What you need to know - 09/21/11

Facebook updating its platform at the speed of light; Tech incubator TechStars gets more funding

Advertising technology company Adchemy completed a $61 million Series E financing round with Microsoft Corp., August Capital and the Mayfield Fund.

Amazon.com announced that over 11,000 books will be made available to Kindle and Kindle app customers at local libraries in the U.S. The Kindle e-reader will deliver library books wirelessly and make the Kindle app available for free.

Dropcam, maker of a Wi-Fi video camera and streaming service, raised $5.8 million in Series A funding led by Accel Partners with participation from a long list of existing angel investors.

This year, Facebook could rake in $4.27 billion in global revenues, more than doubling the $2 billion made last year and more than quintupling the $777 million made in 2009, according to the latest data from eMarketer.

Facebook announced even more changes that affect how users will see stories hitting their News Feed, making the stream more organically tailored to the needs of each individual.

The rumor running around right now is that Facebook will be launching--as soon as f8 this week--four new sharing buttons alongside the “Like” button: “Read,” “Watched,” “Listened” and “Want.”

Google announced that the wait is over for millions of Google users. In a much anticipated move, Google+ is now opened to all. After a trial of 90 days, it's finally rolling it out to the public with improved features.

JustFabulous, a glitzy online subscription shopping service for women, raised $33 million in a Series A round of funding led by Matrix Partners.

Krux Digital, provider of consumer Internet data management, raised an additional $11 million in a round led by Accel Partners and IDG Ventures, with early investors participating as well.

Lookout Mobile Security, provider of smartphone security, closed a $40 million funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from current investors Khosla Ventures, Accel Partners and Index Ventures.

Market Leader, provider of online marketing and technology solutions for real estate professionals, acquired RealEstate.com, a website in the online real estate category. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Ning is being acquired by Glam Media for a reported $150 million—just a sliver of its estimated $750 million valuation two years ago.

Rearden Commerce secured $133 million in private equity funding and acquired HomeRun.com, creator of the HomeRun social-buying service and the OfferEngine platform, which powers group commerce programs.

Email delivery platform Sailthru raised an $8 million Series A financing led by RRE Ventures, with participation from AOL Ventures, DFJ Gotham Ventures, Hatteras Funds, Lerer Ventures, Pilot Group, and Thrive Capital.

Stitcher, a company that offers personalized Internet talk radio, closed a $10 million  Series C round of venture capital financing led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), with participation from return investors Benchmark Capital, New Atlantic Ventures, and tech veterans including Ron Conway.

Seed-stage technology startup incubator TechStars raised $24 million in new funding from the Foundry Group, IA Ventures, Avalon Ventures, DFJ Mercury, SoftBank Capital, SVB Financial Group, RRE Ventures, Right Side Capital Management, TechStars Alumni, and several individual investors. Now, every company accepted into the incubator will receive $100,000 automaticaly.

Top10, a website where you can make lists of anything, raised $3.5 million in a Series A round of financing led by Accel Partners, with participation from Founder Collective, Idealab, Forward Venture Partners and Shakil Khan.

Today's Featured Entrepreneur is Eric LaVanchy, CEO of  MindGames, Inc. one of the semi-finalists in the Splash SF competition.

The Wall Street Journal has joined forces with Facebook to create WSJ Social, a new app that offers Facebook users a news feed tailored to their online personalities, based on social graphing technology. The app is currently ad-supported by Dell.

Zimride raised $6 million in a Series A round of funding led by The Mayfield Fund, with participation from Floodgate and K9 Ventures, bringing its total raised to $7.5 million.