Silicon Valley Wire

S.F.-Based Sonific Debuts Free Indie Music Service for Blogs, Web Sites

San Francisco -- San Francisco-based Sonific has announced the public beta launch of its SongSpots service, which provides free, licensed independent music for posting on blogs, social networks and personal web sites. Users can create embedded flash players and post them on MySpace, Xanga, MSN, Blogger, Typepad, Live365 and other sites. Sonific's library of licensed songs comes from providers including Cooking Vinyl/Uploadermusic, CD Baby, Cherry Red Records, Rotator Records, Blue Flame Records and Big Fish Media. The company said that it expects to add major label artists later this year.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060919/sftu008.html?.v=68
http://www.sonific.com

Report: European iPod Owners Not Buying Songs Online

London -- Only 17% of Europeans with iPods regularly buy digital music, with an average of just 20 tracks on their players purchased from stores like Cupertino-based Apple's iTunes, according to a report from market research firm Jupiter Research. The 83% majority reported that ripping songs from their CD collections was the most popular means of filling their digital music players, followed by tracks downloaded from free file-sharing sites. Jupiter projects that European spending on digital music will double in 2006 to $487 million, with the majority of purchases made at Apple's iTunes Store. "The model isn't broken, there's just lots of room for improvement," said Jupiter analyst Mark Mulligan. "Digital music is really underperforming its potential."
http://www.jupiterresearch.com/bin/item.pl/research:concept/83/id=97791
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/5350258.stm

Fremont-Based Solaria Lands $22 Million in Second Round of Funding

Fremont, Calif. -- Solaria, a Fremont-based developer of solar technology, said on Tuesday that it has landed $22 million in its second round of funding. The round included investments from venture capital firms Sigma Partners and NGEN Partners, as well as Q-Cells, a manufacturer of crystalline silicon solar cells, and Moser Baer, a manufacturer of removable optical storage media. Solaria said that its technology platform enables the solar industry to produce two to three times the number of photovoltaic (PV) modules from the same amount of silicon material used in today's conventional modules.
http://www.solaria.com/files/news.html

Hayward-Based Singulex Raises $10.5 Million in Venture, Debt Funding

Hayward, Calif. -- Singulex, the Hayward-based developer of a digital single molecule detection system for life science researchers and clinicians, said on Tuesday that it has raised a total of $10.5 million in new venture and debt financing. The company said that it raised $8 million in its third round of funding, which was led by a new undisclosed investor. Previous investors Fisk Venture and Prolog Ventures also participated. Singular also closed a $1 million financing round from GE Capital and a $1.5 million debt financing from Bridge Bank. In addition, the company said that it has opened a 6,000 square foot commercial operation facility in Hayward, but plans to keep its research and development operations in St. Louis.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060919/latu049.html?.v=69
http://www.singulex.com/

Fremont-Based Deeya Energy Raises First Round of Funding

Fremont, Calif. -- Deeya Energy, a developer of energy storage systems, said that it has raised its first round of funding, which Dow Jones' VentureWire put at $7.5 million. BlueRun Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and DFJ Element participated in the round, which the company plans to use for product development and global market expansion. Deeya is developing electrochemical energy storage systems, which the company said have better charging and discharging performance and are significantly cheaper than standard batteries. The company also said that its "L-Cells" contain environmentally benign materials and are infinitely recyclable.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060918/20060918005405.html?.v=1
http://www.deeyaenergy.com/

San Francisco-Based InterSearch Group Acquires Banks.com Domain

San Francisco -- InterSearch Group, a San Francisco-based provider of Internet search services and operator of industry specific destination portals, said on Tuesday that it has paid an undisclosed amount for the Internet domain www.Banks.com. The company said that the move is part of its strategy to expand its direct navigation business and monetize traffic to its financial services-related domains, including www.irs.com, which is acquired last September. "We expect that www.Banks.com will appeal to our advertising partners in such areas as mortgages, refinancing, credit cards, loans and other premium search terms," said Dan O'Donnell, the chairman and CEO of InterSearch. Thje company said that it continues to explore the availability of attractive domains in other target commerce categories, including travel and recreation.
http://app.quotemedia.com/quotetools/popups/story.jsp

