Silicon Valley Wire

Mountain View-Based Google Nearly Triples Quarterly Profit

Mountain View, Calif. -- In what has become a quarterly ritual, Mountain View-based Google on Wednesday again surpassed analyst expectations by posting a fourth quarter profit that nearly tripled its figure from a year ago. Buoyed by improved market share in its web search and online advertising programs, the company said that it recorded net income of $1.03 billion, up from $372.2 million during the same period in 2005. Its earnings per share of $3.18 easily beat consensus Wall Street estimates of $2.92, according to a survey conducted by Thomson Financial. Google has now topped analysts' expectations in nine of its 10 quarters as a public company.  Google also said that its revenue was $3.2 billion, up 67%.
http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/pressrel/revenues_q406.html

San Jose-Based Tessera Technologies to Acquire Eyesquad

San Jose, Calif. -- Tessera Technologies, a San Jose-based developer of miniaturization technologies for the electronics industry, said on Wednesday that it will pay $18 million in cash to acquire Eyesquad, an Israeli developer of digital auto-focus and optical zoom technologies for camera phones and other electronic products that integrate cameras. Bruce McWilliams, Tessera's chairman and CEO, said that the acquisition will allow his company to continue expanding through investments in the "rapidly growing" consumer optics market. The company said that it is planning to license its auto-focus and optical zoom technology "broadly," deriving revenue from licensing fees, royalties and product development services.
http://www.tessera.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070131/20070131005415.html?.v=1

Michael Dell Takes Over as CEO of Dell; Kevin Rollins Resigns

Round Rock, Texas -- Computer giant Dell, a major rival of Palo Alto-based Hewlett-Packard, said on Wednesday that founder Michael Dell will assume the role of CEO, replacing Kevin Rollins,. who has resigned. Dell also will retain his duties as chairman of the board. "There is no better person in the world to run Dell at this time than the man who created" the company, said Samuel Nunn, the presiding director of Dell's board. Dell founded the company in 1984 and previously served as its CEO until 2004. The move comes as Dell said that its fourth quarter financial results will fall below Wall Street estimates for both revenue and earnings per share.
http://www.dell.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070131/20070131006178.html?.v=1

San Francisco-Based Vizu Raises $2.9 Million in New Funding

San Francisco -- Vizu, a San Francisco-based developer of online polling and market research services, said on Wednesday that it has secured $2.9 million in a new round of funding, led by Draper Fisher Jurvetson's $1.5 million investment. The company said that it will use the capital to further develop and market its core Vizu Answers service, which allows companies to conduct do-it-yourself opninion polling and market research. Vizu was launched in 2005, backed by WR Hambrecht, Amicus and angel investors.
http://answers.vizu.com/press-release/20070131.htm

Bill Would Help Social Networks Block Sex Offender Emails, IM Names

Washington, DC -- New legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives could make it harder for sex offenders to stalk their pray over the Internet. The bill, sponsored by North Dakota Democrat Earl Pomeroy, would allow social networking sites to ban the email addresses and IM screen names of registered sex offenders, CNET News.com reported. The Keeping the Internet Devoid of Sexual Predators (KIDS) Act would require convicted sex offenders to provide the government with their email addresses and screen names, in addition to their home addresses, license plate numbers, DNA samples and fingerprints. News.com said that a similar bill has been drafted in the Senate by aides to Senators Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.).
http://news.com.com/Proposal+requires+sex+offenders+to+list+e-mail%2C+IM/2100-1028_3-6154493.html
http://www.pomeroy.house.gov   

Global Imaging Acquires Livermore-Based Astro Business Technologies

Livermore, Calif. -- Continuing its long run of acquisitions, Global Imaging Systems, a Florida-based retailer of office technology products, said that it has bought Astro Business Technologies, a Livermore-based supplier of Konica Minolta, Muratec and Panasonic office technology products. Astro has annual revenue of about $11 million. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Global Imaging currently has operations in 32 states and the District of Columbia
http://www.global-imaging.com/PressRoom/PressRoomDisplay.asp?p1=1640&p2=Y&E=N

