At VentureBeat, we come across a lot of funding news every day. In order to bring you the most information possible, we’re rounding up the quick-and-dirty details about the funding deals of the day and serving them up here in our “Funding daily” column.

Shape Security $5.6M of $5.58M round SEC

According to an SEC form D, Shape Security has raised $5.6 million from a total $5.8 million round. Still in stealth mode, the company is trying to stop hacking once and for all.

DataPop $7M funding

Targeted-advertising company DataPop garnered $7 million in funding from MK Capital, Rincon Venture Partners, IA Ventures, Momentum Ventures, and Accelerator Ventures. The company claims to use science and natural language generation to create targeted ads that people are more likely to click on.

“eHarmony for jobs” Path.to launches with $1.5M in the bank

Path.to launched today with a $1.5 million equity investment. The company works as a matchmaking service, not for lovers, but jobs. Potential job candidates connect their social media accounts and Path.to pools relevant information about the person to create a job compatibility ranking. HR company Adecco led the round.

BDC issued $6 million in convertible notes FounderFuel graduates

The venture capital arm of the Business Development Bank of Canada announced today it is pledging $6 million in convertible notes to the graduates of Canadian incubator FounderFuel. Forty startups will get $150,000 when they successfully complete the FounderFuel program. FounderFuel and the BDC will determine which startups are venture-ready and those that are will receive the convertible notes at FounderFuels Demo Day in May.

Fast Lane Ventures gets a $18M investment

VTB Capital Venture Business has led a third round investment for Fast Lane Ventures to help the venture capital invest in Russian startups. The money will go towards Fast Lane Ventures current portfolio companies and help invest in new Internet companies based in Russia.

$2M goes to Jelastic

Almaz Venture Partners and Foresight Ventures have invested $2 million Jelastic, a company that hosts Java applications in the cloud. The company competes with Google App Engine, Heroku, and Windows Azure.

DoubleDutch grabs $2M

Mobile app builder DoubleDutch announced a $2 million funding round late Tuesday. The company builds geo-social mobile apps for companies, including VentureBeat. Bullpen, Floodgate, Aaron Patzer of Mint, Jawed Karim of YouTube, and other private investors participated.

Chirpify gets cash for turning tweets into transactions

Chirpify has secured $1.3 million from social media executives and angels in its first formal round of funding. Chirpify is a payment system that integrates with PayPal to allow individuals and businesses to transact on Twitter. Voyager Capital, angel investor Geoff Entress, BuddyTV CEO Andy Liu, former Facebook executive Rudy Gadre, HootSuite CEO Ryan Holmes, and TiE Oregon Angels all participated in the round.

Citrus Lane receives $5.1M for mommy care packages

Care package service for new moms and their babies, Citrus Lane grabbed $5.1 million in funding. The company hand picks baby items and recommends them to new moms based on their babys needs. GGV Capital and Greylock Partners led the round.

Terascala raises $14M

Boston-based cloud data storage company Terascala has raised $14 million in second round funding for its parallel storage appliances. Ascent Venture Partners and undisclosed investors completed the investment, which is a combination of $10.6 million in equity and $3.4 million in escrow.

Hacker image via Shutterstock

CRESSKILL, N.J, April 24, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –
The two-year anniversary of the BP oil spill was marked by additional delays in the settlement of ongoing litigation and reports of new threats to the Gulf’s commercial fisheries industry. Florida’s Attorney General asked a federal court to delay granting preliminary approval of the settlement and U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans is lengthening the proposal review period. Meanwhile, area fishermen and researchers at the University of South Florida (USF) and Louisiana State University (LSU) are reporting mutated Gulf marine wildlife. This new threat to the beleaguered Gulf’s recovery is increasing pressure on already stressed commercial fishermen and local businesses. RD Legal Funding, LLC (“RD Legal”), a leading provider of lawsuit funding solutions, will offer settlement funding to plaintiffs and their attorneys as soon as their settlement amounts are determined.

A USF study released last summer found more sick fish in the area of the 2010 oil spill than in other areas. Scientists and commercial fishermen are describing shrimp and crabs without eyes, crabs with their shells soft instead of hard, full grown crabs that are one-fifth their normal size, clawless crabs, and crabs with shells that don’t have their usual spikes. Damaged immune systems are being held responsible for the stranding of more than 600 dolphins along Gulf beaches since the spill, ten times the normal number for some areas. LSU oceanography professor James Cowan points to chronic exposure to oil and dispersant impacting Gulf marine wildlife’s genomes and compromising immune systems.

