Software
iSekurity
Identity theft protection and detection company iSekurity Inc. has raised an $11 million first round from private equity firm Equity 11 Ltd. of Auburn Hills, Mich. The Washington company will use the capital to recruit and employ more than 100 former federal agents from the Secret Service, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service and other agencies to its ranks. iSekurity has built an emergency call center and proprietary technology system, Sekure Scan, which proactively monitors infiltration, manipulation and breach of an iSekurity member's personal information.
Biz360
Biz360 Inc., a provider of media and market intelligence technology, has closed a $10 million financing. Foundation Capital of Menlo Park, Calif., led the round with participation from other current investors Granite Ventures of San Francisco and Foster City, Calif.-based Scale Venture Partners. The San Mateo, Calif., maker of business intelligence products plans to use the funds for new product development based on consumer behavior on the Web.
Internet
Spot Runner
Advertising services developer Spot Runner Inc. of Los Angeles has secured $51 million in late-stage funding. New investors included the Daily Mail and General Trust plc of London, Grupo Televisa SA of Mexico City, Legg Mason Capital Management of Baltimore and Groupe Arnault/LVMH of Paris. Previous backers CBS Corp., Allen & Co. LLC and Interpublic Group of Cos., all of New York; WPP Group plc and Index Ventures of London; Tudor Investment Corp. of Greenwich, Conn.; and Capital Research and Management of Los Angeles also participated. The four-year-old Web ad agency uses a technology-driven advertising model, which allows customers to create ads from thousands of templates that can be tailored to a company's business requirements. -- Clifford Carlsen
SlideShare
San Francisco's SlideShare Inc., an Internet community for sharing presentations, has secured $3 million in Series A funding. Venrock of Menlo Park, Calif., led the round, with David Siminoff--a general partner there--joining the company's board. SlideShare, founded in 2007, will use the financing to expand its San Francisco operations, for product development and to accelerate customer adoption. SlideShare's technology allows individuals and organizations to upload presentations for free, to share ideas and generate leads for their businesses.
Media
Giant Realm
New York's Giant Realm Inc., an online entertainment portal and publisher group targeting males in the 18 to 34 year-old range, has received $2 million in Series A funding from SoftBank Capital, also of New York. The deal follows a $3.5 million investment led by Comcast Interactive Capital of Philadelphia, joined by Edison Venture Fund of Lawrenceville, N.J., in April. William Morris Agency of New York is also a backer of the company, which closed its Series A with a total of $5.5 million. The proceeds will be used to expand the Giant Realm online platform, which includes both the GiantRealm.com site and the Giant Realm Publisher Group, a family of sites with content and community focused on entertainment and gaming interests. Expansion plans also include the hiring of additional sales, editorial, and operations staff, and the building out of sales offices in both Los Angeles and San Francisco. Jordan Levy, a Partner at SoftBank Capital, has joined Giant Realm's board of directors.
Biotech
ACT
Healthcare venture firm NGN Capital of New York has formed a biotechnology company, ACT Biotech Inc., and infused the startup with $12 million in funding. ACT plans to raise a total of $20 million by the second quarter of 2008. The San Francisco company will develop oral cancer drugs, and has also entered into a license agreement with Bayer HealthCare LLC to acquire a portfolio of clinical and early-stage oncology assets. n -- Cheryl Meyer
Continue reading below
