News Byte

Founded Just 18 Months Ago, DraftKings Picks Up $24M for Fantasy Sports

DraftKings, where you can play fantasy sports for money on a daily basis (legally), has raised a $24 million Series B round led by Redpoint Ventures, with GGV Capital, Atlas Venture, and BDS Ventures, following a $7 million Series A round earlier this year. Founded just last year, DraftKings claims that 75 percent of people who signed up in 2012 were still active in 2013, driven by the continued promise of cash prizes.

Justin Kitch Talks About His New Learning Platform, Curious (Video)

Are you curious about Curious?

Machinima, the YouTube Giant Looking for New Money, Is Also Looking for a New CEO

Machinima is really big, but it’s not a really big business yet. Allen DeBevoise says he wants to hire a replacement to change that.

Caterina Fake’s Findery Launches Mobile App for Stories About Places

If it works well, the Findery app will interrupt users with notifications for delightful tidbits of information about the backstory, history, trivia and personal stories associated with nearby places.

Former Twitter Platform Chief Sarver Joins Redpoint as Partner

Every time a bell rings, a VC gets his wingtips.

News Byte

Benchmark, Redpoint Back Android Mod Startup Cyanogen Inc.

CyanogenMod, a startup created by Steve Kondik that creates customized software for Android smartphones, announced on Wednesday that it had raised $7 million from Benchmark Capital and Redpoint Ventures, and that it renamed itself Cyanogen Inc. Kondik, joined by Kirt McMaster, formerly of Boost Mobile, and coder Koushik Dutta, will soon launch a formal Cyanogen installer for Android phones inside Google’s Play store, and plan to continue building services and applications on top on the new software.

News Byte

Tastemade, YouTube’s Would-Be Food Network, Raises $10 Million

Tastemade, a video network aimed at becoming YouTube’s version of the the Food Network, has raised $10 million from Raine Ventures and Redpoint Ventures. Industry sources say that the company, which had previously raised $5.3 million from Redpoint, had lots of interest in this round, including an offer from Food Network owner Scripps Network Interactive.

Cloud Analytics Player Tidemark Lands $13 Million Round Led by Tenaya Capital

Sales are growing, and customers like Chiquita and Hostess Brands are signing up.

Qwilt, Maker of Super-Caching Gear for Video, Lands $16 Million Series C Round

Delivering popular video by moving it close to the consumer.

Cisco’s Prashant Gandhi Bolts to Upstart Big Switch Networks

A big executive move in the fast-moving world of software-defined networks.