BP’s Macondo well blew out on April 20th, 2010, triggering the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, the deaths of 11 rig workers, and a gusher that released more than 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the worst offshore oil spill in the nation’s history.

BP funded the Gulf Coast Claims Facility with $20 billion to compensate businesses that suffered disaster-related economic damages. More than 221,000 claims were processed for over $6 billion.

On March 2nd, 2012 BP agreed to settle additional lawsuits brought by more than 100,000 fishermen who lost work, cleanup workers who got sick, and others. A court-supervised administrator took over the claims process on March 8th, 2012. BP and plaintiffs’ attorneys presented a federal judge with the formal terms of a proposed class-action settlement to resolve these lawsuits on April 14th, 2012.

Concerned that Florida claimants not residing in Florida’s Panhandle and west coast might be excluded from the settlement, Florida Attorney General Pamela Jo Bondi requested that New Orleans U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier delay preliminary approval of the settlement.

Attorneys representing plaintiffs in the BP Oil Spill Litigation, as well as plaintiffs themselves, should contact RD Legal at 1-800-565-5177 for more information about settlement funding solutions. Interim lawsuit settlement funding does not require any kind of payments until the settlement is paid; there are no monthly interest or principal payments, no upfront points or fees. Once the necessary documentation is received, RD Legal can wire funds within days. RD Legal provides personalized service and quick turnaround.

Founded in 1997, RD Legal has established itself as one of the nation’s leading providers of post settlement funding to attorneys and plaintiffs. Contact RD Legal at 1-800-565-5177 to speak with a settlement funding expert, or visit
http://www.legalfunding.com .

SOURCES:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/wildlife/usf-study-finds-more-sick-fish-in-oil-spill-area-than-rest-of-gulf-of/1210495

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57415781/judge-asked-to-sign-off-on-bp-spill-settlement/http ://
www.marketwatch.com/story/plaintiffs-steering-committee-and-bp-finalize-settlement-2012-04-18

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2012/04/16/243614.htm

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/DG/20120415/NEWS01/204150348/Settling-up-Big-Oil

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/13/us-bp-settlement-florida-idUSBRE83C1K720120413

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57415781/judge-asked-to-sign-off-on-bp-spill-settlement/

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/plaintiffs-steering-committee-and-bp-finalize-settlement-2012-04-18

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/04/201241682318260912.html

SOURCE RD Legal Funding

Copyright (C) 2012 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

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SEATTLE, WA, Apr 24, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) –
Investors interested in learning how to find and fund real estate
deals across the U.S. are invited to the only 2012 West Coast Funding
Tour, April 26-29, in Seattle, hosted by Private Money Exchange, a
division of Secured Investment Corp., a leader in full-service
education, training and financial products for the real estate
investor. Those interested in attending can reserve a seat by
visiting
www.endless-wealth.com .

West Coast Funding Tour Details
Valued at $2,000, attendees can
register now for $99, and will receive four days of hands-on
instruction from real estate experts, including a Seattle-area bus
tour of real properties, as well as the eBook and audio training
guide 7 Steps to Fast Funding Every Time.

In addition to the educational tools and training, attendees will
benefit from the opportunity to network with other entrepreneurs, and
a nationwide network of borrowers, lenders, and private money
facilitators who are helping fund real estate investments today. The
workshops will be held at the Hilton Seattle Airport and Convention
Center, as well as on the funding bus tour.

Attendees will learn from experts in such areas as

— What Makes a Safe Fundable Deal (Things to Look For)
— Equity Deals vs. Short Sales — When to Use Each
— Self-directed IRA Investing: Putting Your Retirement Funds to Work
— How to Invest in Real Estate for a Fraction of the Value

Past Funding Tour Attendee Quotes
"I am more able to analyze the
financial aspects of prospective transactions. I now have more access
to funds as needed, and I can expand my lender pool having more
opportunities to offer them."
-- Paul G. Longobardi, attended the
2011 West Cost Funding Tour

"The workshop provided an excellent opportunity to network with
people from all over the country. As a result, I will be initiating
several new partnerships ... [which will allow me] ... to be more
successful in both real estate and in life."
-- Richard Schneider,
attended the 2012 San Antonio Funding Tour

About Private Money Exchange, a Division of Secured Investment Corp.

