Ashburn-Based Reverb Networks Raises $7 Million in New Funding

Ashburn, Virginia – Reverb Networks,  a leading developer of automated, continuous and Intelligent SON (Self optimizing Network) solutions for mobile market industry has announced the successful completion of a new round of funding amounting to $7 million. The round was led by the Swiss venture capital firm Friedli Corporate Finance.

The annoucement of funding was on time with the release of its flagship product called InteliSON which is the first of its kind in the wireless industry. InteliSON is the first antenna-based SON solutions for LTE networks and UMTS mobile network operators. With InteliSON, Reverb Network has proven to be the leading and pioneer provider of antenna optimization.

“Reverb is extremely pleased to have the continued support of our early investors; the funding will support Reverb’s goal of becoming the default antenna based SON solution for UMTS and LTE mobile network operators,” said Magnus Friberg, CEO of Reverb Networks, Inc., “We are entering the next phase of growth for our company involving field trials with several Tier I and Tier II mobile network operators across the globe, collecting impressive results, meeting the demand and deployment options needed by the mobile network operators we serve and proving the ability of the solution to scale in order to push in to new markets and attract new partners. I believe that our investors should be applauded for having the vision to finance the future of wireless network optimization.”

Last 2009, Reverb Network raised $9 million in series A funding.

To learn more about Reverb’s services, visit their official site at:

http://www.reverbnetworks.com/

McLean-Based LogiXML Lands $10 Million in New Funding

McLean, Virginia – LogiXML, one of the world’s most agile web-based reporting and data visualization platform has secured a $10 million venture capital funding according to the documents submitted to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last Monday. The new round of funding was led by Summit Partners and was supported by existing backer Grotech Partners.

LogiXML did very well this year having a 100% sales growth in the third quarter. 3 years ago, LogiXML received the $3 million funding from Grotech capital which leads to the companies yearly growth of sales and this year is its 11th sequential quarter of growth.

LogiXML was launched in 2000, more than 10 years ago and it has come become the choice of most IT professionals in developing business intelligence applications, deploying scalable dashboards and reports, and embedding analytics into existing applications and compared to other solutions, LogiXML is cost effective. It has received backing from Red Hat Inc. as well.

The new funding will be used to accelerate growth and to become a dominant solution in the business intelligence and analytics software market.

For further information, visit LogiXML official website:

http://www.logixml.com/

DC-Based Recoup Acquires Fellow Cause Promotion Site Deals for Deeds

Washington, D.C. – Recoup, the first cause shopping channel where millions of people support causes they care about by connecting with merchants to buy brands that want to do good has acquired another “charity” aimed daily deals site and also based on D.C.-based  Deals for Deeds. The financial documents for the acquisition was not released but both Recoup and Deals for Deeds expects that the merger will provide a cause-shopping destination for consumers who likes to supports charitable institutions and also experience great shopping experience.

According to Harrison Miller Co-Founder of Deals For Deeds they are excited to join Recoup and support their strategic vision while firmly establishing the company as the leading brand in the online cause promotions space. Miller also expressed that after two amazing years, they are very proud to see what started as a simple idea among two friends has grown into a powerful business model that has accomplished effective and long-lasting change.

According to Luca Pivato, CEO of Recoup. The company is evaluating other partnerships and investment options and is poised to expand to other markets across the U.S. and in Europe. “This acquisition is the first step in our plan to consolidate the online cause promotions space and create the premier shopping channel designed to build brand value through a vast community of thoughtful consumers.”

Recoup which is just a month old is aggressive with its marketing and its merger with Deals for Deeds will bring them over 400 businesses and 200 nonprofits giving merchants and consumer a more diverse way of engaging supporters to support cause promotion site. Recoup has already 70+ local and national non-profit organizations and schools with a combined reach of 5 million supporters, including: American Forests, Doctors Without Borders/MSF, Kids in Distressed Situations (K.I.D.S.), Ovarian Cancer National Alliance, Rock The Vote, Special Olympics VA, Girls on the Run DC, Arlington Arts Center, DC Central Kitchen, and Bread for the City.

Visit Recoup’s Official Website.

http://www.recoup.com/

DC-Based Revolution Growth Launches $450 Million Investment Fund

Washington, D.C. – Revolution Growth, the venture capital firm based in DC and founded by AOL co-founder Steve Case, former AOL senior executive Donn Davis and Wizards and Capital owner Ted Leonsis is planning to turn the East Coast into Silicon Valley by launching a $450 million investment fund called The Revolution Growth Fund.

