Leena Rao

Virtual currency monetization platform gWallet is announcing a new early-stage venture fund, gWallet Ventures, to invest in social gaming companies and promote innovation within the social gaming ecosystem. gWallet, which…

ViVu, an online video conferencing platform, has launched an easy to use plug-in that enables multi-user video conferencing on Skype (which has over 521 million users). Called VuRoom, the plug-in…

SMS GupShup, a Twitter-like service in India that is primarily accessed via SMS, has raised $12 million in funding led by Globespan Capital Partners with existing investors Charles River Ventures…

We recently wrote about ad-sponsored digital music download service FreeAllMusic.com’s deal with Universal Music to let anyone download music from the record label’s artists, which include Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Taylor…

San Diego based BrightScope, recently launched to help people navigate their 401k retirement plans and how to maximize the benefits. Today, the startup is launching its Personal 401k Fee Report…

We’re big fans of Alice.com, the retail platform for household goods, because it simple to use and offers significant discounts on everything from toilet paper to toothpaste. Today, Alice.com is…

Lumigent, a company that develops auditing and compliance software, has raised $3 million in funding from North Bridge Venture Partners. Lumigent will use funds for customer and product expansion. Lumigent’s…

Mobile payments for micro-transactions on the web are steadily gaining traction. This morning, the space received more validation as several prominent venture capital firms made a significant a investment in…

Online video advertising startup Jivox is upgrading its technology to become more interactive and social. Jivox’s online self-serve platform provides video advertising opportunities to clients that allow them create and…

TokBox, the web-based video chat application, appears to be testing new paid features on its platform. Although the startup creates a great product that allows for multi-user video chat from…

Social shopping site Kaboodle, which was acquired by Hearst Interactive Group in 2007 for $30 million or so, is re-launching its site to upgrade its product-discovery engine that allows online…

Ever since I saw Israeli Blogger Orli Yakuel rocking a necklace with her Twitter username on it (@orli) at last year’s TechCrunch50 conference, I’ve been a huge fan of Israeli…

FbFund-backed NutshellMail provides an innovative web-based service that lets users send and receive your messages from social networks, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and Twitter, in your email inbox. Today,…

At IBM’s annual conference, Lotusphere, Big Blue has announced innovations to its cloud-based collaboration platform, LotusLive. LotusLive provides enterprise users with online email, web conferencing, social network and collaboration applications…

Hyperlocal business directory MerchantCircle has been steadily growing as an online network and business directory for merchants in smaller towns to advertise to consumers. MerchantCircle has long targeted its site’s…

While Twitter is an incredible platform for tapping into the conversations that are taking place on the web, the real-time stream can be crowded. It’s hard to keep track of…

OneRiot’s recently ventured into the advertising world with RiotWise, an ad format which places content in an emphasized position in their realtime feed. A few weeks ago, the realtime search…

Mobile video advertising startup Transpera has raised $2 million in funding according to an SEC filing. The company most recently raised $8.25 million in 2008, which was accompanied by an…

Appolicious, a comprehensive iPhone and Android app directory with a social twist, has launched a compelling new feature today: the ability for users to create curated lists of iPhone apps…

Micropayments startup PlaySpan has struck a major deal with games publisher THQ to power payments for its virtual currency. PlaySpan powers micro-payments across over 1,000 video games and virtual worlds…

There’s no doubt that Twitter has managed to create a vibrant ecosystem of third party apps and services around its microblogging platform. When we wrote about oneforty, a social app…

Precision Polling has launched to provide an easy way to create and launch phone surveys, taking a page from the model that simple online survey sites, like SurveyMonkey, have pioneered.…

Epix, the movie and entertainment streaming network that works across your TV, computer, and mobile phone, has landed a third cable provider for its service: Mediacom Communications. This week the…

Startup Get Satisfaction has raised $2.3 million in funding according to an SEC filing. It appears that the startup is looking to raise a total of $3.5 million in the…

Yesterday, Microsoft and HP announced a joint call to discuss a significant partnership. Now we know what it is. According to another announcement issued today, the two tech giants are…

Social media monitoring startup Visible Technologies has raised a whopping $22 million in Series C funding from Investor Growth Capital with Centurion Holdings, Ignition Partners, In-Q-Tel and WPP participating in…

Spartoo.com, the European version of Zappos.com, has closed a €12 million Series B round of funding round led by Highland Capital Partners and Endeavour Vision with A Plus Finance and…

We recently wrote about InMobi, a mobile ad network that has seen success in Asia and Africa and was beginning to see traction in Europe. In order to jumpstart growth,…

Spartoo.com, the European version of Zappos.com, has closed a $17.4 million Series B round of funding round led by Highland Capital Partners and Endeavour Vision with A Plus Finance and…

It’s done. VMware has bought email and collaboration software developer Zimbra from Yahoo. Rumors of the sale have been floating around for some time now but the writing was on…