Survey: One-Third of Frequent YouTube Users Watching Less TV

Mountain View, Calif. -- A third of frequent visitors to the YouTube video-sharing site say they watch less TV as a result of their online video habit, according to a recent survey conducted by Harris Interactive. Forty-two percent of U.S. online adults say that they have watched a video on YouTube, with 14% saying that they visit the site frequently. Of these, about a third say that they are watching less TV as a result of the time they spend on the site. "[YouTube] has really emerged as a major force in, and problem for, the traditional entertainment industry," said Aongus Burke, Harris' senior research manager. "Not only is YouTube using a lot of their own content to steal the eyeballs they want the most, the site has provided a launching pad to wholly new forms of user-generated video entertainment that are gaining popularity quickly."
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070129/nym197.html?.v=64
http://www.harrisinteractive.com

Report: Super Bowl Advertisers Can Expect Surge in Web Traffic

New York -- With the Super Bowl set for Sunday, advertisers can expect huge bumps in their online traffic, according to a report from Nielsen//NetRatings. The firm said that Super Bowl advertisers last year saw a 55% increase in their web traffic on the day after the game. Fidelity Investments was the fastest growing web site, with traffic increasing 203%, with Overstock.com and Expedia following closely behind. Notable Super Bowl advertisers from the tech sector this year will include GPS device maker Garmin, Hewlett-Packard, Sprint, SalesGenie and Go Daddy.
http://www.superbowl-ads.com/2007/index.html
http://www.nielsen.com/media/pr_070131.html

Campbell-Based Anchor Bay Technologies Lands $10 Million in Funding

Campbell, Calif. -- Anchor Bay Technologies, a Campbell-based developer of digital semiconductor and system-level technologies used in digital TVs and high-definition video products, said that it has raised $10 million in a new round of funding, led by new investor Atlantic Quantum. Previous investors Storm Ventures and Venrock Associates also participated. "This new financing allows us to meet our working capital needs as we expand our business," said Craig Soderquist, the CEO at Anchor Bay. Anchor Bay Technologies was started by the former founding team of home theater technology firm DVDO Inc. In 2003, Anchor Bay reacquired the DVDO brand and product line from Silicon Image, and more recently has scored design wins from companies such as Denon and Marantz.
http://www.anchorbaytech.com

San Jose-Based Cypress to Sell Silicon Valley Technology Center

San Jose, Calif. -- Cypress Semiconductor, a San Jose-based maker of semiconductor products, said on Tuesday that it will sell its Silicon Valley Technology Center (SVTC) business to private equity firms Oak Hill Capital Partners and Tallwood Venture Capital for approximately $53 million in cash. The deal is expected to close by early March. As part of the sale, Cypress said that it will transfer all of the business's equipment, process technologies and personnel to the buyer. SVTC allows clients to more cost-effectively develop their silicon-based technologies by giving them access to its fab environment and semiconductor toolset. Cypress began selling access to its San Jose R&D foundry in 2000 and formally introduced it as SVTC in 2004. T.J. Rodgers, the president and CEO of Cypress, said that the company's recent shift in focus to a new mix of programmable products made the business expendable. Cypress will remain a customer of SVTC. .
http://www.cypress.com/portal/server.pt?space=CommunityPage&control=SetCommunity&CommunityID=208&PageID=218&DirectoryID=816853

Redwood City-Based Obopay Acquires Seattle-Based BillMonk

Redwood City, Calif. -- Obopay, a Redwood City-based provider of mobile payment services, said on Tuesday that it has acquired Seattle-based BillMonk, a developer of "social money" services designed to help friends, roommates, family members and co-workers more easily share expenses. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. In connection with the acquisition, BillMonk said that it is introducing a new payment method that allows users to settle up instantly using Obopay's mobile payments service. The companies said that they plan to unveil new features to both services in the months ahead.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070130/sftu129.html?.v=60
https://www.obopay.com/consumer/Corporate.do?target=PressReleasePage

Mountain View-Based Zing Systems Raises $13 Million in New Funding Round

Mountain View, Calif. -- Zing Systems, a Mountain View-based developer of portable digital audio and entertainment technology, said on Tuesday that it has raised $13 million in a new round of funding led by IDG Ventures Boston. Redpoint Ventures, which led the company's previous financing rounds, and Camp Ventures also participated. Zing is working in partnership with companies such as Sirius Satellite Radio and SanDisk to create a new line of portable entertainment players that will be able to wirelessly download content without the need for a PC. The first products based on the company's technology engine, a line of wearable satellite radio players, debuted last fall.
http://www.zing.net/press_013007.html

