Highlights from recent IT venture capital investment activity.
May 21st, 2012 – Mountain View, CA
Goldman Sachs Leads $52M For AnchorFree’s Consumer VPN
California-based privacy and security firm, AnchorFree, has just announced that it closed $52 million in a Series C round of funding, led by Goldman Sachs. In this latest round of investment, Goldman Sachs is joining existing investors including, Bert Roberts (former chairman and CEO of MCI); Russell Cleveland (president of RENN Capital Group); tech investor Esther Dyson; Greg Coleman (former president of The Huffington Post); Doug Maine (former CFO of IBM); Rick Roth (former CEO of Ogilvy Action); and Kevin Cook (VP of corporate development at Barracuda Networks).
http://thenextweb.com/insider/2012/05/21/goldman-sachs-leads-52m-investment-round-for-hotspot-shield-maker-anchorfree/
May 21st, 2012 – Los Angeles, CA
Machinima Gets $35M In Funding, Led By Google
After being first reported by AllThingsD, online video creator Machinima confirmed Monday that it has closed a $35 million funding round led by Google, which also included existing investors Redpoint Ventures and MK Capital. The new financing comes as Google’s YouTube has been investing heavily in bringing in all sorts of new original programming.
http://techcrunch.com/2012/05/21/machinima-youtube-35m/
May 21st, 2012 – San Jose, CA
Shocking Technologies raises $15.2M for anti-shock circuit boards
Shocking Technologies has raised $15.2 million in a third round of funding for its business of making electric-shock-proof electronic circuit boards. The backers include Littelfuse, Arch Ventures, ATA Ventures, Balch Hill Capital, Skylake Incuvest, Vista Ventures and a number of private investors. Shocking Technologies will use the money to build additional manufacturing capacity to meet demand.
http://www.shockingtechnologies.com/press_releases.asp?press_release=37#
May 23rd, 2012 – Orlando, FL
Kony Solutions Secures $15M
Kony Solutions, Inc., the leading mobile application development platform (MADP) provider, announced that it completed FY2012 (ended March 31, 2012) growing more than 200% in bookings and adding more than 30 new global 2,000 customers. To continue to fuel and accelerate this growth, Kony also announced the successful completion of a Series C round of financing. Led by Insight Venture Partners, the $15 million in funding will be used to fund operations growth, sales and marketing programs and regional expansion.
http://www.kony.com/kony-solutions-completes-successful-year-accelerated-growth-announces-series-c-funding
May 23rd, 2012 – Ottawa, ON
Solantro Semiconductor Completes $10m Series A Financing
Solantro Semiconductor Corp., an Ottawa, ON, Canada-based developer of chipsets and Reference Designs for module integrated electronics within distributed Solar PV solutions. , has completed a $10m Series A financing. The round was led by Black Coral Capital, with participation from Presidio Ventures (a Sumitomo Corporation company), Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and Export Development Canada (EDC).
http://www.finsmes.com/2012/05/solantro-semiconductor-completes-10m-series-financing.html
May 21st, 2012 – Surrey, UK
notonthehighstreet.com Raises £10M in Series D Funding
notonthehighstreet.com, a UK-based online marketplace that supports over 3,000 of the best small creative UK businesses, has raised £10m in Series D funding. The round was led by Fidelity Growth Partners Europe (FGPE), with participation from existing investors Index Ventures and Greylock Partners. The company intends to use the capital to continue growing its offering and brand and invest in technology.
http://www.finsmes.com/2012/05/notonthehighstreet-com-raises-10m-series-funding.html
May 21st, 2012 – Manchester, UK
App55 Raises Funding from The North West Fund for Venture Capital
App55 Ltd, a Manchester, UK-based mobile payment provider, has secured an investment from The North West Fund for Venture Capital, managed by EV. The company intends to use the funding to develop and market its solutions. Launched in 2011 by CEO Richard Beaton, App55 provides Card Hub, a plug-in which enables merchants to convert browsing into sales by letting customers pay with their password from any smartphone, tablet or computer. It can also handle e-invoicing, subscriptions and payment by instalments.
http://app55.com/news
May 21st, 2012 – Berlin, Germany
88tc88 Receives Single-Digit Million Euro investment from ALSTIN
88tc88, a Berlin and Beijing –based E-commerce platform, has received a single-digit million Euro investment from ALSTIN. Following the transaction, ALSTIN, the investment firm of German entrepreneur Carsten Maschmeyer, will hold a significant equity stake in the company. The company plans to use the funds to expand its Chinese sales team as well as its business operations. Following the soft launch of its B2C sales platform Paishou88, the China-wide roll out of 88tc88 shall be accomplished by the end of this year.
http://www.finsmes.com/2012/05/88tc88-receives-single-digit-million-euro-investment-alstin.html
May 21st, 2012 – London, UK
Quipper Raises £2.3M in Series A Funding
Quipper, a London, UK-based e-learning start-up, has raised £2.3m (approximately $3.6m) in Series A funding. The round was led by Globis with participation from Atomico and Benesse. The company intends to use the funding to increase the amount of content available to users, to expand its reach as the educational tool.
http://blog.quipper.com/
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