• 05/22/13

    Interactions Corp. collects $40 million in new funding to make customer service calls less frustrating

    Big new round of funding being announced today by a Franklin-based startup, Interactions Corp. And it’s being led by Steve Murray, a venture capitalist based in the Newton office of SoftBank Capital.

  • 05/15/13

    Updater Makes Moving Fun, Convenient and Stress Free

    Fastest Growing Website in Relocation Industry Raises $5M from SoftBank Capital, IA Ventures and others.

  • 04/24/13

    Yahoo! Japan Injects $20M Into SoftBank Capital’s Early-Stage Technology Fund ’10

    The $20 million investment and partnership will help U.S. startups at any point in their development, from early-stage companies who need funding to more mature companies looking to expand into new markets. Yahoo! Japan’s investment will be an addition to the $100 million early-stage fund, which is a complement to the freshly announced PrinceVille fund.

  • 04/16/13

    Echo360 Acquires ThinkBinder

    Echo360 Adds Social Learning Tools to Leading Active Learning Solution with Second Acquisition in Six Months.

  • 04/15/13

    Peer-To-Peer Airport Car Rental Startup FlightCar Raises $5.5M From General Catalyst, SoftBank Capital, And Others

    Seeking to disrupt the $10 billion airport car rental business, FlightCar, a sort of Airbnb for airport rentals, allows travelers leaving town to make their cars available for those who are visiting.

  • 02/07/13

    SoftBank Capital Announces $250 Million PrinceVille Investment Fund Aimed at Growth Stage Internet and New Media Businesses with International Aspirations

    VC firm adds experience in growth investing and Asian expansion to complement its early stage team

  • 02/05/13

    Bluefin Labs Joins Twitter: Getting to the Future of Social TV Faster

    It’s a big day for social television and for us at Bluefin Labs – we’re announcing today that we’re joining Twitter!

  • 01/17/13

    Mobile Ad Startup Celtra Raises $4M Led By SoftBank Capital

    Celtra, a company offering tools for rich media ad creation, mobile ad serving, and analytics, just announced that it has raised $4 million in new funding.

  • 01/04/13

    Summer in VC with SoftBank Capital

    We are looking to hire one MBA and one undergrad to join SoftBank Capital for eight weeks this summer as paid interns in our office in New York City.

  • 01/03/13

    BuzzFeed Announces $20 Million in New Financing

    BuzzFeed, the social news Web site that was one of the media industry darlings of 2012, began the new year by announcing Thursday morning that it had raised nearly $20 million in new financing from its investors.

  • 11/25/12

    Cambridge’s Bluefin Labs decodes social media chatter

    Facebook users “like” things 2.7 billion times a day. People share their opinions more than 500 million times daily on Twitter. Now, this start-up is betting it can change everything from product placement to how we elect our president.

  • 11/23/12

    Japan's Masayoshi Son Picks a Fight With U.S. Phone Giants

    In Japan, Masayoshi Son is known as the eccentric Internet billionaire who upended the country's telecom industry. In the U.S., he is about to become the cash-strapped underdog who picked a fight with two corporate giants—AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless.

  • 10/15/12

    Strategic Acquisition of Sprint by SOFTBANK CORP.

    SOFTBANK CORP. (TSE:9984) and Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S) today announced that they have entered into a series of definitive agreements under which SOFTBANK will invest approximately USD 20.1 billion (approximately JPY 1 trillion 570.9 billion) in Sprint.

  • 9/26/12

    Criteo completes €30 million Series D led by SoftBank Capital

    Syndicate of investors includes SoftBank Capital, Yahoo! JAPAN, SAP Ventures, Adams Street and Bessemer.

  • 9/25/12

    Definition 6 Acquires Synaptic Digital Enhancing Content Marketing Capabilities and Distribution

    Agency expands global footprint with further reach to tell brand stories via video and social media.

  • 8/13/12

    Salesforce.com completes acquisition of Buddy Media

    Salesforce.com [NYSE: CRM], the enterprise cloud computing company, today announced that it has completed its acquisition of Buddy Media, the world’s leading social media marketing platform. With the close of the acquisition, the Buddy Media team joins the Salesforce Marketing Cloud.

