Deals & More

Intel and Sprout launch a consumer-powered Facebook promotion

Facebook reaches so many people now that big brands are trying to figure out how to reach its audience. Intel is using social media firm Sprout to launch a new kind of marketing campaign today that promises to drop Intel laptop prices if consumers sign up to be fans of Intel’s latest page on Facebook. The more fans sign up, the lower the price of the laptops will be when they go on sale on… Continue Reading

Fluidigm raises another $7.5M for stem-cell analysis chips

Fluidigm, which makes chips that for genetics lab, has raised $7.5 million in new equity, according to VentureWire. That’s part of a new $18.5 million round that the South San Francisco, Calif. company is raising. The funding comes from existing backers Alloy Ventures, EDB Investments, EuclidSR partners, Fidelity Contrafund, Interwest Partners, Lehman Brothers Venture Capital Group, Smallcap World Fund, and Versant Ventures, as well as an undisclosed new investor.

Fluidigm tried to have an IPO a… Continue Reading

Business intelligence company Manthan Systems raises second round

Manthan Systems, which provides business intelligence and analytics software to retailers, has a raised a second funding round of “up to” $15 million. The round was led by Fidelity International, with participation from existing investors IDG Ventures India and DFJ ePlanet Ventures. The company is based in Bangalore, India.

MyFit raises $1M to help parents with college applications

MyFit, a new services that helps parents figure out how to get their children into the college of their choice, has raised $1 million in a first round of funding, led by New Enterprise Associates. The Mountain View, Calif. company says it looks at data about graduates from more than 3,500 higher learning institutions, and uses that information to tell users where they should focus their academic and extracurricular energy to get into a specific… Continue Reading

Network equipment company IPWireless restarts with $15.5M

IPWireless, a maker of mobile network equipment, has raised $15.5 million in a new first round of institutional funding. The company previously raised $235 million and was acquired by NextWave Wireless in 2007, but NextWave sold the company back to its founders last year, according to Dow Jones VentureWire. The new round was led by Spark Capital, with participation from Lockheed-Martin and Northrup Grumman.

Outright raises $5.5M to help small businesses with their finances

Outright, which offers a free online application to help small businesses manage their finances, has raised $5.5 million in a first round of institutional funding led by Sequoia Capital. The firms that invested in Outright’s seed round — First Round Capital, Shasta Ventures, and SoftTechVC — also participated. The Campbell, Calif., company has now raised a total of $7.5 million.

Cloud antivirus company Immunet raises $2M

Cloud antivirus solutions, which tap web-based computing resources, are becoming more popular as security firms seek better ways to protect consumers from malware attacks.

That’s evident in the funding announced today by Immunet, a cloud antivirus startup that has raised $2 million in funding from Altos Ventures and TechOperators. Palo Alto, Calif.-based Immunet launched its first product, Immunet Protect, in August. The product harnesses the growing power of sharing networks to create a community of people… Continue Reading

GoodGuide lets you scan barcodes to find the most ethical products

GoodGuide, one of my favorite applications for the iPhone, just got a cool new feature — barcode scanning. Users could already consult the app for data on whether a product was healthy, environmentally-friendly, and socially-responsible, but now you don’t have to type in a search. Just scan the barcode, and the app brings up the relevant information.

The San Francisco company also announced a $5.5 million second round of funding led by new investor Physic Ventures,… Continue Reading

CIA’s In-Q-Tel funds FireEye anti-botnet security firm

The CIA’s In-Q-Tel investment arm took a stake today in FireEye, which is creating an anti-malware platform for enterprises.

Milpitas, Calif.-based FireEye is working on a platform that can fight off “botnets,” which are fleets of zombie computers that have been taken over by criminal hacker rings. The technology being developed can support the “missions of the U.S. intelligence community.”

Terms were not disclosed. While there are many anti-malware and anti-botnet technologies out there, the bad guys… Continue Reading

Placecast lands $5M more for location-triggered mobile advertisements

San Francisco’s 1020 Placecast, a company working on new mobile advertising technology, said today it raised $5 million in more funding to continue developing its opt-in location-triggered ad service.