Belgian Court Orders Google to Remove Articles from News Site

Brussels -- Google, the Mountain View Internet search giant, has been ordered by a Belgian court to stop republishing articles from French-language newspapers on its Google News site in that country, Reuters reported. The court ruling also threatened a $1.3 million fine if Google did not comply by Monday. Reuters said that links and summaries of Belgium's La Derniere Heure and Le Soir were still available from Google in Belgium on Monday. "We are asking for Google to pay and seek our authorization to use our content ... Google sells advertising and makes money on our content," Margaret Boribon, general secretary at Copiepress -- a licensing agency for Belgian publications -- told Reuters. The French newswire service Agence France Press sued Google on similar grounds last year, prompting the search giant to remove news articles from the organization from Google News.
http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?view=CN&storyID=2006-09-18T085023Z_01_L18202356_RTRIDST_0_MEDIA-GOOGLE-BELGIUM.XML&rpc=66&type=qcna

ONDCP Becomes First Cabinet-Level Agency to Post Videos on YouTube

San Mateo, Calif. -- Hoping to reach more of America's tech-savvy youth, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) on Tuesday became the first federal cabinet agency to post videos on popular video sharing site YouTube, the San Mateo-based company said. The ONDCP has begun posting videos on the site of anti-drug advertising, national drug policy announcements and other exclusive content. John Walters, the director of ONDCP and President Bus's "Drug Czar," said that the move is an effort by his office to "remain effective communicators in this new information age." Taking advantage of "new media" technology is nothing new for ONDCP. In early 2005, the office launched the first official blog for a cabinet-level agency, and it also posts podcasts of speeches, commentary from public health officials and audio of anti-drug events. 
http://www.youtube.com/ONDCP
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/

Report: Internet Users Migrating to Free AOL More Quickly Than Expected

New York -- A Time Warner executive said on Tuesday that the media giant's strategy to offer AOL's content for free has attracted new users at a faster rate than expected, Reuters reported. Jeffrey Bewkes, Time Warner's COO, told investors that 40% of the service's new users were not previously paying subscribers, adding that AOL's advertising sales have been "very robust." Bewkes also said that former subscribers were adopting AOL's free services more quickly than originally predicted, Reuters reported. The company announced its radical change in strategy in early August, all-but abandoning its dial-up Internet model in an attempt to increase its ad revenue by attracting larger numbers of users.
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/060919/media_timewarner_aol.html?.v=3

Study: Most Consumers Researching Weight Loss Now Turning to Internet

Reston, Va. -- Sixty percent of consumers researching information about weight loss now utilize the Internet, and more than half visit web sites specifically to find information on weight loss drugs, according to a new study by comScore Pharmaceutical Solutions. The trend is driving high volumes of traffic to many weight loss web sites, led by AOL Diet and Fitness, eDiets.com and WeightWatchers.com, which all drew more than 3 million unique visitors during July. ComScore said that more than twice as many people researching weight loss rely on the Internet rather than offline source for weight management tools, such as body fat calculators and calorie counters. 
http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=997

Redwood City-Based PeakStream Raises $17 Million in Second Round

Redwood City, Calif. -- PeakStream, developer of a software application platform for the high-performance computing market, said on Monday that it has secured $17 million in its second round of funding, led by Foundation Capital. Initial investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sequoia Capital also participated. The company said that the new capital will allow it to expedite the introduction of its platform, which it said makes it possible to easily program new high-performance processors, converting them into powerful computing engines.
http://www.peakstreaminc.com/news_events/press_releases/091806b.php

San Francisco-Based MyNewPlace Raises $12 Million in Second Round

San Francisco -- MyNewPlace, a San Francisco-based online apartment marketplace connecting renters and property owners, said on Monday that it has raised $12 million in its second round of funding, co-led by Sutter Hill Ventures and Split Rock Partners. The company's previous investors also participated. The company said that the new capital will help it to expand its database of apartment listings, which currently stands at more than 6 million. It also plans to spend a "significant" amount on online marketing designed to attract renters to its site, which launched in May. My NewPlace was founded by John Helm, who was the founding CEO of AllApartments/SpringStreet, a top apartment rental and relocation site before its sale to Homestore in 1999.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060918/sfm046.html?.v=62
http://www.mynewplace.com/