Private Money Exchange is designed to match private lenders with
borrows for real estate investments. Founded by real estate expert
Lee Arnold, Private Money Exchange is filling a large market need,
matching private lenders who are seeking a secure, and higher rate of
return on their money/fund to real estate investors with great deals.
To learn more, visit
www.privatemoneyexchange.com/

CONTACT
Brad Rutledge
Email Contact
+1-801-824-6218

SOURCE: Secured Investment Corp.

http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=EC15E4BBE745BF65

Copyright 2012 Marketwire, Inc., All rights reserved.

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AVON, Mass., Apr 24, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) –
Terascala, Inc., the leader in accelerating big data applications
through storage I/O optimization, today announced that it has closed a
$14 million Series B funding round. Strategic partners close to the
company invested approximately fifty percent of the round, with Ascent
Venture Partners, an early backer of the company, contributing the
remainder. Terascala will use the funding to significantly expand
research and development, marketing, customer support, to develop
strategic alliances, and to fuel international expansion.

“We’re thrilled to close our Series B round with a significant
investment from industry leaders and continued support from Ascent,”
said Steve Butler, CEO of Terascala. “Our pioneering work in developing
a software stack that delivers optimized, scalable I/O on
industry-standard storage appliances enables organizations to accelerate
big data applications, and clearly, industry leaders are taking notice.”

“Storage I/O optimization is rapidly becoming a core requirement for big
data applications,” said Terri McClure, senior analyst at Enterprise
Strategy Group. “Terascala is a leader in the development of solutions
that address this requirement, and the fact that its product runs on an
open source file system and on industry-standard platforms makes for a
very compelling value proposition in a price sensitive market.”

Organizations worldwide use Terascala solutions to improve their ability
to process pools of big data, which until now has been limited due to
the lack of throughput abilities of standard file systems. Terascala’s
unique approach to high throughput, high capacity storage combines the
Lustre file system, extensive analysis and optimization tools,
integration and services into a state-of-the-art solution that
accelerates big data applications running on large interconnected server
installations and optimizes data access.

The Terascala Integrated Storage Information System (TISIS(TM)) provides
appliance management and workload-driven I/O technology for open source
Lustre, the world’s fastest parallel file system. TISIS runs on
industry-standard storage appliances in a wide range of market segments,
including life sciences, financial services, energy, academic research,
computer-automated engineering (CAE), and government/defense.

“Terascala solutions solve a huge problem in the marketplace today,”
said Walter Dick, general partner at Ascent Venture Partners.
“Organizations are grappling with how to speed the delivery and analysis
of big data sets. Terascala’s approach, which accelerates big data
applications through storage I/O optimization, is the answer for a great
number of companies.”

About Terascala

Terascala’s high throughput storage solutions accelerate big data
applications through storage I/O optimization. With Terascala,
organizations can transition from simply storing and sifting their data
to leveraging that data to drive applications. Terascala-based storage
appliances combine a parallel file system, the company’s TISIS(TM) analytic
and optimization tools, integration and services, to enable rapid
analysis of big data sets using large interconnected server
installations. Founded in 2005, Terascala is based in Avon, Mass., and
counts a number of industry leaders among its partners, including Dell,
EMC and NetApp. Learn more at
http://www.terascala.com .

Terascala, the Terascala logo, and TISIS are trademarks of Terascala,
Inc.

SOURCE: Terascala, Inc.

Terascala, Inc.
Rick Friedman, 508-588-1501 x218
Vice President, Marketing and Product Management
rick@terascala.com

Copyright Business Wire 2012

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Russia calls US funding of democracy a ?problem?

* Deputy FM says Moscow continued to raise issue ?repeatedly? with US, but has not received clear assurance about funding?s ultimate aims

MOSCOW: Russia said Tuesday that continued US funding of groups supporting the spread of democracy in the country was turning into a problem in advance of Vladimir Putin?s return for a third Kremlin term.

Putin has repeatedly accused Washington of using the programme to bankroll the mass street protests that first rose against his 12-year domination of Russia three months ago ? a charge that US officials firmly deny. But Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow continued to raise the issue ?repeatedly? with US officials and had still not received a clear assurance about the funding?s ultimate aims.

