Funding stories are continuing to trickle into my morning coffee cup. Here is a triple shot of the three biggest rounds that were announced this morning.
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Spruce Media spruces up with $15 million for Facebook Ads
Spruce Media has raised $15 million for its buzzword laden product. It is an ‘enterprise class social software solution” specifically built for Facebook Ads. The intent is to help brands turn Facebook ‘likes’ into actual influence and sales. The platform offers an end-to-end solution, starting with API integration, moving through ad creation, and optimization, and ending in analysis. There are also tools for automated bid and budget management, comparison testing, targeting, collaboration and workflow.
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Spruce is one of the 12 Facebook Strategic Preferred Marketing Developers and is growing in size and revenue fast. This investment from Square 1 Bank will scale the development team and promote sales. Spruce Media has 60 employees distributed across the US, although the headquarters are in San Francisco. Read the press release.
Percolate drips $9 million into its coffee cup of content
Both coffee and social media are necessary to keep up with the time. Percolate offers a software-as-a-service that helps brands create relevant social media content. Many large businesses and Fortune 500 companies understand the importance of a social media presence, but have no idea what to contribute to the Twitter and Facebook universe. This is where Percolate swoops in to save the day. Clients include Reuters, Budweiser, MasterCard, Nokia, IBM, ING Direct, and Denny’s. Because the All-American Slam needs to be promoted. To support these efforts, GGV Capital and First Round Capital offered up $9 million for the startup’s first institutional round of funding. Read the blog post.
Lekiosk funds its European “digital news agent” with $7.1 million
News kiosks were traditionally where people got their morning news, glancing over an array of titles before selecting a few (or none) to buy. Lekiosk, a French digital newsstand for iOS, has raised $7.1million. The platform serves as a digital magazine where users can browse, sample, and purchase titles from a “rotating virtual news agent.” There are currently 100 publications available on the platform, including the BBC and Conde Nast. Users can either make single magazine purchases or pay for a monthly subscription. It is available in France and the UK, and today is announcing its expansion to Italy. European financial firm CM-CIC Capital Prive and FSN PME, an investment fund launched by the French State, invested.
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