San Mateo-Based YouTube Strikes Major New Partnership with Warner Music

San Mateo, Calif. -- YouTube, the popular San Mateo-based site that allows people to watch and share original videos, said on Monday that it has signed a major new deal with Warner Music Group. Under the agreement, YouTube will distribute music videos from Warner's roster of artists, as well as behind-the-scenes footage, artist interviews, original programming and other special content. YouTube users also will be able to incorporate music from Warner's catalog into the videos they create and upload onto the site. The two companies will share advertising revenue from both the music videos and user-uploaded content incorporating Warner's audio. Warner's music and other content will launch on the site simultaneously with YouTube's new content identification and royalty reporting system, expected go live by the end of this year.
http://www.youtube.com/press_room_entry?entry=vCfgHo5_Fb4

Oakland-Based Innotas Lands $5.5 Million in First Round

Oakland --  Innotas, an Oakland-based developer of project portfolio management software aimed at mid-sized companies, said on Monday that it has landed $5.5 million in its first round of venture capital. Investors included ComVentures, ArrowPath Venture Partners and Cedar Circle. The company said that it will use the proceeds for product development, with plans to launch new releases online every four to eight weeks.  The company also has named Keith Carlsonas its president and CEO. Carlson previously led software firm Traiana and was a partner at Accenture.
http://www.innotas.com/news/releaseCEOappt.html
http://www.innotas.com/news/releaseUmbrella.html

Los Gatos-Based iWatt Acquires Sunnyvale-Based Simple Silicon

Los Gatos, Calif. -- IWatt, a Los Gatos-based maker of semiconductor and power system products, said on Monday that it has acquired Simple Silicon Inc. (SSI), a Sunnyvale-based designer of analog components for LCD TVs, digital cameras and DVD players. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. As a part of the merger, iWatt will be re-organized into two business units -- Consumer and Custom Products and Computing and Infrastructure Products. Curtis Davis will continue as the president and CEO of iWatt.
http://www.iwatt.com/news/pr/09.18.06.asp

Equinix Lands $150 Million in Loan Commitments for Expansion

Foster City, Calif. -- Equinix, a Foster City-based provider of network-neutral data centers and Internet exchange services, said on Monday that received $150 million in new loan commitments that it will use to fuel expansion. The company said that it plans to use $110 million to begin building its third data center in Chicago, with the remainder going to expand its data center in Washington, DC. Equinix said that the first phase of expansion, which also includes New York, will increase its cabinet capacity by approximately by 20%. "These three new centers complete our current efforts to secure long-term expansion platforms for contiguous growth in our key markets," said Peter Van Camp, the CEO of Equinix.
http://www.equinix.com/press/press/2006/09_18_06.html

HP's Patricia Dunn, Ann Baskins Asked To Testify Before Congressional Committee

Washington, DC -- The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee has requested Patricia Dunn, the departing chair of HP, and Ann Baskins, the general counsel of HP, to testify about tactics used by the company to track down leaks coming from its board of directors. In addition, Ronald DeLia, a private investigator hired by the company, and HP's outside legal counsel Larry Sonsini were also asked to testify. Private detectives working for the company are accused of fraudulently attaining telephone records from HP board members and journalists as part of the investigation. The Energy and Commerce Committee meeting is scheduled for Sept. 28.
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=adZgZRcCQdM0

Freescale Semiconductor Agrees To $17.6 Billion Private Equity Buyout

New York -- In a deal being closely watched throughout the Bay Area, Freescale Semiconductor announced on Friday that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by a private equity consortium in a transaction with a total equity value of $17.6 billion. The consortium is led by The Blackstone Group, and includes The Carlyle Group, Permira Funds and Texas Pacific Group. The board of directors of Freescale has unanimously approved the merger agreement.
http://media.freescale.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=196520&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=905906&highlight=

Foster City-Based SolarCity Raises $10 Million in Funding Round

Foster City, Calif. -- Foster City-based SolarCity, a provider of solar power services, announced this week the completion of a $10 million funding round, led by Elon Musk, the primary investor in Tesla Motors, a new American electric car company. Founded in 2006, SolarCity provides advanced solar power technology and installation services. The company says its offering is aimed at removing the technical, regulatory, and financial barriers to solar power. As part of the funding, Musk will take the position of chairman at SolarCity.
http://www.solarcity.com/seriesa.aspx

