Venture Capital

Realtime Worlds, creator of the video game Grand Theft Auto, has raised $50 million in a series B round of funding led by Maverick Capital. Other investors included New Enterprise Associates and WPP, a marketing services company.

The Dundee, Scotland-based company, which was founded in 2002, said that plans to use the money to develop new games, including its latest development work All Points Bulletin, a multiplayer online game. "Realtime Worlds is poised to deliver new original experiences to gamers around the globe and to push the boundaries of online gaming," CEO David Jones said in a statement.… Read more

Federated Media Publishing, an advertising network for independent publishers, has raised between $40 million to $50 million in a new round of funding led by Oak Investment Partners, according to the investor site Private Equity Hub. The company was given a premoney valuation of $200 million, according to the article.

Federated Media's funding has been the subject of heavy speculation for months. In early March, CNET News.com reported that the company was looking to raise between $20 million and $30 million in a second round of financing, and that Federated Media was in the process of examining term … Read more

Move Networks, a content delivery network for high-definition television online, has closed on a $46 million series C round of financing led by Benchmark Capital. Cisco Systems, Comcast Interactive Media, and Televisa, along with the company's previous investors, Steamboat Ventures and Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, also joined the round.

The American Fork, Utah-based company has raised more than $44 million in two previous rounds of funding since 2006. The company supplies video-delivery technology to publishers including ABC, Discovery, ESPN, and Fox. But it has a hefty list of rivals, including Akamai Technologies, Edgecast, and Limelight Networks.

Benchmark general partner … Read more

BridgeLux, a maker of technology to produce energy-efficient light-emitting diode (LED) lights, said Tuesday that it raised $40 million in a fourth round of funding, which includes a $10 million line of credit.

The investment was led by VentureTech Alliance. Earlier investors Doll Capital Management, El Dorado Ventures, VantagePoint Venture Partners, and Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital also participated in the round.

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company, formerly called eLite Optoelectronics, plans to use the money for market research and development. As part of the investment, Jim Diller of VentureTech Alliance will join the company's board of directors. In August, … Read more

If Amazon would have spun off its recommendation engine to Web publishers and retailers years ago, the company might have pre-empted the spate of new up-and-comers with similar technology.

But then again, if that were the case, the former chief of Amazon's data-mining and personalization group David Selinger wouldn't have seen a hole in the market and started Richrelevance. The San Francisco-based company, which makes software that delivers related product links to prospective shoppers, is in a hotly contested niche with start-ups Aggregate Knowledge and Loomia.

On Tuesday, Richrelevance was buoyed with a fresh investment of $4.2 … Read more

MeeVee, an online directory of TV listings and Internet video, has run into trouble in the crowded Web entertainment market.

The Burlingame, Calif.-based company announced in a press release late Monday that it is looking for an acquirer; and that it's already in talks with several potential suitors. The company would likely need to fetch a sizable price, considering that it's raised as much as $25 million in the last three years from venture capitalists including Walden Venture Capital and Labrador Ventures.

"Due to accelerated development of the online entertainment market, the board of directors at … Read more

Chipmaker Intel has doubled down on China, announcing Tuesday that it has launched its second venture capital fund for the region.

Intel Capital China Technology Fund II is a $500 million fund that will focus on investments in start-ups doing work in areas such as wireless broadband, media, telecommunications, and "clean technology."

Over the past five years, the Chinese government has been trying to promote innovationand is working on developing a Nasdaq-like market for young companies.

"Given the success of the original China Fund--with investments in more than 28 companies--it is time to renew our commitment," … Read more

Tideway, whose software automates business applications, expects to announce Tuesday that it has closed a $27 million round of financing led by Scottish Equity Partners, a new European investor. The series C round brings the 6-year-old company's total funding to $37.5 million. Its previous investors include NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology, and the Arts), Esther Dyson of EDventure Holdings, Accel Partners, and Apax Partners.

The company, which has offices in New York and London, makes software that indexes, models and maps the information technology infrastructure of major companies like JP Morgan Chase. The software is designed … Read more

Better World Books, an online retailer that resells used books and donates some of the proceeds to fund global literacy projects, has brought in its first outside investment to branch out into publishing, book rentals, and international do-gooding.

The 5-year-old company said Monday that it raised $4.5 million in its first round of financing led by Good Capital, an institutional investor that specializes in social entrepreneurship. That money included $2 million from a group of 18 private investors, whose names were undisclosed.

"Like a lot of start-ups, if we want to continue to accelerate our growth and scale, … Read more