Report: U.S. Venture Capital Fundraising Slows in Fourth Quarter

San Francisco -- During the fourth quarter, U.S. venture capital firms raised their lowest amount of VC since the first quarter of 2005, according to new figures from Dow Jones VentureOne. Twenty-one funds raised $4.01 billion during the quarter, a decline of 51% in capital from the same period in 2005. Despite the slowdown, the firms raised virtually the same amount in 2006 as they did the prior year, only in about 30% fewer funds. For the past two years, in fact, VentureOne said that the median fund size has topped $200 million, the highest medians on record. "It remains to be seen whether the slowdown in 4Q will prove to be a sign of a curtailment of that trend, or just a short-term pause for venture capital funds," said Stephen Harmston, the director of global research for VentureOne. "What is true is that venture capital funds in 2005 and 2006 have kept a very close pace with the amount of investment that is occurring."
http://www.ventureone.com/

Cupertino-Based Symantec to Pay $830 Million for Utah-Based Altiris

Cupertino, Calif. -- Symantec, the Cupertino-based maker of Internet security software, said on Monday that it has agreed to pay $830 million in cash to acquire Altiris, a Utah-based maker of IT management software for businesses. Symantec said that the deal, expected to close by mid-year, will make it better able to help clients manage and enforce security policies at network endpoints,  as well as protect against threats and repair and service assets. Altiris' software is aimed at reducing the cost and complexity of tracking and maintaining an organization's corporate IT assets, including desktops, laptops, servers and handheld devices.
http://www.symantec.com/about/news/release/article.jsp?prid=20070129_02

MDS to Acquire Sunnyvale-Based Molecular Devices for $615 Million

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- MDS, a Toronto-based life sciences firm, said on Monday that it will acquire Sunnyvale-based Molecular Devices Corp., a maker of measurement tools for high content screening, cellular analysis and biochemical testing, for $615 million in cash. MDS said that it will launch a $35.50 a share cash tender offer for Molecular's stock. The deal has been approved by the boards of both companies. Molecular Devices has an installed base of 100,000 instruments, and markets its products globally through its sales and marketing offices in the U.S., England, Germany, South Korea, China, Japan, Australia and Brazil. The company supplies systems, reagents and software to researchers to accelerate the pace of drug discovery and development. As a result of the acquisition, MDS said that it will create a new business unit that will combine the Molecular Devices and MDS Sciex businesses. The combined organization will have more than 1,100 employees with over 250 scientists and engineers.
http://newsreleases.mdsinc.com/ireye/ir_site.zhtml?ticker=MDS.TO&script=410&layout=6&item

Santa Clara-Based Silver Peak Systems Raises $17 Million in Third Round

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Silver Peak Systems, a Santa Clara-based maker of wide area network (WAN) acceleration appliances, said on Monday that it has landed $17 million in its third round of funding, led by Artis Capital Management. Previous investors Benchmark Capital, Duff Ackerman and Goodrich, Greylock Partners and Pinnacle Ventures also participated in the round, which raised the company's total funding to $42 million. Silver Peak, which said that its products can improve disaster recovery in data centers and reduce "server sprawl" in branch and remote offices, said that it will use a portion of the new capital to grow its sales and support infrastructure.
http://www.silver-peak.com/News/01242007_Series_C_funding.htm id=955000

Santa Clara-Based Athena Design Systems Raises $4 Million in Second Round

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Athena Design Systems, a Santa Clara-based electronic design automation (EDA) start-up, said on Monday that it has secured an additional $4 million in its second round of funding. New investors PhillipCapital and NTT Finance joined previous investors Woodside Fund, Asset Management Co. and Draper Richards in the round, which increased the company's total backing to $8.2 million since its founding in 2004. Athena said that it will use the new capital to roll out its first products, which are based on optimization technology for designing complex chips.
http://www.athenadesign.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070129/20070129005113.html?.v=1

San Francisco-Based Pay By Touch Names E-Loan Veteran as CMO

San Francisco -- Pay By Touch, a San Francisco-based developer of biometric authentication and payment technologies, on Monday named Catherine Muriel as its CMO. Muriel has more than 15 years of experience in consumer marketing, most recently as the CMO of online consumer lender E-Loan. Earlier in her career, she was the CMO of Upromise, and served in executive roles at AXA Financial, Prudential Financial and Citigroup's credit card division.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070129/sfm116.html?.v=54
http://www.paybytouch.com