SF-Based Monogram Biosciences Files for $37.4 Million Public Stock Offering

South San Francisco -- Monogram Biosciences, a South San Francisco-based developer of drugs for treating serious infectious diseases and cancer, on Friday filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a secondary public offering of stock to raise an estimated $37.4 million. The company said that it plans to sell 26 million shares of common stock at a price of $1.44 a share. In addition to its internal product development programs, Monogram's technology also is being used by other biopharmaceutical companies to develop antiviral therapeutics and vaccines, as well as targeted cancer therapeutics. Monogram had revenue of about $13 million and a loss of about $21 million in the most recent quarter. Shares in the company closed down $0.12 at $1.44 on Friday, a loss of about 8%.
http://sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1094961/000119312506191606/ds3.htm

Extreme Networks Initiates Independent Investigation Into Stock Option Grants

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Joining a growing number of companies, Santa Clara-based Extreme Networks announced that its board of directors has appointed a special committee to review the company's historical practices for stock option grants and the accounting for option grants. The company had earlier received an informal inquiry letter from the SEC requesting documents related to the matter. The company said it is continuing to cooperate fully with the inquiry. As a result of the move, Extreme Networks is delaying the release of its annual report.
http://www.extremenetworks.com/aboutus/pressroom/releases/pr09_15_06.asp

HP Extends Period For Tender Offer For Mercury Interactive

Palo Alto, Calif -- Palo Alto-based HP on Friday extended its previously announced tender offer for all of the common stock of Mercury Interactive until midnight on September 28. The tender offer was previously set to expire at midnight on September 14. As of September 14, HP said approximately 67.8 million shares had been tendered in and not withdrawn from the offer.
http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2006/060915a.html

Adobe to Launch Site for Sharing of Videos, Photos, Flash Content

San Jose, Calif. - Adobe Systems, the developer of Photoshop and distributor of Flash, this week announced details of a forthcoming media-sharing service that will allow users of its desktop publishing software to upload photos, videos and Flash-based media. Set to launch within a month, Photoshop Showcase will be free for up to 1,000 items, $3.99 per month for 5,000 items and $7.99 per month for unlimited storage.
http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/200609/091206PremiereElements.html

S.F.-Based Anthera Pharmaceuticals Raises $36 Million in Funding

San Francisco -- Anthera Pharmaceuticals, a San Francisco-based specialty pharmaceutical company developing drugs to treat serious inflammatory diseases, said that it has raised $36 million in its first institutional round of funding, co-led by VantagePoint Venture Partners and Sofinnova Ventures. Other participants included Pappas Ventures, Mitsubishi International, Sears Capital Management and SIM Equity. The company said that it will use the proceeds to initiate the clinical development of its portfolio of anti-inflammatory compounds licensed from Eli Lilly and Shionogi & Co. Anthera plans to launch clinical studies later this year for its lead compound -- an early intervention therapy for acute chest syndrome in patients with underlying sickle cell disease.
http://www.anthera.com/sept132006.html

Moffett Field-Based Tibion Raises $3.5 Million in First Round

Moffett Field, Calif. -- Tibion, a developer of active orthotic devices based on bionic technologies, said on Thursday that it has raised $3.5 million in the initial closing of its first round of funding. The round was led by Claremont Creek Ventures with participation from Saratoga Ventures. Tibion said that it plans to use the new capital to accelerate development activities of its bionic devices, notably its PowerKnee. The company's devices use sensor-driven, actuator technologies and embedded computer systems to help those with loss of muscle function due to disease, injury, aging or surgery.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060914/20060914005326.html?.v=1
http://www.tibion.com/

Menlo Park-Based Venrock Hires Two Venture Partners; Promotes Two Others

Menlo Park, Calif. -- Venrock Associates, a Menlo Park-based venture capital firm focused on early stage investing, said on Thursday that it has hired Bill Rastetter and David Molowa as venture partners in its Menlo Park and New York offices, respectively. Rastetter most recently served as the executive chairman of Biogen Idec, and previously joined Idec Pharmaceuticals at its founding, serving as president and CEO from 1986-2003. Molowa previously was the managing director at UBS Securities in New York where he oversaw research in life science equities. Prior to that, he also directed similar research at JP Morgan Securities and at Bear Stearns & Co. The firm also announced the promotion of Bryan Roberts to managing general partner and Brian Ascher to general partner. Both are based in Venrock's Menlo Park office.
http://www.venrock.com/news_inthepress.html

