Jolicloud Raises $4.2 Million, Niklas Zennström And Gilles Samoun Join Board

On the very same day that a certain search and Internet advertising giant based in Mountain View, California has made public its plans to soon bring to market an open-source operating system that it hopes will give Microsoft a run for its money when it comes to powering the netbooks of this world, a lone startup from Paris, France has raised millions in financing to do exactly the same thing. I'm talking about Jolicloud , Netvibes founder and former CEO Tariq Krim 's new company, which has just raised $4.2 million in Series A funding from Atomico Ventures and Mangrove Capital Partners . With the investment, Jolicloud not only gains capital from two of the most widely respected venture capital firms in Europe, Krim also wins two heavyweight entrepeneurs / investors on its board of directors as well as one experienced advisor. Atomico Ventures' Niklas Zennström (of Kazaa, Skype and Joost fame) and Gilles Samoun (current fotopedia CEO) will both take seats on the startup's board, and Michael Jackson - partner at Mangrove Capital Partners and former COO of Skype - will take up the role of advisor.