Nexaweb, a RIA (Rich Internet Application) software company [a.k.a. "Enterprise Web 2.0"], has raised an additional $10M US in its Series B funding round. Investors participating in the round include Egan-Managed Capital, Masthead Venture Partners and Velocity Partners. The company has also announced the appointment of a new CEO - Christian Heidelberger, formerly of ChannelWave Software (press release).

What does this have to do with open source? Nexaweb donated its extensible Ajax platform technology (know as Nexaweb aRex) to the Apache Software Foundation in April 20006, and this is now a project within the Apache Incubator called XAP.

Nexaweb’s $10M US infusion follows recent funding announcements by open source RIA competitors Laszlo Systems for $8M US (press release) and Helmi Technologies for $2.5M US (press release). Laszlo announced its open source strategy almost two years ago, and Helmi is expected to announce a similar move at the upcoming AJAXWorld Conference & Expo.

It can safely be said that RIA, Ajax, and Web 2.0 are synonymous with open source technology. I wonder what that means for Macromedia Adobe Flex and Microsoft Avalon?