Mountain View-Based Intuit Acquires San Francisco's StepUp Commerce

Mountain View, Calif. -- Intuit, the Mountain View-based developer of business and financial management software such as Quicken and TurboTax, said on Wednesday that it has acquired StepUp Commerce, a San Francisco-based provider of services designed to help local businesses convert online shoppers into in-store customers. Under the deal, Intuit paid $60 million in cash for StepUp and the company's subsidiary, JGSI. Intuit said that it plans to use StepUp's technology to power a new service designed to help local businesses attract buyers to their shops by making their product information and images available online through entities such as Google. StepUp will deliver its services under the QuickBooks brand and continue to be based in San Francisco.
http://web.intuit.com/about_intuit/press_releases/2006/09-13.html

San Mateo-Based Sonim Technologies Raises $8.3 Million in Funding

San Mateo, Calif. -- Sonim Technologies, a developer of Internet telephone applications for mobile data networks, said on Wednesday that it has landed $8.3 million in a new round of funding led by Siar Capital. Previous investors 3i, Accel Partners, Apax Partners and BV Capital also participated. The funding comes as the company recently completed the industry's first commercial implementation of the new technological standard for push-to-talk interoperability. Sonim said that it plans to use the capital to support upcoming deployments of its technology.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060913/20060913005993.html?.v=1
http://www.sonimtech.com/

San Mateo-Based Vyatta Raises $7.5 Million in First Round

San Mateo, Calif. -- Vyatta, a San Mateo-based maker of open-source networking products, said on Wednesday that it has received $7.5 million in its first round of financing from JPMorgan Partners, ComVentures and ArrowPath Venture Partners. The company said that it will use the proceeds to support product development, sales and marketing activities. Introduced in July, Vyatta's open router platform is downloadable for free from the company's web site, with support and maintenance available on a subscription basis.
http://www.vyatta.com/press/pressreleases.php?id=21

Palo Alto-Based Facebook to Open Membership to Anyone

Palo Alto, Calif. -- Palo Alto-based Facebook, the second-largest online social network with 9.5 million members, has announced plans to open its network beyond college and high school students to anyone interested in joining. The company launched in 2004 as an exclusive network for college students with .edu email addresses. It has since expanded to include high school students and employees at some large companies. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told The New York Times that the company needed to expand its membership to account for aging members. "We have two years of alums already, and more than one-third of the people using the site are not in college any more," Zuckerberg told The Times. "If we make it so other young people can use the site, it strengthens the experience for everybody." The relaxing of membership restrictions will allow the company to gain on market leader MySpace, which claims over 100 million members.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/12/technology/12online.html
http://www.facebook.com

San Jose-Based Cisco Completes Acquisition of Arroyo Video Solutions

San Jose, Calif. -- Cisco Systems, the San Jose-based networking equipment giant, said on Wednesday that it has completed its $92 million cash acquisition of Pleasanton-based Arroyo Video Solutions, developer of a platform for on-demand television and related consumer services. Cisco said that it has now integrated Arroyo's products into its Cable & Video Initiatives Group. Arroyo has 44 employees, including Drew Major, an original founder of Novell, and Paul Sherer, the former CTO at 3Com.
http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2006/prod_091306b.html

Seeking Alpha Raises Funding from Menlo Park-Based Benchmark Capital

Menlo Park, Calif. -- Seeking Alpha, a New York-based, online publisher of stock market opinion and analysis, said that it has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Benchmark Capital, a Menlo Park-based venture capital firm. Seeking Alpha provides investors with a system for managing stock market blogs and online financial content. It also is designed to allow editors to verify the quality of the online source and content, edit articles for consistency, tag them by stock ticker, sector or theme for easy access, and fill coverage gaps with copyrighted content.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060912/sftu118.html?.v=53

