News.

Openet, a global leader of high performance transaction management software for network operators today announced it has completed a $21 million funding round (€16.9 million). The investment will enable Openet to serve accelerating customer demand by financing the development of direct and indirect distribution channels, product development, product management and deployment engineering.

Europe's traditional phone companies, already under pressure from cheap internet-based services like Skype, are about to face more competition from a group of Nordic start-ups that will offer low-cost mobile calls and other services.

With Skype under Microsoft ownership, Rebtel now claims to be the largest independent mobile VoIP provider, with 17 million users in over 200 countries accessing its service over WiFi and 3G on iPhone, Android, and PCs. Rebtel has added two million users since February, and is seeing an average of 650K new users a month — many of whom have been attracted by its low-cost calling to landlines and mobile, along with the ability to switch between data and voice connections to avoid dropped calls and busy networks.

Livebookings, the European leader in online marketing services for restaurants, has increased its capital base by £15m following a funding round led by existing investors Balderton Capital, Wellington Partners and Ekstranda. The funding will support Livebookings’ continued rapid growth.

London, 10 May 2012 – MedicAnimal.com, the UK’s leading online pet health retailer, today announced that it has completed a £10 million Series C funding round. The fundraising, led by major European venture capital firm Balderton Capital, also includes investments by Iris Capital, who led the previous round in October 2010, as well as existing angel investors from Europe, the U.S. and Asia. Mark Evans of Balderton Capital will join Alexander Wiedmer of Iris Capital, Cesar Mascaraque, former Managing Director for Europe at IAC/InterActiveCorp, and MedicAnimal.com founders Ivan Retzignac and Andrew Bucher on the board.

Telcos have always held incredible influence on other industries and have set the agenda as innovators. Outside of keeping the network infrastructure up and running, operator innovation was comprised largely of two goals: neutralizing competitors and maximizing profits.

LONDON (Reuters) -Online payday loans provider Wonga.com launched a credit service for small businesses on Monday, aiming to fill a gap in the market left by banks who have been hamstrung by tight lending conditions imposed since the credit crunch.

archify announces today that it has closed a seed investment from Balderton Capital.

From a slow start in the aftermath of the Soviet Union, Russia is now Europe’s biggest internet market with 53 million users (compared to number-two Germany at 51 million), and figures from GP Bullhound and comScore indicate that it is also growing the fastest, at 14 percent (other European countries are at less than six percent it says).