Charles Rivers Ventures

RPX invests in broad patent portfolios to protect their large and small technology clients against lawsuits from patent trolling firms.  The result of such a rational solution?  Patent-holders are fairly compensated, while the technology industry spends more time innovating and less time litigating.

Ever had a moment of Zen courtesy of customer service?  Didn’t think so.  Zendesk aims to change that.  CEO Mikkel Svane believes that by enabling companies to easily track all customer service interactions, they’re creating a simpler and more intimate relationship between company and customer that results in… well, moments of Zen. 

The reason your indoor wireless coverage can be so spotty is because your carrier doesn’t want to spend the money to create a signal robust enough to reach indoors with the same data and voice reliability. SpiderCloud Wireless takes your carriers existing architecture, and extends its reach to your indoor area, making spotty indoor coverage a thing of the past.

From start-up to world’s largest online library of original writing, Scribd has turned reading and publishing into an online social experience.  With over 50-million users, co-founders Trip Adler and Jared Friedman are well on their way to achieving their goal of making Scribd a top 20 website.

They may look like ordinary grains of sand to the average eye, but Rive sees piles of cash in its revolutionary oil refining catalyst.  By helping oil refineries produce more gasoline and less asphalt from their crude, Rive increases refinery profits, while reducing their environmental impact.

Bringing leading internet services like Skype™ to mobile handsets around the world, delivering rich consumer experiences with minimal impact on operator networks.

Introducing the iControl Remote Home Monitoring System that helps people stay connected in real-time to what matters most—their family, property, home, and business—from anywhere in the world, anytime, day or night.

Meet the first company focused solely on advertising in social media.

Meet a progressive financial services company serving the needs of the growing Hispanic market, helping them build credit in the United States and gain access to better lives and mainstream financial services.

Meet thet nanotechnology company using carbon nanotubes for the development of next-generation semiconductor devices.

Discover new Internet browsing technology that delivers users an easier yet more productive surfing experience.

Meet the developer of the world’s premiere publisher-supported virtual marketplace.

Conduit Labs asks, “Why can’t we do more together online”? At Conduit, they’re bored of the same old social networks, virtual worlds, and MMOs. They’re taking what we all know, mixing it up, and creating something new. Check out their experiment.

Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co-workers to communicate and stay connected. Time Magazine says, “Twitter is well on its way to becoming the next killer app,” while the New York Times says, “It’s one of the fastest-growing phenomena on the Internet.” Twitter is all about the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?

A group of former executives at PayPal, Yahoo! And Ebay decided to pick up where most social networks leave off—your family. Geni lets you create a family tree through a fun, simple interface. It lets you expand your tree by adding relatives’ email addresses who are then invited to join your tree and add other relatives. Your tree continues to grow as relatives invite other relatives. With more than 10 million profiles completed over the last year, Geni is on its way to building a family tree of the whole world.

Arlene Harris, 45-year veteran in wireless and creator of the highly regarded SOS emergency phone, and Martin Cooper, inventor of the first portable cellular phone, decided less is sometimes more when it comes to cell phones. So they created Jitterbug. Jitterbug is all about connecting people with family and friends when they are away from home with a simple phone and personalized services that work the way they want them to.

Never text, search or download content on your mobile phone because you can’t stand the triple tapping? With Vlingo, you’ll forget you’re stuck with a small screen and twelve tiny buttons. Vlingo’s voice-powered interface lets you speak or type into any Vlingo-enabled text box on your mobile phone–giving you access to all the information, entertainment and communication made possible through today’s mobile services.