Skip to Content

Submit your nominations for the Luxist Awards' Best in Decor
AOL Tech

funding posts

Filed under: Business, Developer, Social Software

Facebook announces winning apps in FBFund


Facebook's FBFund is a $10mil initiative to provide funding for startups that are doing promising things in the Facebook app or Facebook Connect area. Recently, 18 startups were chosen to receive a whole bunch of money and attend Facebook's Rev09 incubator program this summer.

All 18 winners (and two non-profits, who can't get a cut of the money due to the structure of FBFund) are listed on Facebook's Developer Blog, but I want to highlight a few of the apps that look most likely to catch on in a big way. Nutshell Mail, which was featured on Download Squad back in February, consolidates all your social network subscription emails into one periodic digest, keeping your inbox clear. Sortuv finds local businesses that are "sortuv" like ones you already know and like. Gameyola is a platform for casual Flash games.

Do you think any of the FBFund projects will take off? Let us know which ones you love or hate in the comments.

Filed under: Business, Internet, Blogging, Web services, web 2.0

OneSpot expands WSJ partnership


Back in June, we covered OneSpot -- a subscription service that allows publishers and businesses to deliver relevant content from across the web to a targeted audience. As I described the service then, think of OneSpot as a white-label Techmeme/Sphere/Digg solution for small and large publishers. OneSpot is a really great concept, because not only do publishers have the ability to supplement their own content with targeted and relevant content from around the web, they still have editorial control over what stories and sources appear on their site.

Today, OneSpot announced that it has closed a $4.2 million Series A round of funding, led by Silver Creek Ventures out of Dallas. With the economy being what it is, and with venture capital for start-ups becoming more and more of a scarcity, this is a big win for the Austin-based company. I caught-up with Matt Cohen -- OneSpot's founder and CEO -- on Friday and after hearing about what OneSpot has been up to since we last spoke, and what the plans are for the future, it was clear why these guys are succeeding despite the rough economic climate.

Since June of 2008, WSJ Online (the online arm of The Wall Street Journal) has been using the service on theWSJ Law Section and Law Blog, to supplement its own coverage with news from around the web. The integration has been a success and OneSpot is now integrated in the Technology, Health, Politics, Personal Finance and Business sections of the site. If you go to any of those sections, in either a sidebar or column, headlines related to that category appear from sources across the globe.

OK so a large publisher like WSJ can take advantage of OneSpot, but what about individuals? The details are still being tweaked, Matt told me OneSpot is working on a solution for individuals (think probloggers). That's really exciting to me, because I know that there are lots of individuals or smaller sites that would love the ability to supplement their own content with current stuff from around the web, without having to manually cull sites or feeds, only to post a link.

We're going to be hearing a lot more about content filtering and aggregation in 2009, whether it is through separate sites like Alltop and Regator or subscription services like OneSpot. OneSpot's funding shows that this is a real area to watch in the coming months.

Filed under: Business, Design, Developer, Internet, Web services, web 2.0

Win cash for your startup

Be judged by the crowds and you could win cash for your startupThink you have a hot startup idea? Write it down and you could net a little funding.

Bang Ventures from New York is offering $15,000 U.S. for startup CEOs to get their ideas off the ground. "You Be The VC" Candidates start by submitting applications outlining their plans for a new internet startup. These will be judged by handpicked professionals in the startup field to guarantee unbiased results and ensure that funding goes to best idea seen in the public's eye. There are no limits as to the number of ideas that CEO's can submit, just as long as they are in by the deadline of December 2007.

Voting begins March 2008, with the $15,000 prize money, temporary relocation expenses to Cambridge, MA, and living expenses being handed out upon final vote submissions. Winners of the "You Be The VC" campaign will also be able to utilize Bang Venture's support network, resources and materials.

[via killerstartups]

Filed under: Business, Internet, Video

Joost raises $45 million

JoostOkay, we're getting about as tired of writing Joost news as you are of reading it. But this is kind of big. The internet television platform started by Skype founders Janus Friis and Niklas Zennström has raised $45 million in capital.

Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures, Li K-shing, and CBS have all put some money in, although that's not a comprehensive list. So far, Joost had been funded primarily out of the pockets of Friis and Zennström.

Given the game-changing nature of the duo's last project with Skype, it shouldn't be a huge surprise that Joost is gaining momentum as it nears an official release. The company continues to sign major content partners, overcoming one of the earliest criticisms: that there was nothing worth watching.

And while Joost has experienced some server overload since widening its beta test group in recent weeks, the overall user experience is pretty innovative and nothing at all like YouTube, which is what most people think of when you mention internet video these days.

Filed under: Business, Internet, Video, Web services

Share personal video with Motionbox

motionbox video sharingMotionbox makes it easier to share video online. You have the choice when uploading to keep the videos private or broadcast them to the world. When viewing public videos, you have the option of share them, adding them to your favorites, or adding them to your playlists. A cool feature Motionbox has, is the ability to scrub through the video from the search result before actually clicking into the video.

Keep a close eye on Motionbox and look for some exciting new features, as they have just announced that they have raised $4.2M in funding. Watch out YouTube.

Filed under: Web services

Funding Watch: $25 mil. for Facebook, 13.5 for SimplyHired

FacebookLast we heard Facebook was up on the block for nothing less than $2 billion, but now they're saying they were never interested in selling in the first place. According to SiliconBeat, the king of social networking sites for the college set has just accepted $25 million in funding from some Silicon Valley investors and marketing says, "It has never been our intention to sell the company." Facebook, according to comScore Media Metrix, is the seventh most-visited site on the web.

And over on the other side of the web, job meta-search site SimplyHired has raised $13.5 million from Fox Interactive and Foundation Capital, despite the fact that Google is hovering ominously around the corner with its own job search project.

Featured Time Waster

Graveyard Shift - zombie-busting Time Waster

With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet. They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...

View more Time Wasters

Featured Galleries

Defective by Design, London: Protest Pictures
Microsoft Security Essentials
Chromium Pre-Alpha on CrunchBang Linux
Safari 4 Beta
10 Firefox themes that don't suck
IE8 RC1
Download Squad at the Crunchies After-Party
Download Squad at the Crunchies
WordPress 2.7
Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals
Windows 7 Hands On
Comodo Internet Security
Android First-look: Amazon.com MP3 Store
Android First-look: Twitroid
Google Reader Android
Android Hands-On
Twine 1.0
Photoshop Express Beta
Mozilla Birthday Cake
Palm stuff
Adobe Lightroom 1.1

 


Follow us on Twitter!

Flickr Pool

www.flickr.com

More Tech Coverage

AOL Radio