NeXtUp Innovation

Sinovel plans $500m IPO in Shanghai

nextupinnovation — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:52:24 +0000

Sinovel Wind Group plans to raise $500m on the Shanghai Stock Exchange through an initial public offering (IPO). It will be the third of the big three Chinese wind energy groups to go for a listing.

HomeAway Buys Up BedAndBreakfast.com

nextupinnovation — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:21:15 +0000

HomeAway is acquiringBedandBreakfast, a site for finding bed-and-breakfast properties all over the world. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but BedAndBreakfast.com will continue to operate as a separate site from HomeAway.

Playdom eyes a bigger Facebook presence by acquiring Offbeat Games

nextupinnovation — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:19:53 +0000

Playdom, has acquired Facebook game developer Offbeat Creations. The news comes via TechCrunch, who reports that Offbeat Creations’ founders will join Playdom at its Seattle offices. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

MySpace co-founder DeWolfe moves into social gaming with MindJolt acquisition

nextupinnovation — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:18:48 +0000

MySpace co-founder Chris DeWolfe has re-emerged almost a year after leaving the chief executive post at the social network. With backing from Austin Ventures, DeWolfe’s new company Platform G is buying a social gaming startup called MindJolt.

Kwedit Raises $3.3 Million

nextupinnovation — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:17:57 +0000

Kwedit, the innovative new alternate payment product for social games and just about any other virtual good, is on a roll. They’ve raised a second round of financing – $3.3 million in a round led by Maveron.

Perfect Market Raises $6 Million

nextupinnovation — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:16:38 +0000

Perfect Market, announced it has raised $6 million of Series C funding led by Tribune Company. Existing investors Trinity Ventures, Rustic Canyon Partners and Idealab also participated. Perfect Market will use the funds to expand its efforts to market and deploy its solution to the broad marketplace of newspapers, magazines, broadcasters with a web presence and other online publishers.

Exponential Entertainment raises funding for Hollywood Player casual games

nextupinnovation — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:15:25 +0000

Exponential Entertainment has raised a round of funding for creating its Hollywood Player line-up of movie-oriented online social games. Dave Long, chief executive, said in an interview that the company raised a round of $700,000 from angel investors including the Band of Angels. The company has also raised $1 million in convertible debt, bringing its total financing to $1.7 million. Long said the company is in talks to raise a total of $3.25 million.

Cloudmark Secures $23 Million in Growth Equity Funding from Summit Partners and Nokia Growth Partners

nextupinnovation — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:14:18 +0000

Cloudmark, announced it has secured $23 million in a round of funding led by new investor Summit Partners and joined by Nokia Growth Partners, the venture capital investing arm of Nokia. Existing investors Ignition Partners and Industry Ventures also participated in the round. The new funding was used to assist in Cloudmark’s acquisition of Bizanga, Ltd. and is the first investment Cloudmark has raised since 2004.

Adenyo lands $30M to expand mobile marketing platform globally

nextupinnovation — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:13:17 +0000

Adenyo, announced it has secured $30 million in funding to accelerate its international growth. Adanyo offers three different core services, including mobile marketing and advertising, mobile storefronts and mobile analytics and metrics. Through mobile campaigns, the company claims it can help customers enhance brand reputation, build customer loyalty, reach new customers and increase revenue.

Konarka Gets $20M More for Organic Solar Cells

nextupinnovation — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:56:00 +0000

Konarka just announced $20 million in strategic investment from Japan’s Konica Minolta. That brings Konarka’s total to more than $150M in angel funding, venture capital, strategic investment and private equity money raised since 2001. And throw in at least $10 million more in DARPA, DOE, NSF, U.S. Army, bank loans and credit lines in the last ten years.