Santa Clara-Based Nvidia Gets Nasdaq Delisting Notice

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Graphics chipmaker Nvidia, a Santa Clara-based maker of graphics chips, said that it has received notice from the Nasdaq that its shares are not in compliance with market rules, due to the delayed filing of its quarterly report. The company is currently conducting an internal review of its stock options granting practices dating to 1999, and has received a request from the SEC for related information. The SEC is currently investigating over 80 technology firms' stock options grants, to determine if companies adjusted the date on which grants were issued to increase their values for employees. Nvidia said its shares will remain listed on the exchange pending a hearing with the Nasdaq.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060912/sftu119.html?.v=56
http://www.nvidia.com

Venture-Backed Valuations Hit Highest Quarterly Level Since 2000

San Francisco -- The median pre-money valuation of U.S. venture-backed companies -- the values ascribed to businesses prior to funding rounds -- hit the highest point in more than five years, reaching $23 million during the second quarter, according to a new report from San Francisco-based Dow Jones VentureOne. The figure hasn’t been as high since the fourth quarter of 2000. The amount represents a $7 million jump in valuations from the previous year, something VentureOne credits to the significant values of second- and later-stage deals in health care and key information technology segments. "The increased opportunity for successful exits is clearly playing a role in the value of these companies," said Steve Harmston, the director of global research at VentureOne "Venture capital firms tend to assign higher valuations to their portfolio companies when they see an active liquidity market."
http://venturecapital.dowjones.com/press/releases.html

Report: Mobile TV Audience Rose 45% in Second Quarter

San Francisco -- The audience for mobile TV grew 45% to 3.7 million subscribers during the second quarter, with revenue two-thirds higher than just a quarter before, according to a new report from San Francisco-based market research firm Telephia. ABC News was the most-watched mobile TV channel during the period, with 40% of the total audience, followed by The Weather Channel (32%), Fox Sports (31%) and ESPN (29%). "While still in its nascent stages, mobile TV shows significant and unique promise given the ability of the consumer to shift viewing from location to location," said Telephia's Tamara Gaffney. "As seen with ABC News, Fox Sports and The Weather Channel, securing the widest distribution and coverage remains a primary objective."
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060911/20060911005416.html?.v=1
http://www.telephia.com

Patricia Dunn to Resign as HP Chairman; CEO Mark Hurd to Assume Role

Palo Alto, Calif. -- With questions continuing to swirl over investigative techniques used to track down the source of an internal leak, Patricia Dunn, the chairman of Palo Alto-based Hewlett-Packard, said on Tuesday that she will step down after the company's Jan. 18 board meeting. Mark Hurd, the company's president and CEO, will succeed her and retain his existing positions. Dunn will continue to serve as a director. California's attorney general is looking into whether investigators working for HP broke state laws by lying to obtain the phone records of nine reporters as they tried to locate the source of internal news leaks. "Unfortunately, the investigation, which was conducted with third parties, included certain inappropriate techniques," said Dunn. "These went beyond what we understood them to be, and I apologize that they were employed." HP's board reportedly held a special phone meeting last weekend to discuss the situation
http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2006/060912a.html

Pleasanton-Based Bivio Networks Lands $8.5 Million in Funding

Pleasanton, Calif. -- Bivio Networks, a Pleasanton-based developer of high-speed network appliance platforms, said on Tuesday that it has secured $8.5 million in venture capital funding. Silver Creek Ventures led the round, which also included participation from previous investors InterWest Partners, Storm Ventures, Venrock Associates and Goldman Sachs. Bivio said that it will use the funding to accelerate its sales, marketing and business development plans. Bivio's flagship network appliance is a programmable network device that combines a hardware architecture with a software platform.
http://www.bivio.net/news_releases/091206-funding.htm

Cupertino-Based Apple Unveiled New iPods, New Offerings on iTunes

Cupertino, Calif. -- Cupertino-based Apple on Tuesday unveiled new models of its mega-popular iPod digital entertainment devices, and announced that its iTunes store will begin selling movie and game downloads. The company said that its fifth-generation iPod, which starts at $249, features a screen that is 60% brighter than previous models, as well as seamless integration with iTunes. A new version of the iPod Shuffle has been reduced to half a cubic inch in volume, and retails for $79, while a new version of the iPod nano features 24 hours of battery life and more than twice the music capacity for the same price as the previous generation. Apple also said that owners of its video iPods will be able to purchase movies from iTunes, with new titles going for $14.99 and older ones for $9.99. Video games will cost $4.99.
http://www.apple.com/hotnews/

