What you need to know - Thursday 9/23/10

MocoSpace raises $3.5M; Shapeways raises $5M; LinkedIn buys ChoiceVendor

MocoSpace has made a big bet that browser-based games will take off on mobile phones as the mobile web comes of age. And now SoftBank Capital is making a bet that MocoSpace is right about that. Japan’s SoftBank is investing $3.5 million in MocoSpace in a strategic round.

Dutch startup Shapeways, which lets you design and print your own 3D objects, just raised $5 million dollars in Series A funding from Union Square Ventures in New York and Index Ventures in London.

Shapeways will also move its headquarters to New York from its current home base of Eindhoven in The Netherlands.

LinkedIn, the biggest professional network with more than 75 million members, announced Thursday that it's bought ChoiceVendor, a startup that provides real-world ratings and reviews of business-to-business service providers in more than 70 categories across the United States.

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg is No. 35 on the world's billionaires list compiled by Forbes in its newly-released Forbes 400. Zuckerberg, noted on the Forbest list as a Harvard dropout is 26 years old, and has a net worth of $6.9 billion. This is primarily because Facebook has been estimated to be worth some $20-plus billion.

Zuckerberg was the biggest percentage gainer on the list. Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Larry Ellison rank No. 1 through No. 3 on the list.

Sequoia-backed Think Finance, which provides financing for the underbankd, is announcing that they’ve secured a $90 million credit facility from Victory Park Capital Advisors. This massive line of credit will be used to develop, expand and underwrite, Elastic, Think Finance’s web-based bank account replacement product.

Saratoga, Calif.-based Roku, a maker of connected devices to the TV, announced three new models. The new Roku HD is available for $59.99, while the XD and XDS models are available for $79.99 and $99.99 respectively. These new models will compete with Google TV, Apple TV, and Boxee Box.