Later today, Steve Case and the rest of Revolution’s major players will file documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission. According to the venture capital firm, Washington, DC and its surrounding area does not have enough support needed for a startup to soar high especially startups which needs funding amounting to more than $25 million. Revolution firm expresses that the newly launched $450 million investment fund is what is needed to accelerate the growth of a business from adding hundreds of employees and opening new offices globally.

“We will spend considerable time with each company, rolling up our sleeves to partner with great entrepreneurs to build iconic platform companies,” the three wrote in a letter introducing the fund. “As you might expect, we are particularly interested in consumer-centric companies that use new approaches to disrupt large industries.”

Revolutionary Growth Fund plans to invest $25 – $50 million of investment funding to the promising startups but plans to limit the funding to 10 – 12 startups in a 5 year period for Steve Case, Ted Leonsis and Donn Davis wanted to be hands on in the startups they are backing up.

You can visit Revolution’s Official Website for Further Details:

http://www.revolution.com/

DC-Based newBrandAnalytics Raises $26 Million in Second Round

Washington, D.C. – newBrandAnalytics, the leading provider of social business intelligence solutions, providing unmatched guest satisfaction, customer intelligence, and competitive insight for the Hospitality, Restaurant, Retail, Healthcare, and Sports/Entertainment industries has raised $26 million of series B funding from Chevy Chase-based New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and was backed up by Steve Case’s Revolution Ventures, The Entrepreneur’s Fund, SS Future Fund, Quest Hospitality Ventures and Ted Leonsis of Wizards and Capital. The new funding will be used to fund its plan to accelerate its growth and sign up more customers.

“nBA has transcended the listening platform category and is pioneering a new arena of social business intelligence,” said Harry Weller, General Partner, NEA. “Their technology goes beyond simple social metrics and generates industry specific customer insight through operational categories that really matter to business, like service performance, employee feedback, and product quality. This type of insight is mission-critical for any business, especially service providers.”

newBrandAnalytics flagship product Social Guest Satisfaction™ gathers sensible customer feedback from a wide variety of social media sites and using high level algorithms, the software analyzes and processes the feedback of customers  into a business intelligence reports for hotels, restaurants and other companies. It is currently being used by thousand of hotels, leisure companies and restaurants and web companies.

According to Neil Kataria, Co-Founder of newBrandAnalytics, the expansion capital validates newBrandAnalytics’ approach as the most effective way to make sense of all the customer feedback from social media now available to businesses.

Visit newBrandAnalytic’s Website for more details:

http://www.newbrandanalytics.com/

Report: U.S. IT Employment Continues Gains in October

Alexandria, VA – TechServe Alliance, a collaboration of IT services firms, clients, consultants and suppliers dedicated to advancing excellence and ethics within the IT services industry has released a new report showing an increase in I.T. employment in October. Despite the weakness in the overall job market, the IT employment shows a month to month increase and becoming a general trend for growth.

The report shows that the IT jobs in October increased by more than 7,000 rising to 4,064,500 overall and slightly higher compared to last year to October 2012 by 2,2% or 87,000.

“According to both data and the anecdotal reports of my member companies, demand for IT professionals in key skill sets remains strong,” stated Mark Roberts, CEO of TechServe Alliance. “While there is still considerable weakness in overall job market with 9% unemployment, there is actually a shortage of qualified professionals in high-demand IT skill sets. We remain bullish on the prospect for continued growth in IT employment as we enter 2012,” added Roberts.

Visit TechServe’s Website to View the Reports.

http://www.techservealliance.org

DC-Based LivingSocial Launches “Instant Escapes” Service

Washington, D.C. – LivingSocial, a fast growing and leading daily deals provider has launched today a new serviced called Instant Escapes, a new service which allows its members find and book amazing weekend getaway trips at the last minute and in the comfort of their homes and also comes in discounted rates.

Instant Escapes is available every Wednesday and the discounted trip offering  is good only up to the following weekend. This latest LivingSocial installment will be a big hit to busy couples or working parents who wanted to have a last minute family break or have a weekend escapade.

“Instant Escapes puts LivingSocial at the forefront of innovation in the travel industry and is a true win-win for both our members and our travel partners,” said Doug Miller, senior vice president, LivingSocial new initiatives. “Instant Escapes inspires our members to seek new experiences and gives them the flexibility to enjoy a nice weekend getaway when they’ve found some unexpected free time, while it also gives our merchants the ability to quickly and easily fill unoccupied rooms during unexpected slow periods.””

Instant Escapes can be accessed on the LivingSocial online at their website their mobile apps under the Escape tab. Aside from Escapades, other features will also provide excitement to the members like LivingSocial Adventures, LivingSocial Daily Deals, LivingSocial Families and LivingSocial Instant Deals.