Los Gatos-Based LiveWorld Raises $2 Million in New Funding

Los Gatos, Calif. -- LiveWorld, a Los Gatos-based provider of online customer community marketing services, said on Tuesday that it has raised $2 million in a new round of funding, led by WPP. Other participants included Abundance Partners, several partners of Allegis Capital and several partners of DragonBridge. Peter Friedman, the chairman and CEO of LiveWorld, said that the additional cash "strengthens our balance sheet and positions us to further invest to support expected growth." The company provides online customer communities and social networking for large companies.
http://www.liveworld.com/news/press/09.12.06.html

Mountain View-Based VeriSign to Team with News Corp. on Major Joint Venture

Mountain View, Calif. -- Media and entertainment giant News Corp. said on Tuesday that it has partnered with Mountain View-based VeriSign to create a mobile entertainment joint venture. Under the deal, News Corp. will pay approximately $188 million for a controlling interest in VeriSign's Jamba mobile entertainment delivery unit, then combine it with the assets of Fox Mobile Entertainment. The new company will produce and deliver mobile content for a potential of more than a billion subscribers. The new company will retain the Jamster brand in the U.S. and the Jamba brand elsewhere. Lucy Hood, formerly the president of Fox Mobile Entertainment, will become the CEO of the joint venture. The new company will immediately become the largest customer for VeriSign's Digital Content Services (DCS) group, which provides intelligent infrastructure and connectivity for the delivery of rich content over mobile and broadband networks.
http://www.verisign.com/press_releases/pr/page_039249.html

Group Led by Francisco Partners to Acquire Metrologic for $420 Million

Menlo Park, Calif. -- A group of investors led by Menlo Park-based Francisco Partners has agreed to acquire Metrologic Instruments, a New Jersey-based maker of data capture and collection hardware, for $420 million, the company said on Tuesday. Harry Knowles, the founder and CEO of Metrologic, and Elliott Associates, a hedge fund, are also investing in the deal. The transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2006.
http://www.metrologic.com/corporate/press_rel/general/mpr091206.htm

Report: U.S. Game Sales Up 17.5% in August, as EA's "Madden" Dominates

Port Washington, N.Y. -- In a continuation of a recent upward trend that could mark the end of the "console transition," U.S. video game sales again rose 17.5% in August to $397 million, according to sales data compiled by market research firm NPD Group. The most popular game at retail across all consoles was, not surprisingly, Redwood City-based Electronic Arts' newly released "Madden NFL 07." Sales of video games for current-generation consoles were $249 million -- a decline of $56 million -- while sales of games for next-generation consoles and handheld devices totaled $140 million. "We think that this month's sales figures mark an end to the downward trend that started in front of the Xbox 360 launch last November," Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter wrote in a research note.
http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=13755
http://www.thestreet.com/pf/newsanalysis/techgames/10308023.html

MobiTV to Test WiMAX-based Mobile TV Service

Emeryville, Calif. -- MobiTV, an Emeryville-based developer of mobile TV delivery technology and services, said that it will demonstrate live high-definition TV delivered over a pre-mobile WiMAX network this week at the CTIA conference in Los Angeles. The test will serve as a preview of the company's forthcoming trial of mobile TV over a WiMAX network spanning a number of Northern California cities. MobiTV added that it has joined the WiMAX Forum, and will help develop mobile TV delivery technology for the emerging standard.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060911/sfm047.html?.v=61
http://www.mobitv.com

