Index Ventures

News Byte

Etsy Secures $40 Million for International Expansion

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on May 9 at 9:43 am PT

Etsy, the online marketplace where people sell their arts and crafts, has raised $40 million in funding. Investors include Index Ventures (which led the round), Accel Partners, Union Square Ventures, Hubert Burda Media and Glynn Partners. In a blog post, Etsy CEO Chad Dickerson said the company will expand internationally. To date, Etsy has raised $91 million in capital.

News Byte

Brit Media Raises $1.25M and Launches Wedding Web Site Tools

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on April 30 at 9:00 am PT

Former Google TV product lead Brit Morin is disclosing today that she has raised $1.25 million in seed funding from an impressive list of investors, including Marissa Mayer, Aileen Lee, Tina Sharkey and Seth Goldstein, Kevin Colleran, Annabel Teal, Index Ventures, General Catalyst, Founders Fund Angel and DMGT. The company — called Brit Media — is aiming to build a new lifestyle brand (think Martha Stewart), and kicks off today with Weduary, a customizable and social wedding Web site.

Chartbeat Raises $9 Million for More Real-Time Web Publishing Analytics

Peter Kafka in Media on April 16 at 7:00 am PT

Index Ventures re-ups, and DFJ joins in.

News Byte

Sequoia Leads $10 Million Round for Songkick

Peter Kafka in Media on March 8 at 10:59 am PT

Songkick, the four-year-old concert notification start-up, has raised a $10 million round led by Sequoia Capital. Earlier investors such as Index Ventures also re-upped. Songkick makes money via lead generation, taking fees of up to 10 percent from concert promoters like Ticketmaster. The New York Times has a nice interview with CEO Ian Hogarth.

Content (Recommendation) Doesn’t Come Cheap: Outbrain Raises Another $35 Million

Peter Kafka in Media on December 14, 2011 at 5:00 am PT

You know those “recommended” links at the bottom of this post? Turns out that’s a huge business.

Kaggle Solves Big Data Problems With Contests — And Now Has Big Funders and $11M on Board

Liz Gannes in News on November 3, 2011 at 12:00 am PT

What if the Netflix Prize model — solving hard problems about big data sets using contests — could be applied to all sorts of other things? A remarkable start-up called Kaggle is doing just that.

SoundCloud Lands on the iPad, Waits for Other Music Services to Join It There

Peter Kafka in Media on October 27, 2011 at 5:28 am PT

SoundCloud, the buzzy music-sharing service/utility, has arrived on the iPad, via a new free app. But other music services haven’t found much use for the tablet so far.

API Marketplace Mashape Raises Funding

Liz Gannes in News on September 6, 2011 at 11:53 am PT

Mashape, an up-and-coming marketplace for APIs, has raised $1.5 million in seed funding — which, given some of the names backing it, seems like a pretty small amount.

Mind Candy’s Moshi Monsters Roar to Life Through Toys “R” Us Deal

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on June 13, 2011 at 7:01 pm PT

Mind Candy CEO Michael Acton Smith chated last week at E3 about how he believes he can leverage the company’s gaming roots to build a Facebook alternative for kids while also creating an entertainment brand worth billions.

Exclusive: Flipboard Confirms $50 Million Funding at $200 Million Valuation

Kara Swisher in News on April 14, 2011 at 1:23 pm PT

Late last month, BoomTown posted about a huge venture funding effort by the high-profile and even more highly designed social media reading app for the Apple iPad, Flipboard. Today, its co-founder and CEO Mike McCue confirmed a $50 million round at an eye-popping $200 million valuation, in a wide-ranging interview at the start-up’s Palo Alto, Calif., HQ.