What you need to know - Tuesday 01/11/2011

Groupon raised $950M; Adknowledge $45M; Square $27.5M; Bump $16M; Foodspotting $3M; PHP Fog $1.8M

Adknowledge, a large Internet advertising network, raised $45 million in funding from Technology Crossover Ventures and JMI Equity. Other terms of the deal were not released. 

TargetSpot, the operators of a large digital audio advertising network, raised $8 million in equity financing. Investors in the round incuded Union Square Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, CBS Radio and Milestone Venture Partners.

Groupon announced three acquisitions for an undisclosed price. The group-buying company bought India-based SoShasta, a group buying deal site, Israeli-based Grouper, a deal site, and South Africa-based Twangoo, a deal site. The terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Square, a mobile payments company, raised $27.5 in its million Series B round of funding, led by Sequoia Capital. The company raised $10 million in its Series A round of funding in 2009.

TagMan, an online tracking service for ad campaigns, raised $2.25 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Greycroft Partners and iNovia Capital. Other investors in the round were undisclosed.

Verizon Wireless is expected to announce that it will be offering the iPhone in stores near the end of January. This wil end AT&T's exclusive hold on the device.

Searchmetrics, a Berlin-based company which works out where you should be spending your budget on SEO and analytics, has secured a growth / C-stage funding round of $6.75 million, led by Paris-based growth capital fund Iris Capital and current investors Holtzbrinck Digital and Neuhaus Partners in Germany.

Ericsson, a tech services provide geared toward telecom operators, estimates total mobile broadband subscriptions will grow to a total of one billion before the end of 2011.

Bump, a phone-based contact information transfer service, raised $16 million. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz. Other investors included Sequoia, Sherpalo , and SV Angel.

Groupon raised a $950 million round of funding.  Investors in this massive round include: Andreessen Horowitz, Battery Ventures, Greylock Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Mail.ru Group (formerly Digital Sky Technologies), Maverick Capital, Silver Lake, and Technology Crossover Ventures.

PHP Fog, start up geared towards simplifying PHP development, raised $1.8 million.The round was led by Madrona Venture Group. Other investors included First Round Capital, Founders Co-Op, and several unnamed angel investors.

Foodspotting, a food discovery service, raised $3 million in Series A funding. The round was led by BlueRun Ventures. Other investors included Aydin Senkut’s Felicis Ventures, 500 Startups, High Line Venture Partners, Zelkova Ventures, and 2020 Ventures.