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LeWeb is coming. And this year it looks amazing.

Let me just start off with some names.. Jack Dorsey, Timothy Ferriss, Brent Hoberman, Joi Ito, Marissa Mayer, Gary Vaynerchuk.. as you probably understood by now, there’s gonna be “la crème de la crème” of the internet tech scene.

LeWeb is the most important internet conference in Europe. It is organized by Loic & Geraldine Le Meur and is now 6 years old. 2009’s theme is going to be the real-time web.

It surely is a bit expensive for startups but I really think the investment will pay off soon after the conference. It would take you a lifetime to build the network and find the contacts you can get there.

Robert Scoble defined it as being on the same level of TED.

My suggestion is to register in time as the event always sells out. You can register here. Be sure to use the code BLOG09 to get your 10% discount.

Shazam tops its $18M with some more money, announces 50 million users

Posted by Stefano Bernardi On October - 14 - 2009

Shazam, a London-based startup that lets you discover music with mobile applications, just announced some major news.

The company provides an audio discovery application for iPhones, Android, BlackBerry and some Nokia phones. It’s one of the most stunning and useful pieces of software I have ever used and I must say I’m in love with the app. Have you ever wondered the title of the song playing on the radio or in a club? Well with Shazam there’s no need to ask the DJ or call your friend saying “Hey do you know that song that goes lalalala”, you just need to put the phone close to the speakers and Shazam will discover the track for you. I use it at least once per day in my car or in clubs, and it has always worked. Impressive.

Back to the news itself, Shazam announced it has now more than 50 million users which is an increase of 15 million users since February of this year.

The company, which previously raised over $18 million from firms like DN Capital, Acacia Capital and IDG Ventures Europe, is now welcoming aboard Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, backers of Google and Amazon, with an undisclosed amount of money.

“This milestone and the backing of KPCB is a testament to both the success and enormous potential of Shazam,” said Andrew Fisher, CEO of Shazam. “Not only are significantly more people around the world accessing the service every day, they are using it with increased frequency, discovering and acquiring new music and sharing their discoveries with friends all from their mobile phones.”

KPCB has one of the most impressive portfolios ever: AOL, Amazon.com, Citrix, Compaq Computer, Electronic Arts, Genentech, Genomic Health, Google, Intuit, Juniper Networks, Netscape, Lotus, Sun Microsystems, Symantec, VeriSign and Xilinx. The investment is being made from its iFund and will enable the company to continue to expand accessibility of the service around the world by continuing to develop applications for additional mobile platforms and in multiple languages.

“Shazam is profitable and experiencing sustained acceleration in its growth rate. We are delighted to be partnering with KPCB, who join our existing investors Acacia Capital and DN Capital and will help us execute against the significant market opportunity ahead.” concluded the CEO.

European Venture Capital news of the week

Posted by Stefano Bernardi On October - 12 - 2009

Last week was absolutely astonishing regarding venture capital deals in Europe. I was overwhelmed by the amount of news I got. Here are the most important, even though I left out many deals that weren’t digital, web or mobile.

I’m curious to see some stats about the VC industry in this last part of 2009, I have a felling it’s really booming.

  • 1332-can-cleantech-entrepreneurs-rely-on-venture-capitalPPM Oost invests in Can-iT
  • Governmanet-backed venture investor PPM Oost has invested an undisclosed sum into internet firm Can-iT, acquiring a 16% stake in the business

  • Icso backs EUR 4m AT Internet investment
  • Icso Private Equity and l’IRDI have provided software business AT Internet with an investment of over EUR 4m

  • Maven Capital invests £2m into Documetric
  • Maven Capital Partners, via its Capital for Enterprise Fund, has invested £2m into Documetric, a provider of business-to-business services

  • YFM Venture Finance invests £400,000 into Lattice Voice
  • YFM Venture Finance, via its PIF and YHEF vehicles, has invested £406,000 into telecoms software company Lattice Voice Technologies

  • Emertec supports Insiteo
  • Emertec, alongside a group of business angels, has provided a first round of funding for Insiteo, an indoor geo-location company, valued at several million euros

  • Chalmers leads a SEK 2.3m funding round for Aluwave
  • Chalmer Innovation Seed Fund has alongside Innovationsbron and existing backers participated in a SEK 2.3 millions round for Aluwave

  • Wellington leads $16m Livebookings funding
  • Pan-European venture capital firm Wellington Partners has led a $16m funding round for online restaurant marketing and reservations service Livebookings, along existing investors

  • NextStage makes EUR 1m Expertissim investment
  • NextStage has invested EUR 1m in Expertissim, an online art retail platform

  • Neuhaus Partners and T-Venture invest in WWG
  • German venture investor Neuhaus Partners and T-Venture, the venture capital company of Deutsche Telekom, have joined existing investors Holtzbrinck Ventures and High-Tech Grunderfonds, in a series A round of funding for online games portal Worldwidegames GmbH (WWG)

  • Auriga leads EUR 3.2m Cytoo financing
  • Augriga Partners has led a second round of financing for technology company Cytoo, raising EUR 3.2 millions

  • Advent, AGF and Atlas return for EUR 15m Dailymotion investment (TechCrunch post)
  • Advent Venture Partners, AGF Private Equity, Atlas Venture and Partech International have returned for a EUR 15m third round of funding in Dailymotion, alongside a new investor

  • XAnge provide KissKissBankBank with EUR 750k
  • XAnge Private Equity has provided KissKissBankBank, an internet platform, with EUR 750,000 in seed financing

  • Mercia et al. invest £400,000 into Allinea Software
  • Mercia Technology Seed Fund and Midven, via its Advantage Growth Fund, have co-led a £400,000 seed funding round for specialist software developer Allinea Software

  • MCP backs Microgame in a 8 figures deal
  • International private equity fund Monitor Clipper Partners (MCP) has backed online game operator Microgame, in a deal thought to be valued in the tens of millions of Euros

  • Amadeus Capital invests in Linkdex
  • Amadeus Capital Partners, via its Amadeus Seed Fund and Amadeus III vehicle, has invested EUR650,000 into software company Linkdex

  • BrainsToVentures invests in Linguee
  • Investors from BrainsToVentures have, together with its in-house fund, provided a second round of financing for online translation search engine provider Linguee GmbH

  • Seventure invests EUR 1.6m into TalentSoft (TechCrunch post)
  • Seventure Partners has provided software company TalentSoft with an investment of EUR 1.6m