Here are the first offering of Instant Escapes upon its launching:

• $139 per night at the Larkspur Hotel in San Francisco’s Union Square, which also includes a $15 credit to the on-site Bar 1915 and a $75 credit to rent a luxury car higear.
• $265 per night for a superior queen room at The Hudson Hotel in the Hell’s Kitchen area of New York City, as well as free WiFi, late check-out and continental breakfast for two; and
• $84 per night at The Madison in Washington, D.C., with a complimentary room upgrade and late check-out.

Bethesda-Based KoolSpan Raises $5 Million in New Funding

Bethesda, Md. – KoolSpan, the manufacturer of a microSD card called TrustChip that enables drop-in, secure connectivity solutions to mobile devices has raised $5 million in a new round of funding last Monday from TWJ Capital and Security Growth Partners.

Just 2 months ago, KoolSpan has named Gregg Smith as its new CEO and replacing company founder Tony Fascenda, who stepped aside to become chief technology officer.

According to Greg Smith, “We are finding a hearty appetite for our technology among enterprise and government customers, and this new round of funding will allow us to grow more aggressively.” Smith also anounced that the company plans to use the new funding to expand its product offerings and heighten its sales, marketing and operations campaigns.

The TrustChip platform uses encrypted network connectivity through a device that protects critical voice and data traffic and can be plugged in into smart phones and provides security such as key management, authentication and encryption.

Visit KoolSpan’s Official Website:

http://koolspan.com/

Uppidy Raised $300,000 for Messaging App

Columbia, Md.  - Uppidy, a virtual and mobile startup that markets the Uppidy messaging app for iPhones, Androids and Blackberry smartphones has raised $300,000 in equity financing according to its founder Joshua Konowe. Uppidy which was launched just 6 months ago has filed its plan on raising 300k of seed funding this week according to SEC filing and just a couple of days was able to raised 300k of seed funding.

The funding came from Fortify.Vc of the Washington area, Paul Silber of Blu Ventures of Northern Virginia, and an angel investor group from Silicon Valley. According to its founder Joshua Konowe, the company will use the money to add more workforce on the tech team and provide more game mechanics features to booster the social growth. It is also worth taking note that Uppidy has spend $0 dollars in marketing yet they were able to gather more than a thousand subscriber.

Uppidy services includes storing, searching and sharing text messages with hash tags which are commonly seen and used in Twitter. With hash tags in text messaging, users can create personal group and social groups sharing the same interests.

You can visit Uppidy’s live site for more information.

https://app.uppidy.com/uppidy

MAVA Announces 24 Presenters for TechBUZZ Fast-Pitch Event

Arlington, VA – MAVA (Mid-Atlantic Venture Association), a provider of wide range of programs, information and forums designed to stimulate revenue and company growth in the Mid-atlantic area has announced the  24 Seed Stage innovative startup to present at MAVA’s TechBUZZ during DCWeek fast-pitch event scheduled this coming Nov.10 at the Spectrum Theatre in Arlington, VA. The event was in conjunction with the much awaited DC Week 2011.

The selection process of the 25 early stage companies was very thorough. There are more than one hundred applicants which came from a wide range of different sectors like technology, social media, clean technology, health IT, web applications, cloud computing, and more. The 24 chosen presenters will be given a 4 minutes to deliver their pitch to a crowd of VC firms, angel investors and IT specialists. The startups were selected by a committee consisting of investors and advisory firms and the standards of selection were based of the quality of product and the services they provide to the community and their chosen market industry.

According to Julie Spcier, the executive director of MAVA, “After hosting this event in the spring prior to Capital Connection, our investors gave us such amazing feedback around the energy and value this event brings to the community. We are so excited to bring so many start-up companies and investors together in a dynamic and fast-paced environment and know that by partnering with DCWeek we are reaching even more innovative company-builders than ever before.”

Here is the complete list of 24 Seed Stage Presenters:

The 2011 selected companies include:

510nano Inc.

Lemur Technologies

AllStar Deals, Inc.

Masking Networks

Bookstore Genie

Mytonomy Inc.

Contactually

Parking Panda

Distil, Inc.

RevUp Render, Inc.

Foodem.com

Ruck.us

GameTimeConcepts

SaleMakr Inc.

Geostellar

Servhawk LLC

Gryphn

Shopsy

InnoEngineer

Veenome

InternetBroadcasting Corp.

VeteranCentral.com

JobOn

LearnZillion

Visit the Official Website of MAVA for further details:

http://www.mava.org