VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Irvine, California-based real estate marketplace Auction.com nabbed $50 million in investment from the newly launched growth equity fund Google Capital for its expansion and marketing campaigns.

Facebook Messenger can now be downloaded for free on the Windows Phone via the Windows Phone Store, the software giant has confirmed the news through its blog.

Berlin, Germany-based startup TVSmiles picked up $7 million in a Series A funding round led by Ventech to expand the reach of its loyalty program for its second-screen app beyond Germany.

Social media giant Facebook is reportedly in talks to purchase New Mexico, US-based drone maker Titan Aerospace for $60 million to reach the corners of the world with no Internet access.

Lausanne, Switzerland-based tech accessory maker Logitech debuted a wireless keyboard called Harmony Smart Keyboard that can be connected to different living room devices including the Apple TV, Xbox One, and PS3.

San Mateo, US-based predictive analytics startup Reflektion scored $8 million in its second funding round led by Intel Capital and Nike to ramp up its sales and marketing activities.

As opposed to the move that other countries are taking, the British government is planning to ditch the tax levied on Bitcoin trading, but the cryptocurrency will still be subjected to corporation and other taxes.

Berlin-based recruiting software startup softgarden merged with job ad media planning service 1000jobboersen.de for an undisclosed amount to form a giant Recruiting-as-a-Service provider called softgarden E-Recruiting.

Penzance, UK-based firm Acoustic Stream launched a $50,000 crowdfunding campaign via Kickstarter to develop a 4-in-1 device that allows guitarists to tune their guitar, and record, stream, and share their performances to the world.

Flower Power, a Bluetooth device made by Paris, France-based consumer product developer Parrot, is paired with a mobile app that helps users monitor plant growth to make the gardening chore easier.

Mountain View, US-based investment firm 500 startups organized Rainbow Round, a monthly meeting where members of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) community from the tech sector can talk about their interests and struggles.

Chicago, US-based firm Savor is putting together an online deals aggregator app for iPad that personalizes coupons according to the user's likes interest and organizes offers into catalogs for easier browsing.

New York City, US-based messaging app Flyby becomes the first consumer-facing app to use the image recognition technology in Google's 3D mapping project called Project Tango to let users attach text and video messages to objects in the real world.

California, US-based next generation fitness tracking device Moov attained its $40,000 target within just 90 minutes and will begin shipping the pre-ordered product by summer this year.

Donna, the personal assistant app made by San Francisco, US-based mobile app creator Incredible Labs, is retiring starting February 28, just a month after search giant Yahoo acqui-hired the company.