9 posts and columns on JAFCO Ventures

Inkling Raises $17M for Digital Textbooks

in Media on August 3, 2011 at 12:01 am PT

Inkling, the San Francisco-based maker of interactive iPad textbooks, has raised $17 million in Series B funding. See the cool D9 demo video.
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Seven Questions for Asheem Chandna of Greylock Partners

in Enterprise on August 1, 2011 at 4:19 pm PT

Asheem Chandna is a director in the Greylock-backed Palo Alto Networks, the fast-growing network security start-up that just hired away the CEO of Verisign.
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Voices

Reputation.com Raises a New $41 Million Round

in Social on July 19, 2011 at 11:31 am PT

Reputation.com has raised a $41 million round of funding, as the online privacy start-up aims to expand its business with new offerings. The new round was led by venture-capital firm August Capital, with participation from Insight Capital and existing investors including Jafco Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Bessemer Venture Partners, said Reputation.com CEO Michael Fertik.

Now That Intel’s In Control at McAfee, President Dave DeWalt Resigns

in Enterprise on July 12, 2011 at 7:59 am PT

Intel has named two new co-presidents at its newly acquired McAfee security software subsidiary. The bigger news is that president Dave DeWalt is leaving.
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News Byte

Zynga and Pandora Ad Provider SocialVibe Raises $20M

in Social on March 22, 2011 at 11:23 am PT

SocialVibe, the performance advertising network that offers users an alternative to paying for virtual goods on Zynga and subscriptions on Pandora, today announced it had raised $20 million in a Series D round led by Norwest Venture Partners and including previous investors Redpoint Ventures, Jafco Ventures and Pinnacle Ventures. The Los Angeles-based company also operates its own social apps for individuals to spread branded content in order to raise money for various causes.

Voices

Funds Invest in Privacy Start-Ups

in News on June 21, 2010 at 12:00 am PT

As privacy snafus mount across companies such as Facebook Inc. and AT&T Inc., venture capitalists have spotted a new market opening and are pumping millions of dollars into privacy-related start-ups. This month, online privacy start-up ReputationDefender Inc. plans to disclose that it has raised $15 million in new venture funding–even though the company wasn’t actively looking for new cash.

Clicker's Jim Lanzone Talks About TV on the Web (And Shows Off L.A. Digs)

in News on April 15, 2010 at 6:58 am PT

During my recent sojourn in Los Angeles, BoomTown dropped in on the Melrose Avenue HQ of Clicker, the Web site trying to make search sense of premium video on the Web. I had a chat with Jim Lanzone, former CEO of fourth-ranked search engine Ask about whether such a service could survive with giants like Google around. He is certainly trying to differentiate Clicker, which aims to steer clear of both copyright issues and huge bandwidth costs by simply being a helpful friend to consumers in search of good video.

More Money for Web Video? Sure: Clicker Raises Another $11 Million.

in Media on February 18, 2010 at 6:01 am PT

How do you launch a Web video start-up without getting crushed by lawsuits and bandwidth bills? Launch a Web video search engine. That’s the thesis behind Clicker, a would-be TV Guide for Web video, which has raised an $11 million B round led by JAFCO Ventures, with participation from earlier investors Benchmark Capital and Redpoint Ventures. The funding follows an $8 million round announced last fall that was actually raised in 2008.

Local Ad Start-Up Yodle Raises $10 Million C Round. What Does That Mean?

in Media on January 12, 2009 at 4:30 am PT

Raising more money for an online advertising start-up in a recession is a good thing. But raising less money than you did in the previous round will raise some eyebrows.