SkyGrid Closes $11M Round of Series B Funding Led by RRE Ventures & Including BlackRock, Other Elite Investors

NEW YORK--(EON:Enhanced Online News)--SkyGrid, a real-time search, filtering, and personalization platform for news, today announced the successful close of $11 million in Series B funding led by RRE Ventures. Investment management firm BlackRock also participated in the round, along with a prestigious group of investors from both Wall Street and Silicon Valley. Previous venture investors include Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Esther Dyson, among others.

“As a leading global asset management firm, access to the vast wealth of information on the Internet is critical to our investment approach. SkyGrid makes this information easy to access and actionable, providing immediate and tangible benefit to our asset management clients.”

SkyGrid also announced that James D. Robinson III, Co-Founder and General Partner at RRE Ventures and former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of American Express Company, has been elected to the company’s board, joining SkyGrid Founder and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Pomplun and Junglee Founder Rakesh Mathur.

Silicon Valley-based SkyGrid gathers millions of mainstream and alternative information sources online, filters the information for reputation and relevance, and presents a personalized screen arranged by ticker symbol, industry sector, index, or user-customized portfolios. SkyGrid launched in February 2008 with 10 customers, and now has over 100, including traders, hedge fund managers, portfolio fund mangers, and research analysts from leading financial institutions with asset bases from $100 million to over $1 trillion. SkyGrid clients have documented significant work flow and efficiency improvements, including an average of almost one hour per day saved, and several timely media posts daily that help make investment decisions, according to one leading investment bank.

“The financial and business-advice support of such Wall Street and Silicon Valley titans as Jim Robinson, Larry Fink, Tim Draper, and Esther Dyson, among others, validates our belief that SkyGrid is defining the center of gravity for real-time financial news search,” said SkyGrid Founder and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Pomplun. “It’s an honor to have Jim join our board as SkyGrid works to enrich its focus on making current clients more successful, growing partnerships, and putting SkyGrid in the hands of more people on Wall Street.”

Mr. Robinson, who is a director of the Coca-Cola Company and Novell, Inc., commented: “I’m delighted to be joining SkyGrid’s board because SkyGrid is a truly disruptive innovation. It’s an important step forward for Wall Street professionals. It is exactly what investment professionals need to consume and act on information.”

Jody Kochansky, Managing Director and Head of US Equity Trading at BlackRock, said: "As a leading global asset management firm, access to the vast wealth of information on the Internet is critical to our investment approach. SkyGrid makes this information easy to access and actionable, providing immediate and tangible benefit to our asset management clients."

What SkyGrid is, what it does, and why it’s different

SkyGrid is a real-time search, filtering, and personalization platform for news. SkyGrid gathers millions of mainstream and alternative information sources online, filters the information for reputation and relevance, and then presents a personalized screen arranged by ticker symbol, industry sector, index, or user-customized portfolios. Users can call up analysis arranged by company, index, industry sector, or multiple custom portfolios. SkyGrid’s reach has a vast index covering millions of blogs and enthusiast websites, thousands of local and regional newspapers, press releases, news wires, product review sites, and the top 100 largest websites by traffic. SkyGrid’s efficiency means that you can search the equivalent of a stack of paper more than seven miles high in less than one second.

“Corporate news alone doesn’t move markets and companies’ share prices,” SkyGrid CEO Pomplun explained. “What drives value is the perception of that news and information as it plays out in mainstream and local media and on influential websites. Investment professionals need that information as it happens, analyzed and presented in a way that’s easy to use and act on.”

About RRE Ventures

Since its founding in 1994, RRE Ventures has been dedicated to helping talented management teams build leading companies in the software, communications, and financial services industries. With $850 million in assets, the firm backs entrepreneurs and management teams that possess the knowledge, vision, and discipline to create market-dominating companies. RRE’s team offers a unique combination of management, operations, and investment expertise, as well as an unrivaled network of relationships, that has helped build over 100 companies. For more information, visit www.rre.com.

About BlackRock

BlackRock is one of the world’s largest publicly traded investment management firms. At June 30, 2008, BlackRock’s AUM was $1.428 trillion. The firm manages assets on behalf of institutions and individuals worldwide through a variety of equity, fixed income, cash management, and alternative investment products. In addition, a growing number of institutional investors use BlackRock Solutions investment system, risk management, and financial advisory services. Headquartered in New York City, as of March 31, 2008, the firm has approximately 5,600 employees in 19 countries and a major presence in key global markets, including the U.S., Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East. For additional information, please visit the Company's website at www.blackrock.com.

About Draper Fisher Jurvetson

Draper Fisher Jurvetson is the leader in seed and early-stage venture capital, typically serving as a startup’s first outside source of financing. Founded in 1985, Draper Fisher Jurvetson has created a global network of affiliated venture funds with approximately $3.5 billion in capital commitments and offices in the major technology centers around the world. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, the firm has proven expertise in identifying and helping extraordinary entrepreneurs who want to change the world.

About SkyGrid

SkyGrid is a real-time search, filtering, and personalization platform for news. SkyGrid gathers millions of mainstream and alternative information sources online, filters the information for reputation and relevance, and then presents a personalized screen arranged by ticker symbol, industry sector, index, or user-customized portfolios. Users can call up analysis arranged by company, index, industry sector, or multiple custom portfolios. SkyGrid’s reach has a vast index covering millions of blogs and enthusiast websites, thousands of local and regional newspapers, press releases, news wires, product review sites, and the top 100 largest websites by traffic. SkyGrid’s efficiency means that you can search the equivalent of a stack of paper more than seven miles high in less than one second. SkyGrid was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Silicon Valley, with offices in NYC as well. Investors include RRE Ventures, Black Rock, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, DFJ Frontier, Esther Dyson, and others. For information, please telephone 408-731-9494 or visit www.skygrid.com.

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