Categorie: Fundings & Exits

Fund.me: Mobile Social Network Startup Just.me Raises $2.7 Million

apps, archimedes labs, Fundings & Exits, just.me, mobile, social, Startups, TC

justmeJust.me, a stealth startup incubated by Palo Alto, California-based Archimedes Labs has raised $2.7 million in Series A funding according to an SEC filing. The company earlier secured $600,000 in seed financing from SV Angel, Google Ventures, True Ventures, Betaworks, CrunchFund and a couple of other high-profile investors such as Don Dodge and Michael Parekh.

I reached out to Keith Teare, CEO and sole founder of just.me (and also technically also a co-founder of TechCrunch, for full disclosure), but he politely declined to comment on the funding round.

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Exclusive: Groupon Acquires Stealth Silicon Valley Startup Campfire Labs

campfire labs, ecommerce, Editor's Picks, Fundings & Exits, groupon, social, Startups, TC

grouponGroupon has continued its (talent) acquisition spree with the recent purchase of a hot Silicon Valley startup before they even launched – and with extremely little fanfare.

We’ve learned that Campfire Labs, which was founded by ex-Googler Sakina Arsiwala (previously Head of International at YouTube) and her husband, social search technology expert Naveen Koorakula (previously at search companies like Inktomi, Yahoo and Picch), was quietly bought by Groupon.

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UpTo Lands Seed Funding To Go “Beyond Status Updates And Check-ins”

apps, Detroit Venture Partners, Fundings & Exits, Ludlow Ventures, mobile, Rock City Apps, social, Startups, TC, UpTo

uptoA new, relatively stealth startup called Rock City Apps is gearing up for the launch of a mobile application called UpTo, and has raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding from Detroit Venture Partners and Ludlow Ventures to finance the development of the product.

The company, which is based in Detroit, Michigan, plans to launch its first iPhone app ‘soon’ and lets you indicate your interest by inviting you to sign up to receive an invitation to the private beta.

You can do that here.

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How To Found, Grow, and Sell A Social Good Startup (TCTV)

Fundings & Exits, social, social good, Startups, TC, TCTV

GamesThatGive PlayMost entrepreneurs found companies to solve a problem. Adam Archer founded GamesThatGive to save the world. During a backpacking trip across the world he was inspired with the idea for the company. He then left Apple in 2008 to work on a farm before founding GamesThatGive, which builds social games where users earn money for charity by playing thanks to sponsorships from major brands. It raised a little over $1 million dollars before selling to Facebook Page management platform Vitrue earlier this year..

Watch as we talk to Archer about the challenges and advantages of starting a social good company, and how one can make a difference in the world and still turn a profit.

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Saudi Prince Pumps $300 Million Into Twitter

Fundings & Exits, Kingdom Holding, Kingdom Holding Company, Prince Alwaleed, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, social, TC, Twitter

twitterIn an unexpected move, a member of the Saudi royal family has invested $300 million in social networking company Twitter.

This morning, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, founder and CEO of Kingdom Holding Company and one of the wealthiest people on the planet, announced the investment, which was reported first by Bloomberg.

In a statement, Twitter’s newest equity holder says that the investment was the result of “several months of negotiations and comprehensive due diligence”.

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Facebook’s Leftovers? Social Network Tagged Acquires hi5

Fundings & Exits, Hi5, social, Social Networking, Tagged, TC

taggedSocial networking service Tagged, Inc. announced it has acquired the social game network hi5 today, doubling Tagged’s monthly active users to 20 million. The combination will also increase the total number of registered users to 330 million, up from 100 million.

According to The WSJ’s report, the deal’s terms were not disclosed, but include the hi5 website and user base.

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KidZui Raises $2.4M, Launches Zui Studios To Create More Videos For Kids

Fundings & Exits, Kidzui, social, Startups, TC, Video, Zui, Zui Studios, Zui.com

zuiExclusive – KidZui, maker of family-friendly Internet products like a safe browser and a video destination for kids, has scored another $2.4 million in funding from existing investors, led by Mission Ventures and Costella Kirsch.

The capital will be used for the development of a new video production division dubbed Zui Studios.

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