Survey: Google is Top Global Brand, Besting Apple, YouTube, Wikipedia

Mountain View, Calif. -- For the second straight year, Google has been named the brand with the most global impact, according to a new survey by BrandChannel, Google beat out Apple, YouTube, Wikipedia and Starbucks. The survey asked 3,625 branding professionals and students the question, "Which brand had the most impact our lives in 2006?" In a separate survey of the top brands in the U.S. and Canada, Apple took the top spot, followed by YouTube, Google, Starbucks and Wikipedia.
http://www.brandchannel.com/start1.asp?fa_id=352

MRV Communications to Acquire Santa Clara-Based Fiberxon for $131 Million

Santa Clara, Calif. -- In a deal creating one of the largest manufacturers of optical transceivers for telecommunications networks, MRV Communications, a Chatsworth-based provider of network equipment and services, said on Friday that it has struck a deal to acquire Santa Clara-based Fiberxon, a supplier of transceivers, for $131 million in cash and stock. Following the completion of the deal, MRV said that it will combine Fiberxon with Luminent subsidiary, which also makes transceivers. MRV also announced plans on Friday to take Luminent public through an IPO. Fiberxon has more than 700 employees, including over 170 engineers, and is expected to post 2006 revenue of $45-$48 million. The combined company, with headquarters in Chatsworth, will have over 1,300 employees based in facilities in the U.S., mainland China and Taiwan.
http://www.mrv.com/newsroom/pr/pr-view.php/225

Menlo Park-Based Mayfield Launches $200 Million Fund Targeting China

Menlo Park, Calif. -- Mayfield Fund, a Menlo Park-based venture capital firm focused on technology, said on Friday that it has raised a new $200 million fund dedicated to investing in China. The fund, known as GSR Ventures II, was formed in partnership with GSR Ventures, which has made 11 investments in China with Mayfield over the past two years. Kevin Fong, a long-time managing director at Mayfield, will serve as a managing director of the new fund, with James Beck serving as CFO. The fund will target investments in the semiconductor, wireless and Internet media sectors, with representative offices in Menlo Park and Beijing.
http://www.mayfield.com/index.php/news.html?sid=
http://www.mayfield.com/newsarticles/2007-01-26-chinafundrelease.pdf (PDF)

France, Germany Join Scandinavian Groups in Effort Against iTunes

Cupertino, Calif. -- French and German consumer groups have joined an effort by the Scandinavian countries to pressure Cupertino-based Apple into allowing customers to purchase, download and play tracks from iTunes on devices other than iPods. Consumer groups in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden launched the effort in June, charging that Apple was violating contract and copyright laws in those countries. Now, French consumer lobby UFC-Que Choisir and its German counterpart, Verbraucher, have joined the movement, according to the Associated Press, with other European countries considering a similar move. "Apple is aware of the concerns we've heard from several agencies in Europe and we're looking forward to resolving these issues as quickly as possible," said an Apple spokesman.
http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=18098&ch=biztech
http://forbrukerportalen.no/Artikler/2006/1149587055.44
http://news.yahoo.com/s/zd/20070124/tc_zd/199429

Fox Subpoenas Google's YouTube for Identity of TV Show Uploader

Mountain View, Calif. -- Fox has served Mountain View-based Google's YouTube video-sharing service a subpoena demanding the identity of a user who uploaded episodes of the network's "24" and "The Simpsons." First reported by Google Watch, the subpoena was granted by a U.S. District Court judge for the Northern District of California. The YouTube user in question, "ECOtotal," uploaded episodes of "24" before their actual broadcast premieres. The person's account has been suspended by YouTube. Fox also served a similar subpoena to LiveDigital, another video-sharing site.
http://googlewatch.eweek.com/index.html
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=ECOtotal   

Alliance Semiconductor Completes Sale of Venture Portfolio

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Alliance Semiconductor, a former Santa Clara-based maker of chip and memory products, said on Friday that it has completed the sale of a portfolio of venture securities held by five Alliance investment partnerships to Saratoga-based QTV Capital for $123.6 million in cash. Alliance, which sold off its operating businesses last year, first announced plans for the deal in December.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070126/20070126005138.html?.v=1