  • 8/13/12

    Mobile ‘Personal Shopping Assistant’ Swirl Exits Stealth With 30K Stores Signed On, $6M In Backing

    Add one more startup to the hopefuls looking to corner the market for location-aware offers for shoppers: Swirl Networks today exits stealth mode with a website and free iOS app to help people find the best fashion deals closest to them, lead them to physical stores to make purchases, and then share that experience with others.

  • 8/12/12

    Boston developers’ newest apps target the brick and mortar set (Swirl Networks)

    It’s hard to talk about shopping these days without talking about fast-growing online merchants like Zappos, Warby Parker, Rue La La, and Wayfair. E-commerce is a big industry, and it keeps getting bigger: The Commerce Department says our online spending leapt 16 percent between 2010 and 2011, to almost $200 billion.

  • 7/25/12

    Social TV Analytics Startup Bluefin Labs Hires Former Razorfish Chief JP Maheu As Its New CEO

    Over the past year and a half, social TV analytics company Bluefin Labs has gone from being a stealth startup to becoming an invaluable provider of research for TV networks, brands, and agencies who want to delve into the social conversations that are happening around TV shows. Now, as it prepares to take its next steps forward, the company has hired veteran agency executive JP Maheu as its new CEO.

  • 7/23/12

    Silicon Snowbank: A New Incubator for Buffalo to Give Local Start-Ups a Different Set of Wings

    Actually, if truth be told, Buffalo, N.Y., is one of the loveliest places to visit in the summer, especially if you’re lucky enough to be right next to majestic Lake Erie.  And that is where the Z80 Labs will have its grand opening today in the Queen City, home of chicken wings and lots and lots of snow, by launching its first start-up, called AppVue.

  • 7/9/12

    With Dell Distribution Partnership, Echo360 Lecture Capture Could Make Notebooks and Class Attendance Obsolete

    Four-year-old Echo360 is the largest provider of “lecture capture” solutions, already reaching more than one million students in 6,000 classrooms worldwide. Today the company is announcing a significant partnership and preferred reseller relationship with Dell.

  • 6/29/12

    Looking East to Predict the Next Billion-Dollar Mobile Company

    As a U.S.-based VC working for SoftBank, one of Japan’s leading Internet companies, I’ve recently been noticing the recurrence of mobile trends moving from East to West.

  • 6/29/12

    Gilt Groupe’s Recipe for Success in Mobile

    The New York-based start-up, best known for selling designer clothing, expects 40 percent of its revenue on the July 4th holiday to come from its iPhone and iPad apps, says the company’s chief executive.

  • 6/4/12

    Salesforce.com Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Buddy Media

    Salesforce.com [NYSE: CRM], the enterprise cloud computing company, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Buddy Media, the world’s leading social media marketing platform

  • 5/23/12

    Leonsis, Case use Revolution Fund to invest in Echo360

    Wash­ington entrepreneurs Ted Leonsis and Steve Case have made another major invest­ment with their $450 million Rev­olution Growth fund, acquiring a big stake in Echo360, a Dulles-based software maker that converts college classroom lectures into a digital format that students can watch on their computers and mobile devices.

  • 4/30/12

    What's Next For Mobile Tech In The US

    I spent last week in Tokyo visiting our colleagues at SoftBank Corp. and Yahoo! Japan, including its new executive team.

  • 4/11/12

    Condé Nast Acquires Online Recipe Service ZipList

    Condé Nast announced on Wednesday that it had bought ZipList, a digital and mobile shopping list and recipe service.

  • 3/21/12

    Zynga Acquires OMGPOP, Creators of the Cultural Hit "Draw Something"

    Zynga (Nasdaq: ZNGA), the world's leading provider of social game services, today announced it has acquired New York-based social game developer OMGPOP, makers of the popular cultural hit mobile game, Draw Something, and over 35 additional social games.

  • 3/5/12

    Burstly Quietly Acquires TestFlight and Secretly Builds TestFlight Live

    App monetization platform Burstly and newly acquired TestFlight launch TestFlight Live, a real-time dashboard that highlights actions and revenue for iOS apps.

