MindMixer Closes $4M Series B; Silverpop Raises $25M in Debt

MindMixer, an online engagement platform helping civic, education and healthcare organizations communicate more effectively with their constituents, has closed a $4 million Series B round.

New investor Nelnet, a provider of education products and services, led the round with existing investors Dundee Venture Capital and Optimas Group also participating. The company says these investors are the “key” participants, but did not disclose if there were others.

The funding brings MindMixer’s backing to date to $6.2 million, including a $1.9M Series A round and $300,000 in seed capital in March 2011.

The Series B round will fund developer hires and help the company scale to meet demand.

MindMixer says staff expansion will also help serve its clients, including the City of San Francisco, the D.C. public school district and Ohio State University, to empower audiences to weigh in and provide potential solutions to topics like school closures, deteriorating city infrastructure and the engagement pitfalls of massive open online courses.

MindMixer will also apply the new capital to enhancing its services and tools. Over the next few months, the MindMixer platform will feature a new user experience, amplified website and mobile enhancements. MindMixer says these changes will “increase community engagement and make conversations and the exchange of ideas between organizations and their desired audiences more efficient.”

Founded in 2010, MindMixer plans to reach 1,000 customers in the educational, healthcare and civic sectors by the end of 2013.

Meanwhile, digital marketing technology provider Silverpop has raised $25 million in venture debt.

The new funds come from new investors Escalate Capital Partners and Silicon Valley Bank.

Silverpop says it has raised “well over” $50 million in venture funding to date, but does not specify how it has done so.

According to a press release, Silverpop closed a $15 million round for international expansion, R&D and acquisitions in April 2008.

New investor D.E. Shaw Group’s venture capital unit led the previous round with existing investor Draper Fisher Jurvetson and other undisclosed participants. These investors did not participate in the current financing.

Silverpop says it will use the most recent funding for growth.

According to Silverpop, its Engage product can serve as the single source of data across a marketing department, helping to provide a profile of customers and prospects by capturing and storing demographic and psychographic data as well as online and offline behaviors.

Founded in 1999, Silverpop has 500 employees.