Mountain View-Based Google Says YouTube to Remain Separate

Mountain View, Calif. -- Two months after closing its blockbuster acquisition of San Mateo-based YouTube, Mountain View-based Google said on Thursday that it plans to continue operating the popular video sharing site as a separate business, while also integrating it somewhat with its Google Video site. Beginning Thursday, users of Google Video will find search results that include YouTube videos, and will be taken directly to the videos by pressing a thumbnail. Over time, Google Video said that it expects to evolve into a service that lets users search for all videos, irrespective of where they are hosted. "YouTube… will continue to operate separately," Google wrote in its official blog. "Google will support YouTube by providing access to search and monetization platforms and, when/where YouTube launches internationally, to international resources."
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/01/look-ahead-at-google-video-and-youtube.html 

Petaluma-Based Oculus Raises $24 Million in Initial Public Offering

Petaluma, Calif. -- Oculus Innovative Sciences, a Petaluma-based medical technology firm, on Thursday raised about $24 million in its initial public offering (IPO). The company sold just over 3 million shares for $8 each, the low end of its expected range. It had initially expected to price between $12-$14, but later lowered that range to $8-$10. Shares of the company, trading on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol "OCLS," fell 2.5% on their first day of trading. Oculus makes a family of products designed to help prevent and treat wound infections.
http://www.oculusis.com/us/news/pressreleases/pricing012407.html

Redwood City-Based Gynesonics Raises $16.5 Million in Second Round

Redwood City, Calif. -- Gynesonics, a Redwood City-based developer of a minimally invasive device to treat uterine fibroid tumors, said that it has raised $16.5 million in its second round of funding, led by Advanced Technology Ventures. InterWest Partners and Abingworth Management also participated. "These funds will allow us to complete our product development and begin our U.S. FDA clinical trial later this year," said Jessica Grossman, the president and founder of Gynesonics. The company's disposable, hand-held device combines ultrasound imaging with radiofrequency energy, allowing gynecologists to identify fibroids and destroy tumors.
http://www.gynesonics.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070124/20070124005256.html?.v=1   

ND Systems Changes Name, Moves from Morgan Hill to San Jose

San Jose, Calif. -- ND Systems (NDS), a maker of surgical and medical visualization equipment, said on Thursday that it has changed its name to NDS Surgical Imaging. The company also said that it has moved from Morgan Hill to a 73,000-square-foot facility in San Jose, tripling its space. The company's product portfolio helps address the healthcare industry's growing imaging needs in the surgical, interventional and radiology markets.
http://www.ndssi.com/about/press-releases/2007/01/nds-name-change.html

Report: Movie File-Sharing on the Rise Among Americans

Toronto -- Twenty million Americans downloaded a movie off the Internet in the past month, according to new figures from market research firm Solutions Research Group. The firm said that  80% of those downloading say that they only use file-sharing sites -- a figure that doubled between 2005 and 2006. Overall, 32 million Americans, or 18% of the U.S. online population, have ever downloaded a movie, "The current crop of 'download to own' movie services and the new ones coming into the market will need to offer greater flexibility of use, selection and low prices to convert the current users to their services," said Kaan Yigit of Solutions Research Group. "Otherwise file-sharing will continue to thrive."
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070124/nyw060.html?.v=82
http://www.srgnet.com

Sunnyvale-Based Yahoo to Debut New Ad System in February

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Shares of Sunnyvale-based Yahoo rose more than 7% on Wednesday after the Internet giant announced plans to launch new ad search technology that the company hopes will help it close its revenue gap with rival Google. The new system, code named Panama, will debut on Feb. 5. It will rank all of Yahoo's search marketing ads in the U.S. by quality, in addition to keyword bid price. To date, search ads on Yahoo and its distribution partner sites have been ranked solely by bid price -- the higher the bid, the higher an ad appears within the search results. When the new ranking model goes into effect, both bid and the ad's quality -- determined by its historical performance -- will determine where an ad appears in the search results. "By encouraging advertisers to focus on the quality of their ads, we can deliver a better search experience for all of our customers," said Tim Cadogan, Yahoo's vice president of search marketing. Yahoo expects to generate more revenue per Internet search as a result of the system.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070123/20070123006260.html?.v=1

