Collaboration Apps Draw $33M To Intraspect

The growing importance of collaboration software continues to attract venture capitalists. Intraspect Software last week said it closed a $33 million fifth round of funding led by GE Equity and Reed Elsevier Ventures, the venture arm of publisher Reed Elsevier.

Intraspect's software taps popular E-mail business applications to develop virtual workspaces for online knowledge sharing. The Brisbane, Calif., company's 450 customers include Boeing, J.P. Morgan Chase, and advertising firm Ogilvy & Mather.

This round was targeted at strategic investors such as Reed Elsevier, says Bob Schoettle, Intraspect's VP of marketing. "This gives us an opportunity to target their business units and establish partnerships," he says, adding that Reed Elsevier, with publishing subsidiaries Harcourt General and LexisNexis Group, offers lots of content on which collaboration is needed.