VC Buzz – $84.5 million in today’s deals

MCLEAN, Va.– OneSoft Corp., a provider of Internet commerce software and vertical market solutions, announced that it has secured an additional $32 million in venture financing, bringing the total amount of venture capital the company has raised to approximately $47 million.

OneSoft’s third round of financing was led by QuestMark Partners, a late-stage private equity fund based in Baltimore. Other significant investments were made by General Electric Pension Trust, Riggs Capital Partners, two Deutsche Bank-managed funds, and existing investors SGC Partners and Rader Reinfrank & Co. Participants in OneSoft’s second round of financing included Societe General Capital Corporation and Rader Reinfrank & Co. Participants in the company’s first round of financing included Blue Water Capital and Societe General Capital Corporation. The private placement was managed by Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown.

CHELMSFORD, Mass.– Astral Point Communications announced that it has completed a $24 million round of financing .The Sprout Group, the venture capital affiliate of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (NYSE:DLJ), along with NEA and OneLiberty Ventures participated in the investment Farrokh Billimoria, General Partner with the Sprout Group will also be joining the Astral Point Communications board of directors. Astral Point is an optical networking equipment company based in Chelmsford, Mass.

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif.– Uniscape Inc., a leader in multilingual solutions for the global enterprise and e-commerce business, announced the successful close of its second round of funding.

The $4.5 million investment by a group of Taiwanese and Singaporean technology and financial institutions plus several key U.S. investors signals international and domestic endorsement of Uniscape.com, the company’s new technology-powered translation portal that manages business-to-business translation for global companies.

Prominent investors include NCB (the National Computer Board) and TDF (Technology Development Fund) from Singapore, Jih Sun Group, Star Capital Group and FR Venture from Taiwan and Technology and Internet Investment, Inc. from the U.S. In addition, several executives from AboveNet Communications Inc., a leading provider of Internet connectivity and co-location, also privately invested in this round. Uniscape’s second-round investors complement the funding of first-round investors, which included computer giant, Acer, Fortune Capital and First Taiwan Capital.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.– Reflective Technologies Inc. has raised $7.5 million in equity financing from a group of investors led by New York City-based CIBC Capital Partners, the merchant banking arm of CIBC World Markets.

The other investors in the deal according to Adam Rizika, president and co-founder of Reflective Technologies, were Taiwan-based WK Global Investment Limited and joint venture partner Formosa Taffeta Company also of Taiwan. Tucker Anthony Incorporated served as financial advisor to Reflective Technologies Inc.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.-MarketFirst, a leader in Web-hosted eMarketing solutions, announced that it has raised $16.5 million in its latest round of venture funding. New investors J. & W. Seligman & Co. Inc., U.S. Trust Company of New York, Wheatley Partners, and Winfield Capital Corp., joined initial investors Enterprise Partners, SAP Ventures and The Sprout Group to finance MarketFirst’s next stage of growth.

BOSTON– Captivate Network Inc., a new media company based outside Boston, has signed a non-exclusive national agreement with Equity Office Properties Trust, the nation’s largest publicly held owner and operator of office buildings, to provide visual screen displays and programming in elevator cabs for over 100 Equity Office buildings. The agreement, which provides Captivate with a national platform for its product, is one of the first of its kind to deliver customized, visual programming to the thousands of people who travel in office building elevators daily.

Captivate Network Inc. is a privately held company founded by Michael DiFranza, Todd Newville and Raymond Pineau. Headquartered in Westford, MA, the company is funded by four top tier venture capital firms: Advent International, Olympic Venture Partners, ABS Capital Partners and Primus Venture Partners.

NEW YORK– EXP.com Inc., the online marketplace for expert advice and services, announced that four leading Web sites have joined the EXP Affiliate Program. Ancestry.com, Asimba.com, Embark.com, and internet.com will feature links on their sites, enabling visitors looking for personalized advice to easily find and interact with expert advisors in EXP’s Genealogy, Fitness, Education and Technology categories.

EXP’s Affiliate Program enables Web sites to offer their users timely and personalized interaction with experts in concert with their existing offerings. By adding access to EXP’s network of thousands of expert advisors, affiliate partners can significantly increase consumer loyalty, enhance brand, and generate more revenue.

EXP.com Inc. was established in February 1999 to create the online leading marketplace for expert advice and services on the Internet. The company has attracted over $30 million in financing from some of the country’s leading venture capital firms including Bessemer Venture Partners, @Ventures (a CMGI affiliate-NASDAQ:CMGI), Bowman Capital, Maveron, and Oracle Ventures (NASDAQ:ORCL). EXP.com is located in Menlo Park, Calif.

AUSTIN, Texas– Hire.com, a leading e-recruiting application service provider, announced the re-birth of relationship building in recruiting with the latest version of its highly successful e-Recruiter service.

Formerly called world.hire, Hire.com is funded by venture capital from Crosspoint Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and TL Ventures

SAN FRANCISCO– LoopNet Inc., provider of the Internet’s largest commercial real estate listing service, announced that its LoopLender loan origination system has achieved industry leadership with a $500 million monthly run rate. Also, LoopNet introduced a series of new products and relationships that will expand its loan origination service, including the LoopLender Financing Engine and LoopLender 2.0, an enhanced product offering that includes new financing and property loan options.

LoopNet Inc. is backed with investments from Trinity Ventures, Indosuez Ventures and Silicon Valley law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and RESEARCH TRIANGLE, N.C.– Delphi Forums and KOZ.com, two community creation services companies, announced an alliance through which Delphi will integrate KOZ.com’s ichat as a key component of Delphi’s community platform. Both ichat Pager (instant messaging) and ichat Rooms (real-time chat) will be available to Delphi’s extensive network of partners, which has a combined user base of more than 19 million.