  • 2/27/12

    Buddy Media Acquires Brighter Option

    Buddy Media Acquires Social Ad-Buying Tool Brighter Option To Sync Paid and Owned Marketing

  • 2/27/12

    NaviSite Chooses Desktone to Deliver Desktops as a Service (DaaS)

    Leading Cloud Infrastructure Service Provider Expands NaviCloud Offerings with Highly Scalable Cloud-Hosted Virtual Desktops

  • 2/17/12

    Groupon Acquires NYC-Based Startup Hyperpublic

    Groupon has just acquired Hyperpublic, a NYC-based startup that’s spent the last two years building technology related to geo-location and the layers of information — like deals and events — that live on top of it.

  • 2/7/12

    SocialFlow Opens The Floodgates

    After about a year adding accounts through a limited beta, SocialFlow is launching today to anyone who wants to try it out on a self-serve basis

  • 1/24/12

    Social TV Startup Bluefin Labs Lands $12 Million Investment

    Time Warner Investments Leads Round with Participation from SoftBank Capital, Redpoint Ventures and Lerer Ventures

  • 1/19/12

    RI's Vertical Performance Partners expanding to Boston

    Providence, R.I.-based Vertical Performance Partners plans to open a Boston office this quarter, as it grows its business for turning corporate training and marketing content into apps for the iPad.

  • 1/9/12

    BuzzFeed Raises $15.5 Million; Traffic has More than Tripled to 25 Million Monthly Uniques

    NEA Leads Round with Lerer Ventures, Hearst Media, SoftBank Capital and RRE Participating

  • 11/30/11

    Burstly Raises $5.5M For In-App Ad Management; Launches Mobile Offer Mediation For iOS & Android

    Burstly is today announcing that it has raised $5.5 million in series B financing from GRP Partners, Rincon Venture Partners, and SoftBank Capital.

    Learn More

  • 11/8/11

    An Infusion of Money for Soundtracking, a Social Music App Developed by Schematic Labs

    SoundTracking, a social mobile application that allows people to create “musical postcards” that can then be shared with friends on social sites, announced Tuesday that it has received $4.75 million in financing.

    Learn More

  • 9/22/11

    Piictu Launches, Grabs Seed Funding To Grow Its Game-ified Photo Sharing App

    TechStars company secures seed funding round led SoftBank Capital, RRE, and Betaworks.

    Learn More

  • 9/21/11

    Startup Incubator TechStars Raises $24M, Increases Funding For Each Company By $100K

    Startup incubator and network TechStars has raised $24 million in new funding from the Foundry Group, IA Ventures, Avalon Ventures, DFJ Mercury, SoftBank Capital, SVB Financial Group, RRE Ventures, Right Side Capital Management, TechStars Alumni, and several individuals. TechStars is actually already directly funded by over 75 venture funds and angel investors, but this new funding will be used to offer every single new TechStars company an additional $100,000 in funding in the form of a convertible note immediately upon acceptance into TechStars.

    Learn More

  • 9/19/11

    CrowdTwist Raises $6M in Series A Funding - Social Loyalty and Rewards Platform Redefining Brand Loyalty in the Social Era

    CrowdTwist, a leading social loyalty and rewards platform, today announced that it has secured $6 million in equity financing in a Series A round led by SoftBank Capital and Fairhaven Capital. A recent graduate of the inaugural TechStars New York class, CrowdTwist will use the funds to support accelerated growth.

    Learn More

  • 9/13/11

    SoftBank Capital’s Joe Medved Selected by the Boston Business Journal for its 2011 40 Under 40 Class

    The Boston Business Journal today announced the 2011 class of 40-under-40 honorees — business and civic leaders who collectively represent the next wave of talent and commitment in the Boston economy.  Judges reviewed more than 500 nominations, considering not just professional accomplishments but also community involvement.

    Learn More

  • 8/15/11

    Buddy Media Announces $54M in Series D Funding From Leading Late-Stage Investor

    Buddy Media, the social media management software of choice for eight of the world’s top 10 global advertisers, today announced that it has raised $54 million in Series D funding from a group of leading late-stage investors. The capital will be used to more than double its product, sales and support staff in the next year as well as fund additional global offices and acquisitions.

