funding

News Byte

Airtime Raises $25M, Brings in Early Hulu Team by Acquiring Their Start-Up, Erly

Liz Gannes in Social on May 22 at 9:16 pm PT

Airtime, the soon-to-launch video start-up from the co-founders of Napster, has raised $25 million in Series B funding led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and including Andreessen Horowitz, Accel Partners, Google Ventures, and the Social + Capital Partnership, as first reported by TechCrunch and confirmed by the company. Airtime also acquired Erly, the young, KP-backed event-photo-sharing start-up created by the early Hulu product team.

News Byte

Yep, Google’s in the Content Business. And Now It’s Fessing Up to Its Machinima Investment.

Peter Kafka in Media on May 21 at 3:18 pm PT

Like we told you earlier this month: Google has invested in Machinima, one of the most popular networks/channels on Google’s YouTube. Google — that’s Google Inc., not Google Ventures — now confirms that it led the $35 million round, along with previous investors Redpoint Ventures and MK Capital. My sources previously told me the deal would value Machinima at around $190 million.

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Carlyle Group Leads $100 Million Round for Video Service

Peter Kafka in Media on May 21 at 1:01 pm PT

Avail-TVN, a company that helps process and manage video for cable systems and other services, has raised $100 million in a round led by the Carlyle Group, along with previous investors including Columbia Capital, Valhalla Partners, Novak Biddle and Pioneer Ventures. Avail-TVN used $27 million of the round to buy UK-based On Demand Group, which provides video-on-demand services outside the U.S. Last year, it generated more than $200 million in revenue.

News Byte

Social+Capital and Greylock Fund Health Insurance Site Simplee

Liz Gannes in News on May 15 at 5:00 am PT

Simplee, a health insurance management site that helps consumers pay bills, has raised $6 million in Series A funding led by the Social+Capital Partnership and including seed investor Greylock Partners. The company, which launched last year and competes with Cake Health, said it is compatible with 80 percent of U.S. insurers, and plans to expand to large employers and health savings account banks.