Who says that the summer months are slow? In June we tracked 9 cloud-based business applications that raised capital. If anything is an indicator of which verticals are hot, this list is. Video Conferencing, Tax Automation, Social Media Communities, Social Engagement, Social Content Management, CRM, Email, and Project Management are all represented here.
Video conferencing provider Blue Jeans announced has raised $25 million in a Series C round led by NEA. Also included in the round are Accel Partners and Norwest Venture Partners. So far the company has raised a total of $48.5 million.
Avalara, sales tax automation solutions provider, has received $20 million in funding from Battery Ventures, a multi-stage investment firm focused on technology and innovation. Batter Ventures sees Avalara as a leader in the Software-as-a-Service sales tax automation space due to its technology, integration capabilities and its impressive customer base. Founded in 2004, Avalara provides transactional tax compliance solutions for small to mid-sized businesses, what Chelsea Stoner, Batter Ventures Partner, calls "a practical solution to a pressing problem."
Microsoft has announced the acquisition of enterprise social media application company Yammer Inc. for $1.2 billion in cash. Yammer will join the Microsoft Office Division and possibly spice up their current offerings to be more competitive with the likes of Salesforce.com -- in regards to their Chatter product. Microsoft plans to accelerate Yammer’s adoption alongside complementary offerings from Microsoft SharePoint, Office 365, Microsoft Dynamics and Skype.
It seems like the days of convincing people that Software-as-a-Service is the way to go are coming to a close. The SaaS/Cloud industry is accelerating faster than many imagined and new heads are turning to get in on the action. An article I came across on Forbes highlighted the inconsistencies in market size predictions for the Cloud industry and the over generalization of cloud. What is the true value of Cloud and SaaS and which areas should we be investing in? Here are some interesting figures to compare.
North Bridge Venture Partners announced the results of its 2nd annual Future of Cloud Computing Survey. The survey was supported by 39 industry collaborators spanning companies in all stages of growth from established leaders to startups. A total of 785 respondents weighed in on current industry perceptions, sentiments and emerging trends in cloud computing. Notable collaborators include: Amazon Web Services, Citrix, Eucalyptus, Rackspace, SAP and VMWare.
Crushpath has raise a $2 million seed round led by Charles River Ventures to further develop and launch a platform designed help salespeople better control a deal from lead to close, with social elements added into the mix.
Gigya, a company that helps enterprises connect with fans socially has announced that it has raised $15.3 million in venture capital, bringing its total funding to just under $45 million. Advance Publication, a company which publishes more than 125 paper and digital publications through Conde Nast, and Adobe joined a field of previous investors as part of the new round, including Mayfield Fund, Benchmark Capital, and DAG Ventures.
Thismoment, a provider of social content management software for brands has announced a $22 million C-Round led by Trident Capital. More than 100 Fortune 500 brands have adopted Thismoment's Distributed Engagement Channel (DEC) platform.
Embotics Corporation, a virtualization and private cloud management provider, announced it raised $8.4 million in Series B funding. This funding round was led by VentureLink LP and Covington Fund II Inc., both investing $2.5 million each, with private investors making up the remaining $3.4 million. Embotics' total financing-to-date is $18 million. Embotics will use the new funding to expand sales and marketing and to hire more software engineers. Last year, Embotics experienced a 300 percent sales growth and a 220 percent year-on-year growth in new customers.