    Learn More

  • 8/11/11

    Mobile Q&A Service Opinionaided Delivers 125 Million Responses to Advice Seekers, Investors Respond with $4.3 Million in Funding

    Mobile question-and-answer company Opinionaided today announced a $4.3 million round of funding to fuel the rapid growth of its service, which provides opinions on virtually any topic. The company’s dramatic rise is credited to its focus on building a utility with strong social appeal and the active community of users on iOS devices, who have delivered 125 million responses to consumer questions since its launch last year.

    Learn More

  • 7/28/11

    Welcome!

    Welcome to SoftBank Capital’s new website, which reflects our current thesis: investments that connect people, devices and the world.  The site’s simple design is optimized for consumption across mobile, tablet, and desktop.  With the site relaunch, we wanted to take the opportunity to provide an update on our fund, team, and affiliation with the SOFTBANK Group.

    SoftBank Capital
    SoftBank Capital has been investing in the United States in internet related technology companies since 1995.  The most recent fund, SoftBank Capital Fund ’10, was launched at the end of 2009.  This $100 million fund has been very actively investing, often in partnership with our SoftBank Capital Technology New York Fund.  Our focus has been on primarily Seed and Series A companies building socially-driven apps, services and content that are accessible across platforms and devices.  This thesis is influenced by the evolution of mobile in Japan and the global spread of the social web.

    Over the past year and a half, we have made 22 investments across the US.  14 of our 22 portfolio companies are based in New York City, where we have been one of the most active digital media funds for the past 15 years.  Our recent commitments have ranged in size from $100K to $4M.  We have taken board seats with a majority of these companies.  We treat Seeds like our Series As, taking an active role in building the business with the goal of putting additional capital into the company long term.

    Our new portfolio spans the sectors below:

    -   Consumer Mobile: Burstly, MocoSpace, Opinionaided

    -   Cloud Content Management: Boxee, Pogoplug

    -   Local Data: Hyperpublic

    -   Social Content: Cheezburger, Popdust, Spanfeller Media

    -   Social Enterprise: BestVendor

    -   Social Gaming/Entertainment: GameGround, Ohanarama, OMGPOP, YouAreTV

    -   Social Media: betaworks, Paper.li, SocialFlow, Taykey

    While our portfolio companies have a primary focus on the US, we can often provide helpful insight from and access to the Asian markets.  Increasingly, companies are realizing early in their development cycle that  border constraints for US companies are dropping in the Asian market, particularly in Japan where SOFTBANK Mobile’s distribution of the iPhone (the country’s smartphone market share leader), the iPad, and Android devices provide easier access to developers.  SoftBank Capital is uniquely positioned to help its portfolio companies thoughtfully and efficiently consider their Asian opportunities.

    Team
    As part of our new fund activities, Joe Medved has been promoted to Partner, and Nikhil Kalghatgi has joined the team as Senior Associate.

    Joe has been with SoftBank Capital since 2005 and investing in digital media for over seven years.  He led many of our most recent investments including BestVendor, Ohanarama, Opinionaided, and YouAreTV.  Joe is Co-Founder of the Digital Media VC/Corp Dev Connection and Chairman Emeritus of the New England Venture Network.

    Nikhil is a recent Harvard Business School graduate, a TechStars Alum with Localytics, a former engineer with The MITRE Corporation, and co-founder of Partner6, an equities swing-trading investment fund.

    SOFTBANK Group
    Throughout our fund’s history, our investing strategy has been influenced by the Japanese market, home of SOFTBANK Group.  The country’s advanced communication infrastructure has demonstrated areas of significant value creation potential, from the proliferation of broadband to the mobile web.  Mainstream Japanese consumers were one of the first to adopt broadband technologies both connected and wireless.  They also led the way in using their phones to play games, conduct social networking activity, make payments, scan barcodes, and watch video.

    SOFTBANK Group has been at the forefront of this innovation as a mobile carrier, content provider, broadband operator, and fixed line telco.  SOFTBANK Mobile introduced the iPhone and iPad to the Japanese market.  The company’s Asian assets include Yahoo! Japan, the country’s dominant portal; Alibaba Group, China’s leader in e-commerce; and RenRen, China’s leading social network.  Masayoshi Son, founder and CEO of SOFTBANK, has led the company’s vision, embracing emerging technologies like Twitter, which according to comScore is now the leading social network in Japan. @MasaSon is the most followed individual in the country.

© 2011 SoftBank Capital.