?This activity is reaching a scale that is turning into a problem in our relations,? Ryabkov said in an interview with the Interfax news agency. ?We really are concerned that Washington is funding certain groups and movements in Russia? opposed to Putin?s rule. Pro-democracy groups in Russia complained of fierce intimidation from the authorities during Putin?s 2000-2008 presidency.

They claimed to enjoy broader freedoms under President Dmitry Medvedev and voiced immediate fears about their future upon Putin?s September announcement that he intended to return to the Kremlin for a newly extended six-year term.

The ex-KGB agent used one of his first major campaign speeches to accuse Washington of funding the nascent opposition movement ? a charge other Russian officials and media outlets began repeating in subsequent weeks.

The claims led to a probe into the activities of the Western-funded Russian election monitoring group Golos and the watchdog?s eventual expulsion from its Moscow premises. Ryabkov said US President Barack Obama had recently earmarked $50 million in new funding for Russian non-governmental organisations involved in various opposition work.

?The scale of this activity is fairly significant,? said Ryabkov.

Russian television has also focused on meetings US ambassador Michael McFaul has held with members of the anti-Putin movement since his arrival in Moscow two months ago. McFaul says the meetings are a part of Washington?s two-track approach to Russia that promotes both democracy issues and close relations with Moscow. But he also accused a Kremlin-owned TV channel of illegally accessing his private schedule after it caught him entering the office of Russian opposition leader Lev Ponomaryov.

The US State Department last week said it had raised McFaul?s treatment in Moscow through diplomatic channels and expressed ?concerns about his security and safety.? Ryabkov confirmed receiving an official complaint from the US embassy and promised ?careful checks? into the television incident with McFaul ? author of Obama?s 2009 ?reset? in ties with Russia under Medvedev.

Yet he also accused the State Department of making too big a deal out of its envoy?s run-in with the NTV television crew. ?If you compare the material open to public access with the comments issued in Washington, you will find that they do not quite match,? said the Russian diplomat.

?Looking at the information open to public access, you will find that the NTV crew never impeded or tried to impede the ambassador. He was simply being asked questions,? Ryabkov said. afp

Home |
Foreign

English funding cut as Wimbledon fails to grow grassroots

LONDON: The United Kingdom Lawn Tennis Association has had its funding cut after a series of mesmerising Wimbledon finals and the success of Andy Murray failed to inspire Britons to take up the sport. Sport England, the government-backed development agency, said in a statement on Tuesday that Britains tennis body had agreed to accept a reduction of £530,000 ($848,800) in the light of disappointing participation figures.

A survey showed the average number of English adults playing tennis at least once a week has declined from 487,500 in 2007/08 to 375,800 in the latest update. No decision to reduce funding is taken lightly, but Sport England has been clear that failure to achieve the agreed growth in a sport would lead to a governing bodys overall funding levels being reviewed, Sport England Chief Executive Jennie Price said. British tennis fans have long bemoaned their lack of impact in a sport which largely began in Britain.

World number four Murray, from Scotland, has been a rare success story but is still to win a grand slam title which also eluded previous British beacon Tim Henman. The womens game in the UK has struggled even more with Virginia Wades 1977 Wimbledon win now a long time ago. We continue to work closely with Sport England in order to grow tennis, LTA Chief Executive Roger Draper said. Like other sports we face a huge challenge to increase the numbers playing tennis regularly in challenging economic times but participation is our top priority.

Every year Britain is gripped by tennis fever for the two weeks of Wimbledon when public courts are deluged with excited youngsters wielding brand new rackets but the interest soon fades once football season begins and the dark nights roll in. That happens despite Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer and, to a lesser degree Murray, serving up some of the best tennis the world has ever seen in recent Wimbledons. Spain does not boast a grand slam tournament but has five men in the top 20 compared to Britains one. London does not just host Wimbledon.

Queens takes place just before the main grasscourt event and pulls in the crowds while the ATP World Tour Finals, dubbed the fifth grand slam as it groups together the best eight players in an end-of-year showpiece, is also held in the city. American Andy Roddick confirmed on Tuesday that he would be at Queens this June while it was announced that the ATP Finals, contracted to London until at least 2013, will take place on Nov. 5-12 this year. reuters

Home |
Sport

Gov. Deval Patrick hinted Tuesday that a partial solution to the states long-term transportation funding needs could be buried deep within the tax code.

