Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Bessemer backs BillShrink in $8M second round

By Mass High Tech Staff

Bessemer Venture Partners has co-led an $8 million Series B round of funding for BillShrink Inc., an online personalized savings advisor. California-based Trinity Ventures participated in the funding, company officials said.

BillShrink, also based in California, is designed to enable consumers to make financial decisions by providing continuously updated, personalized recommendations on everyday services such as cell phone plans and credit cards, officials said.

The funding round was led by Gus Tai, general partner at Trinity Ventures, and joined by David Cowan from Bessemer Venture Partners, who led BillShrink’s Series A funding for $1 million. As part of the Series B round, Tai was appointed to BillShrink’s board of directors.

Bessemer Venture Partners, which operates an office in Wellesley Hills, was founded in 1911. The firm specializes in investments in early-stage technology companies and operates offices in New York, California, China, Israel and India.

Cowan joined Bessemer in 1992. He has since made 45 early-stage investments for Bessemer, including 19 that have completed initial public offerings and 18 that have been acquired by public companies, firm officials said.

Last year, Bessemer raised the second-largest fund in the nation, attracting $1.3 billion in capital. The firm was also the third most active investor in New England during 2007, closing 38 deals, according to Dow Jones VentureSource.