Travel site SideStep gets $15 million in venture capital

Norwest Venture Partners leads round that includes Trident Capital, Leader Ventures and Saints Capital.

Elinor Mills Former Staff Writer

Elinor Mills covers Internet security and privacy. She joined CNET News in 2005 after working as a foreign correspondent for Reuters in Portugal and writing for The Industry Standard, the IDG News Service and the Associated Press.

See full bio

Elinor Mills

Feb. 6, 2007 9:08 p.m. PT

Travel search company SideStep has raised $15 million in a Series C round of funding led by Norwest Venture Partners, SideStep plans to announce on Wednesday. The sum is the largest single investment yet for the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company, bringing its total venture capital to $32 million. Other investors include Trident Capital, Leader Ventures and Saints Capital.

The money will be used to fund acquisitions in North America, Europe and Asia; marketing; and efforts to expand its user-generated content offerings as the site continues to evolve into a travel portal, said Rob Solomon, SideStep chief executive. As part of the financing announcement, Robert Abbott, a general partner at Norwest Venture, will join SideStep's board of directors. Last month, Owen Van Natta, chief operating officer of Facebook, was elected to serve on SideStep's board.