S.F.-Based LookSmart Sells Net Nanny Software Line to ContentWatch

San Francisco -- LookSmart, the San Francisco-based online media and technology company, said that it has sold its Net Nanny parental control and filtering software to ContentWatch, a Utah-based developer of parental control tools for the Internet. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. ContentWatch said that it plans to increase Net Nanny's functionality and consumer market presence. John Simonelli, the CFO of LookSmart said that the "parental control market is no longer relevant to LookSmart's long term strategy." Net Nanny was developed in 1994 to help parents keep their children from viewing inappropriate material on the web. 
http://www.contentwatch.com/company/press/netnanny

San Jose-Based GNi Acquires Online Game Services Inc.

San Jose, Calif. -- Global Netoptex Inc. (GNi), a San Jose-based provider of managed hosting services, said on Wednesday that it has acquired long-time partner Online Game Services Inc. (OGSi) in a deal valued in excess of $3 million. GNi said that the acquisition will strengthen its ability to provide game hosting services to the online games industry. Launched in 2004, San Jose-based OGSi provides dedicated hosting environments and network services to such clients as Ping0 and GoPets.
http://www.gni.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070124/20070124005287.html?.v=1

U.S. Appeals Court Rejects Challenge to Copyright Term Lengths

San Francisco -- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has rejected an appeal from Internet activists, including Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle, that would have reexamined the extensions to copyright term lengths enacted during the 1990s. The activists had argued that the copyright extensions violate First Amendment free speech rights by preventing the "orphan works" from entering the public domain sooner, where they may be freely distributed and used in new works. Before 1976, copyrights lasted 28 years, but the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1992 and an amendment to that law in 1998 extended copyright terms to the life of the author plus 70 years. The extension was affirmed in 2003 by the Supreme Court. "They [the plaintiffs] make essentially the same argument, in different form, that the Supreme Court rejected," the Ninth Circuit wrote in its ruling. "It fails here as well."
http://www.archive.org/iathreads/post-view.php?id=96846
http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/1FABEA163F4C714A8825726B005A12F0/$file/0417434.pdf?openelement (PDF)

Per-Se Technologies Approve Acquisition by S.F.-Based McKesson Corp.

San Francisco -- Per-Se Technologies, a Georgia -based developer of IT products for healthcare providers, saidon Wednesday that its shareholders have approved the company's planned acquisition by McKesson Corp., a San Francisco-based healthcare services and information technology company. The all-cash deal is worth about $1.23 billion. It is now expected to close on Friday.
http://investor.per-se.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=66863&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=953844

Mountain View-Based Intuit Promotes Kris Halvorsen to CTO

Mountain View, Calif. -- Intuit, the Mountain View-based maker of business and financial management software such as Quicken and TurboTax, said on Wednesday that it has promoted Kris Halvorsen to the roles of senior vice president and CTO. Halvorsen, who has more than 25 years of experience in the information technology industry, has served as the company's acting-CTO since September. He previously spent several years leading research at Xerox PARC and HP Labs.
http://www.intuit.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070124/20070124005309.html?.v=1

Santa Clara-Based Sun Microsystems Lands $700 Million Investment from KKR

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Sun Microsystems, the Santa Clara-based maker of server and storage products, said on Tuesday that it has landed a $700 million investment from KKR Private Equity Investors, the publicly traded fund of private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. The investment, which will help the company fund future growth, will consist of $350 million of convertible senior notes due in 2012 and $350 million of convertible senior notes due in 2014. The deal is expected to close on Friday. The news came on a day when Sun also announced that it returned to profitability last quarter, earning net income of $126 million, compared with a loss of $223 million a year ago.
http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/pr/2007-01/sunflash.20070123.2.xml

EMA Acquires Division of San Jose-Based Forte Design Systems

San Jose, Calif. -- EMA Design Automation, a New York-based provider of Electronic Design Automation (EDA) technology, said that it has acquired the Chronology Division of San Jose-based Forte Design Systems, which includes the TimingDesigner product line. TimingDesigner is an interactive timing analysis tool used for to model and analyze signal relationships between devices on a board or between embedded functions on an integrated circuit. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. "By owning the technology, we now have better control over its future direction and integration with our core product offerings," said Manny Marcano, the CEO of EMA Design Automation.
http://www.ema-eda.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070123/20070123005692.html?.v=1