Placecast, which previously raised $4 million, pushes advertisements from major brands to the consumer’s phone depending on their physical location, but allows users to opt-in to the system. Here’s a scenario: You’re shopping and have opted in to receive advertisement alerts from your favorite store, say GAP (you can… Continue Reading

Amimon creates wireless networks to connect PCs and TVs

Chip maker Amimon is announcing today that it has created wireless modules that can connect computers and high-definition TVs so that consumers can effortlessly watch PC content on their TVs.

The devices could make it a lot easier to watch PC-based Internet videos, flash media, digital photos and games on a TV. Based on the Wireless Home Digital Interface (WHDI) wireless standard, the new chips can be embedded into notebook computers or netbooks, which are smaller… Continue Reading

IBM moves closer to creating chips based on the brain

IBM said today that it has made significant progress toward developing a computer that simulates and emulates the brain’s abilities to sense, perceive, interact, and recognize.

The computer does this by imitating the brain’s low-power energy consumption and compact size, and it has an intelligence level that approaches the smarts of a cat. Big Blue will announce the development at the SC 09 supercomputer conference in Portland, Ore.

IBM Research’s cognitive computing team has made progress with… Continue Reading

Chile’s Austral Capital to help Latin American startups reach the US — and vice versa

Santiago, Chile-based Austral Capital is one of a growing number of Latin American VC firms making names for themselves. Thanks to aggressive support from the Chilean government, the less than two-year old company has funded several Chilean start-ups, including Atakama Labs, which I wrote about earlier today. And it’s also moved quickly to set up an office in Silicon Valley and hired Hiroshi Wald to run the show. Wald (pictured) said Austral’s Silicon Valley mission… Continue Reading

Norwest Venture Partners raises $1.2B fund

Norwest Venture Partners, the Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that has invested in companies from Rackspace to Peoplesoft, has raised a new fund of $1.2 billion.

It is the eleventh fund in the firm’s history, and its largest.

Managing partner Promod Haque says the new money will help the firm expand — in terms of geography, industry, and the type of deal it gets involved with. The fund is so much larger than Norwest’s $650 million tenth… Continue Reading

Intel Capital invests $25M in 7 new startups

Intel said today that it has invested $25 million in seven new startups as part of its goal of increasing demand for its own products.

The investments were led by Intel Capital, which is the investment arm of the Santa Clara, Calif.-based chip maker. The investments show that Intel hasn’t flinched from its goal of supporting startups during the recession, said Arvind Sodhani (right), president of Intel Capital, at a press conference at Intel’s 10th annual… Continue Reading

Bigfoot raises $8M for fast networking for gamers

Bigfoot Networks has raised $8 million in an effort to expand its business of making network cards that speed broadband performance for online gamers.

Bigfoot makes network cards that help gamers deal with the problem of lag. Lag is the frustrating delay that happens in the middle of an online game when you’re trying to make something happen at a high speed — like shooting at a moving target — but your network performance is too… Continue Reading

ARM sets up Android gadget development effort

Google’s Android mobile operating system is picking up steam. The latest evidence is a move by ARM, the low-power chip design company, to create an Android Solutions Center that will make it easier for companies to build Android-based gadgets.

The solution center consists of a bunch of tools that companies can use to create their own Android hardware, built around ARM’s chips, said James Bruce, mobile segment manager for ARM, in an interview. More than 35… Continue Reading

All-in-one TV service Sezmi lands $25M

There are a few words that when put together are music to my ears — one of them being “all-in-one.” Startup Sezmi has just landed $25 million in third round funding and is hoping consumers are interested in just that — an all-in-one television service. As more and more companies begin to offer their own set-top boxes, the chances that consumers will bite are good.

Sezmi secured $33 million back in November 2008, equaling near $75… Continue Reading

Teknovus captures $5.6M for optical Ethernet chips

Teknovus, a provider of Ethernet optical networking chips, has brought in $5.6 million in convertible promissory notes, preferred and common stock, according to a filing with the SEC. Based in Petaluma, Calif., the company is backed by Partech International, Focus Ventures, Galleon Group, Itochu Technology Ventures, U.S. Venture Partners, Vision Venture Capital, Mitsubishi, Technology Alliance Investment and Samsung Ventures America.