continue reading “Dennis Crowley Reveals His Plans for Foursquare’s Mountain of Data”
Uber Sued in Boston; Case Could Wind up in Federal Court
[Updated 5:40 pm Eastern with comment] Uber, the smartphone-based car-for-hire service that has been running into taxi industry opposition around the country, has just landed in court again. And the case is a doozy. Two of Boston’s largest cab companies are suing San Francisco-based Uber in a local court, arguing that the heavily financed startup … Continue reading “Uber Sued in Boston; Case Could Wind up in Federal Court”
Menlo Ventures Steps into the Spotlight
Venky Ganesan, the newest managing director at Menlo Ventures, likes to tell a story about one of his business idols, Sidney Weinberg. When Weinberg was building Goldman Sachs into a financial giant in the 1940s, ’50s, and ’60s, Ganesan recounts, he employed a full-time public relations officer whose sole job was to make sure the … Continue reading “Menlo Ventures Steps into the Spotlight”
London’s Hailo Gets $30.6M Fare from Union Square Ventures, Others
As initially reported by The Wall Street Journal, London-based taxi app maker Hailo raised $30.6 million in a Series B round led by Union Square Ventures. Other investors participating in the round include Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson, Phenomen Ventures, teleco KDDI in Tokyo, Red Swan Ventures, Felicis Ventures, and prior investors. A version of … Continue reading “London’s Hailo Gets $30.6M Fare from Union Square Ventures, Others”
Handybook Hopes to Simplify Booking for Household Services in Boston & NYC
Most entrepreneurs don’t cite laziness as the inspiration for their business. But Oisin Hanrahan, founder of Handybook.com, says he and co-founder/roommate Umang Dua hated doing things like cleaning up their apartment or putting together Ikea furniture, and really hated the existing means for finding people to do those tasks. (Those means include Google search, Craigslist, … Continue reading “Handybook Hopes to Simplify Booking for Household Services in Boston & NYC”
Explore the Online-to-Offline Economy with Eventbrite on August 7
In its infancy, toddlerhood, and adolescence, the Web was pretty much stuck in its own little world. Most Web content and service providers were keen to keep people online for as long as possible (think Farmville). But as the Web matures, it’s going through an interesting transformation. It’s turning outward and taking a more practical, … Continue reading “Explore the Online-to-Offline Economy with Eventbrite on August 7”
Acme Packet, Constant Contact, & Terrafugia CEOs Join XSITE on June 14
Here at Xconomy we are gearing up for our biggest event of the year: XSITE (the Xconomy Summit on Innovation, Technology, & Entrepreneurship) on June 14 at Babson College. Tickets have been going fast, but you can still register here. The theme for this year’s event, our fourth annual summertime summit, is Accelerating Innovation. And … Continue reading “Acme Packet, Constant Contact, & Terrafugia CEOs Join XSITE on June 14”
NY Tech Day Brings Together Startups and Potential Investors
New York is teeming with events to showcase startups, but Thursday’s NY Tech Day presented a lineup of up-and-comers who, in some cases, drew more attention than big-name exhibitors such as tumblr. In its debut event, NY Tech Day brought out some 160 tech companies to the 69th Regiment Armory in New York’s Flatiron District. … Continue reading “NY Tech Day Brings Together Startups and Potential Investors”
CommonAngels, NEVCA Pledge 50 Startup Tickets for XSITE on June 14
We’re still two months out from our full-day flagship forum XSITE, the Xconomy Summit on Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship, but CommonAngels and the New England Venture Capital Association have already pledged to buy 50 tickets together—25 each—for startups looking to attend the June 14 conference. “We are thrilled to be able to support entrepreneurs in … Continue reading “CommonAngels, NEVCA Pledge 50 Startup Tickets for XSITE on June 14”
Announcing XSITE June 14: Evernote, Uber, Zaarly, IBM’s Watson, & More
Innovators, start your engines. The economy is ramping up, and so is the innovation scene here in Boston and across the U.S. For the past three years—starting with the theme “The Recovery Starts Here” when the economy was still in the tanks back in mid-2009—Xconomy has held a full-day event each June called XSITE, the … Continue reading “Announcing XSITE June 14: Evernote, Uber, Zaarly, IBM’s Watson, & More”
