Balderton leads US$8.3m investment in US firm


25 Jun 2007

One of Europe’s largest venture capitalist firms Balderton Capital has led a US$8.3m investment into US company Daylife, a news platform that helps publishers add content and context to their news output.

Balderton Capital, formerly Benchmark Capital Europe, is led by Irishman Barry Maloney. The investment, which also includes participation from venture capital firm Arts Alliance, will be used to accelerate Daylife’s growth and enhance product development.

The Daylife platform and API empower publishers to enhance their site with news from around the world and provide new types of experiences for their readers to explore the news. The New York-headquartered privately owned company’s connection engine surfaces relations among news and newsmakers, timelines, photos, trends and more.

“Daylife is poised to redefine the way news is delivered and discovered,” said Upendra Shardanand, founder and CEO, Daylife. “We are pleased to have the support of Balderton, which has an outstanding track record in developing rich media companies.”

Balderton Capital’s previous investments include Setanta Sports, Alphyra, Bebo, Betfair and MySQL.

Ynon Kreiz, general partner of Balderton, said: “When we saw Daylife in action we knew it would radically alter the way news is consumed on the web. Daylife has a highly experienced management team, led by Upendra, and we are delighted to be working with them.”

By Niall Byrne