KOZ.com has received investments from a European family group advised by Barnard & Co., BancBoston Ventures, The Bergen Record, The CIT Group, CMGI@Ventures, Donrey Media Group, Encompass Ventures, Guy Gannett Communications, Pulitzer Publishing, SG Capital Partners, Southeast Interactive Technology Funds and other private investors.

WALTHAM, Mass.– SupplierMarket.com, a leader in developing Internet technology for manufacturing procurement, has announced that Manufacturers’ News Inc. (MNI), a provider of manufacturers directories and databases, has agreed to be a data provider for its marketplace.

SupplierMarket.com is funded by Battery Ventures and Sequoia Capital and is headquartered in Waltham, Mass.

LOS ANGELES–Direct Stock Market, the first company to list a private placement over the Internet, announced that listed offerings currently available by its client companies have soared past the $100 million mark.

Over the past three years, DSM has listed private and public offerings totaling more than $430 million. Direct Stock Market Inc., with headquarters in Santa Monica, Calif., is an Internet-based financial marketplace for public offerings and private placements. DSM’s advanced technologies drive Internet capital formation for early-stage companies.

NAPA, Calif.–Ambrosia, the first and leading direct marketer of ultra-premium wines from prestigious Napa and Sonoma estates, launched its e-commerce site, offering its affluent consumer base another means to access the company’s unparalleled selection of wines, gourmet foods, clubs and gifts.

In a related announcement, William R. Hambrecht has chosen Ambrosia for a strategic minority investment with proceeds funding the company’s e-commerce site, systems development, and infrastructure. No terms were announced.

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Yupi.com, one of the leading Spanish-language networks of sites, and AltaVista Company, a leading Internet search site, announced an alliance to complement Yupi.com’s proprietary search capabilities with the power of AltaVista’s worldwide index. The combination will provide comprehensive online searching capabilities for Spanish-speaking Web users.

Companies that have made investments in Yupi.com are: Miami-based Interprise Technology Partners (ITP), Chicago-based IFX Corp., Sony Corporation of America and two of its entertainment divisions, Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Epinions.com and Intuit (Nasdaq: INTU) announced an agreement to provide professional and consumer product reviews on the new Quicken.com Shopping Channel. Live ,the co-branded Internet destination (http://www.quicken.com/shopping/ ) offers shoppers access to unbiased product reviews to help them make better shopping decisions.

Epinions.com has received financing from Benchmark Capital and August Capital.

SAN FRANCISCO — Blueline Online Inc., the pioneer of extranet-based project management systems for the architectural/engineering/construction industry, announced it has signed a technology and marketing agreement with Documentum Inc. (Nasdaq: DCTM), a leading provider of Internet-scale content management solutions for powering e-business applications. Under the agreement, Blueline Online will integrate Documentum 4i software with Blueline Online’s ProjectNet(R) EPS, the enterprise version of its Internet-based project management system. The companies will combine their best-of-breed technology and engineering/power/construction (EPC) and AEC industry expertise to offer sophisticated content management functionality with secure, project management capability through Internet hosting. The companies will also conduct joint marketing activities and serve on each other’s advisory boards.

CUPERTINO, Calif.–Tropian Inc., a Silicon Valley-based advanced wireless communications technology company, announced that it has appointed industry veteran Michael R. Farese president and chief executive officer. Farese brings to Tropian 28 years of broad telecommunications experience that includes senior management positions at Motorola Corp., Ericsson Inc., Nokia Corp., ITT Corp. and AT&T.

Tropian operates as a fabless semiconductor company in partnership with semiconductor fabrication, module assembly and product test facilities in Europe, Japan, Asia and the U.S. Following initial funding from the company’s founders, Tropian received venture capital funding from Convergence Partners, Crosspoint Ventures, and InveStar Capital in April 1998

REDONDO BEACH, Calif.– Randy Strickley, a longtime executive with Bank of America, has been named vice president, finance for Internet Ventures Inc. and Alfred Leopold has been appointed to a vacant seat on the Board of Directors.

Internet Ventures, which offers dial-up and Broadband Internet access services to markets in the United States with populations of less than 500,000, currently owns and operates in 19 communities in California, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

PASADENA, Calif.– PayMyBills.com expanded its management team with the appointment of Bob Whyte as the company’s new Chief Technology Officer. Whyte will be responsible for developing and maintaining the technological platform and infrastructure for PayMyBills.com as well as creating and maintaining strategic partnerships.

Headquartered in Pasadena, CA, PayMyBills.com is a venture backed by idealab! and idealab Capital Partners. Experience the service

NEW YORK– CarsDirect.com, the first Internet car company, announced the appointment of Gerald Greenwald, former vice chairman of Chrysler and CEO of United Airlines, to its board of directors. Most recently, Greenwald served as chairman and CEO of United Airlines, a $16 billion revenue airline with more than 80,000 employees.

Based in Los Angeles, CarsDirect.com is an idealab! company. Its investors include Goldman Sachs, Foundation Capital, idealab! Capital Partners, MSD Capital L.P., and Primedia Ventures, among others.

SAN DIEGO — e-assist.net, Inc., a full-service provider of Internet-based customer care management services, has named to its board of directors Warren J. Kaplan, former president, chief operating officer and board member of AboveNet Communications Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Metromedia Fiber Network (Nasdaq: MFNX).

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