Twilio, Edmodo, Uber: Bay Area Biztech by the Numbers
Here’s your one-stop, data-driven roundup of deals news around the San Francisco Bay Area in the last few days. $110 million—The cash price fetched by Jobs2Web, the San Mateo, CA-based online talent recruiting company purchased this week (PDF) by SuccessFactors (NYSE: [[ticker:SFSF]]). The San Francisco-based maker of cloud-based human resources management software is itself in the midst of … Continue reading “Twilio, Edmodo, Uber: Bay Area Biztech by the Numbers”
Uber Lands $32,000,000 Series B Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=021a2743-15e4-49d2-9438-987e86009266&Preview=1 Date 12/7/2011 Company Name Uber Mailing Address 182 Howard St. San Francisco, CA 94105 Company Description The company has created a mobile application that allows users to request car service to pick them up wherever they are located. Website http://www.Uber.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $32,000,000 Transaction Round Series B … Continue reading “Uber Lands $32,000,000 Series B Funding Round”
BarkBox, Led by Uber and Meetup Veterans, Bites Into Curated Gifts for Dogs
BarkBox in New York launched its website today ready to ship monthly boxes of new toys and treats to dog lovers who want to pamper their four-legged companions. Co-founder Carly Strife says subscribers will receive, for a fee, well-designed, curated products chosen by BarkBox. Though not affiliated with cosmetics sample service Birchbox, also in New … Continue reading “BarkBox, Led by Uber and Meetup Veterans, Bites Into Curated Gifts for Dogs”
Uber Hits Boston With Its Tech for Luxurious, On-the-Fly Rides
This is not your average cab company. In fact, it’s not a cab company at all. It’s a tech startup enabling urban luxury car services to function a bit more like cabs, while retaining their swank. It’s called Uber (formerly UberCab but renamed to avoid confusion) and it is up and running in Boston as … Continue reading “Uber Hits Boston With Its Tech for Luxurious, On-the-Fly Rides”
Aneesh Chopra on Innovation, Pinpoint Pickup Takes on Uber, Charles River Embraces IP, & More in the Seattle-Area Tech Roundup
A chat with the nation’s first chief technology officer was one of the highlights of the past week in tech news. Aneesh Chopra, President Barack Obama’s CTO, is in town this week for a panel discussion at the Technology Alliance’s State of Technology luncheon. He had lunch with local corporate execs yesterday, and we published … Continue reading “Aneesh Chopra on Innovation, Pinpoint Pickup Takes on Uber, Charles River Embraces IP, & More in the Seattle-Area Tech Roundup”
Pinpoint Pickup, the Car-Booking Startup Facing off Against Uber, has Seven Cities Under its Belt—and Wants More
For anyone who’s ever stood in the rain waiting for a cramped bus, or wondered if that hurried call to the taxi dispatcher was going to pay off, there’s now a quick way to book a pricier, but more luxurious ride by tapping a few times on your smartphone. I’m not talking about Uber, the … Continue reading “Pinpoint Pickup, the Car-Booking Startup Facing off Against Uber, has Seven Cities Under its Belt—and Wants More”
Takeaways from SXSW Interactive 2011: Winners, Losers, and a Remainder
The biggest challenge for a company at SXSW Interactive is getting noticed. Now drawing 17,000 registrants and with heavy-hitting corporate sponsors, there are plenty of companies that come to the event and spend plenty of dollars. With so much going on, the winner is the company that can turn heads and get people talking during … Continue reading “Takeaways from SXSW Interactive 2011: Winners, Losers, and a Remainder”
Uber Garners $11,000,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d16db86d-1f96-4282-83d2-14215b05e1d9&Preview=1 Date 2/14/2011 Company Name Uber Mailing Address 182 Howard St. San Francisco, CA 94105 Company Description The company has created a mobile application that allows users to request car service to pick them up wherever they are located. Website http://www.Uber.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $11,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds … Continue reading “Uber Garners $11,000,000 New Financing Round”