Sunnyvale-Based Cortina Raises $132 Million, Acquires Intel Business

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Cortina Systems, a developer of analog and digital communications chips, said on Monday that it has raised $132 million in a new round of funding and acquired Santa Clara-based Intel's optical network components business for $115 million in cash and stock. The funding round was led by new investor Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), and also included previous investors Canaan Partners and Morgenthaler Ventures and additional new investors Alloy Ventures, Bridgescale Partners, Doll Capital Management and Sofinnova Ventures. Cortina called the acquisition a "major step forward" in its quest to become the leading maker of components for the infrastructure routing, transport and enterprise markets. As part of the deal, the company will add an undisclosed number of key Intel employees, as well as new facilities in Folsom, Calif.; Raleigh, N.C. and Asia.
http://www.cortina-systems.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=69&Itemid=2

webMethods to Acquire Cupertino-Based Infravio for $38 Million

Cupertino, Calif. -- WebMethods, a Virginia-based maker of business integration and optimization software, said on Monday that it has signed a deal to acquire Infravio, a Cupertino-based provider of service-oriented architecture (SOA) registry and governance software, for approximately $38 million in cash. The deal is expected to close later this month. Infravio's flagship product allows organizations to deliver software as a service and business services both internally and to customers, suppliers and partners. webMethods said that it plans to integrate Infravio's software with its own by later this year. Infravio has about 65 employees, including 50 developers in its development facility in India. 
http://www.webmethods.com/News/PressReleases/Details?pressReleaseDetails_param0=6947&hiddenRequest=true

Sunnyvale-Based Blue Coat Completes Acquisition of NetApp Business

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Blue Coat Systems, a Sunnyvale-based maker of appliances and software used in content and application delivery, said on Monday that it has completed its $30.3 million acquisition of the NetCache content delivery business of Sunnyvale-based Network Appliance (NetApp). The deal, first announced in June, included approximately $23.9 million in cash and 360,000 shares of Blue Coat stock. NetCache employees will either be offered positions at Blue Coat Systems or will be deployed on other development programs or in new roles within NetApp.
http://www.netapp.com/news/press/news_rel_20060911

Fremont-Based Synnex Says Subsidiary to Acquire Concentrix

Fremont, Calif. -- Synnex, a provider of information technology supply chain services, said on Monday that its BSA Sales subsidiary has signed a deal to acquire New York-based Concentrix, a provider of call center, database analysis and print on demand services. Financial terms were not disclosed. Synnex said that it plans to integrate the Concentrix and BSA operations under the Concentrix name, expanding its slate of marketing services.  Concentrix booked about $15 million in revenue last year.
http://www.synnex.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060911/20060911005837.html?.v=1

Milpitas-Based Rackable Systems Completes Acquisition of Terrascale

Milpitas, Calif. -- Rackable Systems, a Milpitas-based provider of servers and storage products for data centers, said on Monday that it has completed its $38 million cash acquisition of Terrascale Technologies, a Montreal-based developer of clustered storage systems. Rackable also has the option to pay an additional $9 million to retain the rights to a technology known as Distributed Parity Engine (DPE). Terrascale's systems are designed to eliminate the performance bottlenecks inherent with legacy network attached storage architectures.
http://www.rackable.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060911/20060911005789.html?.v=1

Alameda-Based Advanced Cell Technology Raises $13 Million

Alameda, Calif. -- Advanced Cell Technology, an Alameda-based biotechnology company, said on Friday that it has raised $13 million in two separate financing deals. The company raised $8.75 million in convertible debt from a group of existing investors and about $4.3 million in an exercise of stock warrants. ACT said that the proceeds will allow it to continue developing its technology platforms, including a recently announced technique to generate human embryonic stem cells while preserving the donor embryo's potential for continued development.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060908/20060908005192.html?.v=1
http://www.advancedcell.com/

WSJ: HP Chairman Says She'll Resign if Asked Following Leak Scandal

Palo Alto, Calif. -- In her first public comments since news of an alleged phone snooping scandal broke earlier this week, Patricia Dunn, the chairman of Palo Alto-based Hewlett-Packard, told The Wall Street Journal on Friday that she will resign if asked by her fellow directors. "I serve entirely at the pleasure of the board,'' said Dunn. "If they determine it no longer is in the interest of shareholders" to remain chairman or a director, "I will do so.'' HP's board reportedly will hold a special phone meeting this weekend to discuss the situation. California's attorney general is looking into whether investigators working for HP broke state laws by allegedly lying to obtain the phone records of nine reporters in the midst of trying to track down the source of internal news leaks. Dunn told the Journal that she was "appalled" to learn about the investigators' tactics.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115773006173257658.html?mod=technology_main_whats_news (subscription required)