Santa Clara-Based Hyperion to Acquire Decisioneering

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Hyperion, a Santa Clara-based maker of software designed to help companies manage the performance of their business, said on Tuesday that it has signed a deal to acquire Denver-based Decisioneering, a developer of decision analysis software. Financial terms of the deal, which is expected to close in the next month, were not disclosed. Hyperion said that it will operate Decisioneering as a stand-alone business unit. Decisioneering's core software, called Crystal Ball, is a predictive analytics, simulation and modeling tool built for business users. It is currently in use by 4,600 customers.
http://www.hyperion.com/company/news/news_releases/press_release_3_2006_0000248.cfm

San Jose-Based Achronix Semiconductor Raises $25.4 Million in First Round

San Jose, Calif. -- Achronix Semiconductor, a San Jose-based developer of field programmable gate arrays, said on Tuesday that it has raised $25.4 million in its first round of funding, co-led by New York-based New Science Ventures and Massachusetts-based Battery Ventures. Entrepia Ventures and Easton Capital Investment Group also participated. The company had been self-funded during its first two years in existence. Achronix makes field programmable gate arrays, reconfigurable semiconductor devices used in such field as communications, networking and digital signal processing.
http://www.achronix.com/news.html?newsID=78&PHPSESSID=c957f5b9a0604e3091b46d90931a5511

Fremont-Based Actelis Networks Secures $22 Million in New Funding

Fremont, Calif. -- Actelis Networks, a Fremont-based maker of telecommunications products that allow service providers to extend the reach of their carrier Ethernet network through existing  copper infrastructure, said that it has raised $22 million in a new round of funding led by by Adams Street Partners. All of the company's previous investors also participated. Tuvia Barlev the CEO of Actelis, said that the financing will all the company to expand its corporate infrastructure to support continued market growth. Actelis' technology is designed to create Ethernet connections without interfering with legacy services already deployed in a network. Its products are currently deployed in more than 30 countries.
http://www.actelis.com/index.php?fuseaction=news.view_Article_1_2007&article=1222007_funding.shtml

Mountain View-Based MCN Raises $10 Million in Second Round of Funding

Mountain View, Calif. -- Mobile Content Networks (MCN), a Mountain View-based provider of mobile search services,said that it has closed its second round of funding, reportedly worth $10 million, according to Dow Jones' VentureWire. Meritage Funds led the round, which also included participation from Dentsu.com, Netage Capital Partners, UniqueLab, Suneight and Intellect Capital Ventures. The two-year-old company said that it will use the funds to further expand the development and marketing of MobileSearch.net, its search management platform for the wireless industry.
http://mcn-inc.com/20070122MCNSeriesBClose.html

Mountain View-Based Electric Cloud Lands $9 Million in Third Round

Mountain View, Calif. -- Electric Cloud, a Mountain View-based developer of software production development tools, said that it has raised $9 million in its third round of funding, led by Rembrandt Venture Partners. All of the company's previous investors -- Mayfield Fund, RRE Ventures and U.S. Venture Partners -- also participated in the round, which the company plans to use to expand .  its product development, sales and marketing activities. The company has raised a total of $22.1 million to date. Electric Cloud said that its products allow software developers to reduce build times, improve engineering productivity and go to market faster.
http://www.electric-cloud.com/news/2007-0117.php

Mountain View-Based Loadstar Sensors Lands $7 Million in Second Round

Mountain View, Calif. -- Loadstar Sensors, a Mountain View-based maker of capacitive sensors, said on Tuesday that it has landed $7 million in its second round of funding, led by AIG SunAmerica Ventures. Dali Hook Partners and Needham Capital Partners also participated in the round, which gave the company more than twice the amount that it originally had sought. Launched in 2004, Loadstar Sensors designs and manufactures capacitive sensors for automotive, aerospace, medical device and industrial.
http://www.loadstarsensors.com/pressroom.htm

San Francisco-Based Kiptronic Raises $4 Million in First Round

San Francisco -- Kiptronic, a San Francisco-based provider of ad-insertion technology for audio and video podcasts, said on Tuesday that it has raised $4 million in its first round of financing, led by Blueprint Ventures and Prism VentureWorks. Previous angel investors also participated. The company said that it will use the funds to seek additional advertising partners, as well as radio, TV and print outlets seeking to monetize their digital downloads. Kiptronic said that the over 3,000 podcasts for which it has has provided ad services were downloaded a total of 47 million times during the fourth quarter of 2006.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070123/20070123005867.html?.v=1
http://www.kiptronic.com   