While discussing with business leaders the states infrastructure funding needs and what he described as a reflexive impulse among elected officials to reject new taxes, Patrick began to describe the fascinating work being done by the an independent Tax Expenditure Commission currently reviewing the states $26 billion slate of annual tax breaks, incentive programs and deductions.

Im not proposing anything so relax, but you could conceive of a Simpson-Bowles approach where you simplify the code, maybe even bring rates down, but youre actually raising more revenue, Patrick said, making a reference to the work done by former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson and former White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles as part of a commission tasked by President Barack Obama to study ways to reduce the national debt.

Patrick said it was worth thinking about whether the nearly 200 tax breaks embedded in state law are timely, useful, and effective. He noted that the $26 billion tax expenditure budget is actually larger than the roughly $21 billion the state does collect in taxes each year.

While not necessarily endorsing such a step, the governors interest in the work of the commission and the possibility to generate new revenue through a simplification of the tax code could come into play as House Speaker Robert DeLeo says the House will attempt to address transportation funding early next year.

The Tax Expenditure Commission a panel of lawmakers, economists and other officials met on Tuesday morning as Patrick finished his remarks to the New England Council, completing the substantive work of the panel which intends to present a final draft report for approval at its next meeting on April 23.

The commissions members unanimously backed several recommendations on Tuesday, including a Patrick administration proposal to recommend that eight specific tax credit programs sunset every five years, while other tax credits that benefit certain industries would undergo a thorough review every five years, and all other credits – such as the sales tax exemption on food and clothing – would be vetted every 10 years.

Secretary of Administration and Finance Jay Gonzalez told the News Service after the meeting that he believed the plan struck the right balance of ensuring that tax breaks are periodically reviewed by the Legislature, while not allowing sunset clause to interfere with predictability in the tax code for businesses.

PARIS (Reuters) – French President Nicolas Sarkozy denied on Tuesday any illegality in his 2007 campaign funding, dismissing speculation about undeclared contributions as nothing more than smear tactics ahead of his re-election bid.

Fighting an uphill battle to win a second term in an election that starts in less than three weeks, Sarkozy had previously declined to comment on new developments in a judicial probe into links between his party and Frances richest woman.

French voters are accustomed to headlines about suspected corruption and the latest twist in a probe that has been under way for years has shown no sign yet of diverting voter focus away from the economy and jobs.

But the speculation prompted Sarkozy to break his silence on the issue, telling TV channel Canal+: As usual ahead of a presidential election, there are a few stink bombs.

Its classic, it will surprise nobody but its not, for all that, very pleasant.

Sarkozy said his 2007 accounts had been independently checked and given an official stamp of approval at the time. Why should there be a question of illegal financing when every millimeter of campaign income and outlays was subject to checks? he asked.

Questions about Sarkozys 2007 funding are part of a wider probe by investigators into his partys relations with billionaire Liliane Bettencourt, the elderly heiress to the LOreal cosmetics fortune.

Pressure mounted on Sarkozy when investigator Michel Gentil placed Patrice de Maistre, Bettancourts former wealth manager, in custody last week.

Gentil wants to know more about de Maistres ties to the then-treasurer of Sarkozys party, former Labour Minister Eric Woerth, who, like de Maistre, is formally under investigation.

Investigations focus on Swiss cash withdrawals of as much of 800,000 euros ($1.06 million) in the months prior to Sarkozys May 2007 election victory.

Sarkozy said there was nothing suspicious about visits he had paid to the Bettencourt home because they lived in a western Paris suburb where Sarkozy had been mayor for many years.

Socialist candidate Francois Hollande, who is tipped by all polls to win the May 6 election runoff, has steered clear of accusing Sarkozy of wrongdoing, but his ex-partner and former presidential candidate Segolene Royal – who lost to Sarkozy in 2007 – has not held her punches.

In a recent television interview, Royal said one reason Sarkozy needed re-election was to secure another five years of legal immunity, a privilege conferred on French presidents in office. ($1 = 0.7518 euros)

(Reporting By Brian Love; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

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The funding platforms hoping to help small companies raise money from individual investors over the Internet are trying to get ahead of pending regulations by setting standards for themselves.  Before the new crowd-funding rules in the US JOBS Act can take effect, they are banding together to try to establish some operating guidelines before the expected rules are written by securities regulators, so as to influence their ultimate form.