vc funding

Camera+ gets the bonus of selling its 8 millionth app on the same day as its second birthday. Quite an achievement in the face of other popular apps like Instagram and Hipstamatic, especially when the company has publicly refused VC funding and offers of acquisition.

The company's founder John Casasanta wrote in a blog post today that over the past two years, Camera+ has been approached by several companies looking to buy, including Adobe, Zynga, Google, and Twitter. Camera+ declined every time because of the company's goal to retain its independence. It also turned down its first round … Read more

Now we know why Facebook didn't build a good mobile app. It didn't have to. It could afford to pay $1 billion for a 14-person company, Instagram, that managed to figure out the secret sauce for winning over smartphone picture-takers. So, clearly, Path is next, right?

Not exactly. Path has a lot going for it, but it's lacking some key elements. It's a valuable company, but arguably over-valued given its recent funding news: A $40 million funding round from Redpoint Ventures (source: AllThingsD). Update 5:24 p.m.: Path said it has raised $30 million in … Read more

The venture capital industry took another big hit in the first quarter of the year, according to new data from Dow Jones VentureSource.

Venture capitalists invested just $3.90 billion in U.S. companies during the quarter, a 50 percent decline from the almost $7.78 billion invested during the same quarter last year, according to VentureSource. In terms of actual venture deals, 477 were completed, well below the 706 completed last year and the lowest quarterly deal total since 1996.

Hit particularly hard was the information technology industry, which saw its lowest level of investment since 1997, with $1.… Read more

Zynga, which specializes in games for social-networking sites, has received $29 million in a new funding round led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Institutional Venture Partners.

The round, announced Wednesday, also includes funding from previous investors Union Square Ventures, Foundry Group, and Avalon Ventures.

Zynga, based in San Francisco and started by Tribe.net social-network founder Mark Pincus, added that Bing Gordon, a Kleiner Perkins partner and former chief creative officer of Electronic Arts, is joining Zynga's board. Zynga also announced its acquisition of YoVille, which it describes as the "largest virtual world game on social … Read more

Open-source Web conferencing provider Dimdim has raised $6 million in Series B funding, the company is set to announce on Wednesday.

The funding round, which was led by current investors Index Ventures, Nexus India Capital, and Draper Richards, will enable Dimdim to introduce enhancements to the free service and expand its market reach.

Dimdim competes with fee-based services like Webex. Because it is open source, it could become a platform for real-time communications if it garners enough developer support, my CNET colleague Rafe Needleman predicts.

Since its private launch 10 months ago, Boston-based Dimdim has attracted more than 500,000 … Read more

Video surveillance firm VideoIQ is set to announce on Wednesday morning a $10 million Series B funding round.

Lehman Brothers Venture Partners is leading the round, and current investors Matrix Partners and Atlas Venture are participating.

The funding will be used to help VideoIQ expand to new markets and continue product development of its IP video surveillance and video analytics products, the company says.

Bedford, Mass.-based VideoIQ was spun out of GE Security in 2007 and is headed by Scott Schnell, a former RSA executive.