San Mateo-Based Consumer Product Reviews Site Wize Raises $4 Million

San Mateo, Calif. -- Wize, a San Mateo-based start-up that compiles user-generated and expert product reviews and ranks them using a scoring algorithm, said that it has raised $4 million in its first round of venture capital financing from the Mayfield Fund and Bessemer Venture Partners. The four-month-old company has collected more than 1 million user-generated and expert product reviews from all over the web, and scores them on a scale from zero to 100 using. Tom Patterson, Wize's CEO, started as an entrepreneur in residence with the Mayfield Fund a year ago.
http://wize.com/pressroom/wize-receives-4-million

San Mateo-Based Online Payments Provider Bitpass to Shut Down

San Mateo, Calif. - Bitpass, a four-year-old, San Mateo-based provider of online payment processing services, said that it is discontinuing operations due to "circumstances beyond our control," CEO Matthew Graves wrote in an email to customers. The company said that it will close all of its U.S. Buyer accounts on Jan. 26, refunding all unspent monies to account holders. Bitpass said that the changes do not affect buyers and merchants with Australian dollar denominated accounts. The company has raised a total of $13 million in venture capital financing during its course of operations.
http://www.bitpass.com

Bay Area Companies Raise Most Venture Capital Since 2001

San Francisco -- Despite a slow fourth quarter, the amount of venture capital invested in Bay Area companies reached its highest level in five years in 2006, according to new figures released by Ernst & Young and Dow Jones VentureOne. Local companies raised about $9.05 billion, up from $8.5 billion a year ago, with the vast majority (more than $6 billion) coming in the information technology sector. The annual total was the highest since 2001, when area companies brought in nearly $11.7 billion. The figure came despite just $1.94 billion raised during the fourth quarter, the lowest amount raised in seven quarters. Some of the top area funding rounds during the quarter went to biotech firms, including South San Francisco-based Synosis Therapeutics ($32.5 million), San Bruno-based Gentiae Clinical Research ($23.5 million) and Palo Alto-based InteKrin Therapeutics ($23 million). Nationally, companies raised a five-year high of $25.75 billion last year, up 8% over 2005 levels, though the fourth quarter was the slowest of the year.
http://www.ventureone.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/pz/070122/112219.html

Santa Clara-Based Stoke Raises $20 Million in Third Round of Funding

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Stoke Inc., a Santa Clara-based developer of hardware and software that allows network operators to deliver multimedia services concurrently over fixed and wireless broadband access technologies, said on Monday that it has raised $20 million in its third round of funding. DAG Ventures led the round, which also included previous investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sequoia Capital. The company, which has now raised more than $50 million to date, said that it will use the new capital to increase its sales and marketing activities, as well as to bolster its product development.
http://www.stoke.com/news/pr/pr012207.html

San Mateo-Based KSR Raises $9 Million in New Funding Round

San Mateo, Calif. -- KSR, a San Mateo-based provider of managed risk services, said on Monday that it has secured $9 million in a new round of funding, led by Paladin Capital Group's Homeland Security Fund. Previous investor Trident Capital also participated. KSR said that it will use the new capital to expand its government business and close the divide between Homeland Security and corporate security. Kenneth Minihan, a managing director of Paladin and former director of the National Security Agency (NSA)/ Central Security Service, will join the company's board of directors.
http://www.paladincapgroup.com/portal/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=52&Itemid=1
http://www.ksr.com/

Palo Alto-Based HP Names Jon Flaxman as Chief Administrative Officer

Palo Alto, Calif. -- Hewlett-Packard, the Palo Alto-based technology giant, said on Monday that it has promoted  26-year company veteran Jon Flaxman to the newly created position of chief administrative officer (CAO) and executive vice president, effective March 1. Since 2001, Flaxman has served as the company's controller and senior vice president, as well as its principal accounting officer. HP also named 18-year company veteran Jim Murrin to replace Flaxman as controller, principal accounting officer and senior vice president, and John McMullen as treasurer and senior vice president, replacing Cathie Lesjak, who became CFO at the start of the year.
http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2007/070122c.html