Semantic Web startup Radar Networks raised $13 million in a B round, led by Velocity Interactive Group. Velocity’s Ross Levinsohn will join the board. Other investors include Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Paul Allen’s Vulcan Capital. The company previously raised $5 million from Vulcan, Leapfrog Ventures, Ron Conway, and Peter Rip.
Radar Networks is the company behind Twine, a site in private beta that helps you organize the Web and your personal information by automatically tagging and cataloging everything you save to it. (For more, see our write-up).
$$$ well deserved … and well invested (IMO).
As the most active participant in Twine’s private beta (you’ll see this when you receive your invitation), I can attest to the legitimacy of Twine’s aura, both the mystique (imagined) and technological framework (actual).
Semweb (the Semantic Web) is different. Web 3.0 is different. And Twine is different.
On the surface, Twine may look a lot like a Web 2.0 application, something akin to a Facebook, a Yahoo! Group, maybe a JotSpot, perhaps del.icio.us. In fact, it’s the best of all of the above. And, quite frankly, Twine’s familiarity is good news: A new Twinerian has a short learning curve. (Take learning how to fly in Second Life as a counterexample.)
However, Twine is really so much more than a social networking site, social bookmarking site, online discussion group, or wiki. At it’s core, Twine is about the organizing and sharing of knowledge based upon common interests. But discovery is what makes Twine truly unique. And in addition to discovery in a broad sense, I personally view Twine’s matchmaking features as its key advantage.
With Twine, a Twinerian can find business partners, potential employers or employees, or life partners. And it’s all quite simple, something I’ve dubbed “one-click networking and discovery.” Bottom line: Click on a bookmarklet and both people and content matches will follow. Enter Web 3.0.
Recent New York Times column on Twine:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02.....novel.html
My three AlwaysOn Network columns on Twine (listed in chronological order):
http://alwayson.goingon.com/permalink/post/20803
http://alwayson.goingon.com/permalink/post/22937
http://alwayson.goingon.com/permalink/post/23747
(AO column links: doiop.com/Twine, doiop.com/Crunchies and doiop.com/Enterprise3.0)
Congrats Nova!
I’m interested to see if Twine will be all its cracked up to be.
James
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Nova Spivack is a visionary and (we’ll wait to see how this endeavor turns out but I believe strongly) also a genius.
does anyone else notice that “Velocity Interactive Group’s” logo and namesake is largely similar to the computer companies “Velocity Micro”… Coincidence?
Congrats on all of the funding — the use of AI will only increase. Does anyone know if these bots are powered by Numenta? Whatever happened to Numenta?
I’ve followed Nova’s doings for a while. From an initial startup POV, I wonder if he recommends Sun Microsystem’s startup essentials program for getting off the ground. My interest is an x64 server and this seems like the place to go get it for less… http://www.sun.com/startup
I would like to be able to get 18 mln for showing subscribe to beta page. According to previous post they are deleloping Twine from April 2006.
This company who invented brand ‘Twine’ for Radar Networks - http://www.igorinternational.com.
I checked how much they charge:
“Our standard 5-week process includes US or Madrid Protocol trademark prescreening of all names presented, competitive analysis, contextual graphic support of leading names, and a range of taglines. The cost for such a process is $45,000.”
To compare - http://www.tiinker.com/ - created by two 20 year old guys without any funding - it is up and running.
Strange crazy world.
Have no assoc with any businesses I mentioned.
Regards