Car-sharing drives investment levels with $250M for Lyft, while Internet of Things startups also earn big in April, according to latest from Rutberg & Co.

Dan Jones, Mobile Editor

May 22, 2014

2 Min Read
Lyft Drives Mobile VC Funding to $1.4B in April

San Francisco-based driver-finding startup Lyft drove to the top of another huge month for mobile venture capital funding, according to the latest report from Rutberg & Co.

Rutberg & Co. reports that mobile-focused private companies raised $1.4 billion in 121 deals during April, adding to the whopping $1.1 billion raised in March this year.

Here are the top five earners in April:

Company

Location

Funding Amount

Developing

Backers

Lyft

San Francisco

$250M

Ride-share app & service

Alibaba, Andreessen Horowitz, Coatue Management, Founders Fund, Mayfield Fund, Third Point Ventures

Prodea Systems

Richardson, Texas

$100M

An Internet of Things platform

Mubadala Development Company

Fuhu

El Segundo, Calif.

$65M

A tablet for children

N/A

Apigee

Palo Alto, Calif.

$60M

An API-management system

Bay Partners, BlackRock, Focus Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, Pine River Capital Management, SAP Ventures, Third Point Ventures, Wellington Management

SimpliSafe

Cambridge, Mass.

$57M

A connected home platform

Sequoia Capital

Source: Rutberg & Co.

Rutberg also notes that Internet of Things (IoT) startups are getting plenty of money and attention from their VC pals now:

  • Six IoT companies raised $174 million in April, including $100 million for Prodea Systems... Other IoT companies that raised venture capital in April include: Jasper Wireless, which raised $50 million from Temasek Holdings, a Singaporean sovereign wealth fund; Ayla Networks, which raised $14.5 million from investors including Cisco Systems, Crosslink Capital, and the IFC; Evrythng, which raised $7 million from investors including Atomico and Cisco Systems; Understory, which raised $1.9 million led by True Ventures with participation from investors including RRE Ventures and SK Ventures for its ground-level wireless weather detection network; and Huminn Mesh, which raised $300,000 from undisclosed investors.

Follow the VC money further below:

— Dan Jones, Mobile Editor, Light Reading

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About the Author(s)

Dan Jones

Mobile Editor

Dan is to hats what Will.I.Am is to ridiculous eyewear. Fedora, trilby, tam-o-shanter -- all have graced the Jones pate during his career as the go-to purveyor of mobile essentials.

But hey, Dan is so much more than 4G maps and state-of-the-art headgear. Before joining the Light Reading team in 2002 he was an award-winning cult hit on Broadway (with four 'Toni' awards, two 'Emma' gongs and a 'Brian' to his name) with his one-man show, "Dan Sings the Show Tunes."

His perfectly crafted blogs, falling under the "Jonestown" banner, have been compared to the works of Chekhov. But only by Dan.

He lives in Brooklyn with cats.

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