Silicon Valley Wire

San Jose-Based Cypress to Sell Automotive Image Sensor Unit to Sensata

San Jose, Calif. -- Cypress Semiconductor, a San Jose-based maker of semiconductor products, said on Wednesday that it will sell its SMaL Camera Technologies unit to Massachusetts-based Sensata Technologies for an undisclosed sum. SMaL Camera makes cameras and camera subsystems used in automotive driver assistance systems from customers such as Bosch and Delphi. The company has approximately 25 employees. “Cypress acquired SMaL Camera in February 2005 and with it came great technology to supplement our image sensor business and achieve a stronger position in the market,” said Cliff Drowley, the vice president of Cypress's image sensor group. “Our decision to divest the business is based on a strategic shift to focus resources onto our custom image sensor business." Cypress will retain its custom image sensor business in Belgium. In January, Cypress also announced the $53 million sale of its Silicon Valley Technology Center (SVTC) business to private equity firms Oak Hill Capital Partners and Tallwood Venture Capital.
http://www.cypress.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070228/20070228006020.html?.v=1

Milpitas-Based Kineto Wireless Lands $10 million in New Funding Round

Milpitas, Calif. -- Kineto Wireless, a Milpitas-based developer of Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) technology used by mobile operators, said that it has raised $10 million in a new round of funding. InterDigital Communications led the round with a $5 million investment, while previous investors Sutter Hill Ventures, Venrock Associates, 3i, Oak Investment Partners, SeaPoint Ventures and Storm Ventures also participated. UMA technology allows mobile operators to deliver a number of services that take advantage of broadband networks, such as wireless handsets that allow subscribers to automatically roam and handover between cellular networks and public and private wireless local area networks (WLANs).   
http://www.kinetowireless.com/news/press_releases/kineto_interdigital_press_release.html

Milpitas-Based JDS Uniphase to Acquire Picolight for $115 Million

Milpitas, Calif. -- JDS Uniphase, a Milpitas-based provider of communications test and measurement equipment and optical products, said that it will pay $115 million in stock to acquire Colorado-based Picolight, a maker of optical pluggable transceivers. The deal, expected to close by June 30, could be worth up to $10 million in cash more, depending on Picolight's performance during the remainder of this year. JDSU said that the acquisition will help it to address the fast-growing market for optical interconnect applications in the datacenter, enterprise, storage area and metro networking markets.
http://www.jdsu.com/index.cfm?newsid=488&pagepath=News/News_Releases&id=1851

Redwood City-Based BigBand Networks Sets Terms of $147 Million IPO

Redwood City, Calif. -- BigBand Networks, a Redwood City-based developer of technology that allows cable TV providers and telephone companies to offer video, voice and data services, has set the terms of its upcoming initial public offering (IPO), which it hopes will raise as much as $147.7 million. BigBand, which has applied to list its stock on the Nasdaq under the symbol "BBND," said plans to sell 10.7 million shares for $10-$12 each. The company plans to use about $14 million of the proceeds to repay debt. Founded in 1998, BigBand has raised more than $100 million from investors, and achieved profitability last year. Its clients include Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox and Rogers Cable.
http://www.bigbandnetworks.com
http://ipoportal.edgar-online.com/ipo/displayFundamentals.asp?cikid=729691&fnid=52804&IPO=1&coname=BIGBAND+NETWORKS%2C+IN%2E%2E%2E 

Sunnyvale-Based Visyx Technologies Names Brad Norton as CEO

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Visyx Technologies, a Sunnyvale-based developer of sensors that measure the viscosity, density, dielectric constant and temperature of fluids, on Wednesday named Brad Norton as its new CEO. Norton most recently served as the vice president and general manager of global commercial vehicles for BorgWarner's Turbo and Emission Systems. He also has held senior management positions with Nissan North America and Honeywell. Visyx's sensors are designed to help protect critical components such as engines, turbines, transmissions and gear boxes.
http://www.visyx.com/news/press.htm 

Report: Movie-Related Web Sites See Traffic Skyrocket on Oscar Day

Reston, Va. -- Internet users flocked to file-related web sites in conjunction with Sunday's 79th Annual Academy Awards, comScore Networks said on Wednesday. On the day of the awards, 139,000 U.S. Internet users visited Oscar.com, a one-day increase of 219% compared with the previous day. Visitors to Internet movie database, IMDB.com, also rose 5% on the day, while EW.com, the web site of Entertainment Weekly, saw its traffic increase 193%. "For the audience watching the Academy Awards at home, the Internet has become an important part of enjoying the festivities," said Jack Flanagan, the executive vice president of comScore Media Metrix. "Consumers are supplementing their television viewing experience with web content."
http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=1232

Local Tech Stocks Drop Sharply; Nasdaq Falls More Than 3%

San Francisco -- Local technology companies saw their share prices drop sharply on Tuesday amid one of the worst days on Wall Street in recent years. The sell-off, which sent the Nasdaq down more than 3%, was caused by a series of factors, including a 9% drop in stocks in China overnight, weak economic data in the U.S. and a number of geopolitical issues. Some of the local companies with the largest declines included: Adobe Systems (down 5%), Apple (down 5%), Bio Rad Labs (down 5%), Cisco Systems (down 6%), Echelon (down 9%), Juniper Networks (down 6%), Logitech International (down 7%), Polycom (down 6%) and WebEx Communications (down 6%).

San Ramon-Based Achievo Raises $24 Million in Second Round

San Ramon, Calif. -- Achievo, a San Ramon-based provider of software and information technology outsourcing services, said that it has raised $24 million in its second round of funding from institutional and private investors. Julio Leung, Achievo's CFO, said that the five-year-old company has managed to generate "significant" working capital to fund its growth. "As a result, our capital needs have been modest, which has been well received by our shareholders," said Leung, who called the current round "more than adequate to cover current obligations and future operating needs." Achievo's outsourcing model employs a local front-end, with back-end services provided in China. Its customers include Accela, Audi, Computer Associates, DaimlerChrysler, Hitachi, Honda, Mitsubishi, Siemens and Toyota.
http://www.achievo.com/news/release.cfm?news=127

Palo Alto-Based Hewlett-Packard to Acquire PolyServe

Palo Alto, Calif. -- Hewlett-Packard, the Palo Alto-based technology giant, said that it will acquire Oregon-based PolyServe, a maker of storage software for application and file serving utilities. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. HP called the deal "a strong entry point" into the fast-growing network-attached storage market. Founded in 1999, PolyServe has 117 employees and serves more than 500 customers in a variety of industries including finance, energy and technology. The company's software allows users to consolidate information from file or database servers into a single, shared pool of storage. HP has worked with PolyServe for about two years, and plans to integrate the company into the StorageWorks division of its Technology Solutions Group. The deal is expected to close within 60 days.
http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2007/070226c.html

S.F.-Based BitTorrent Debuts Legal Movie, TV Peer-to-Peer Download Service

San Francisco -- BitTorrent, a San Francisco-based provider of peer-to-peer file-sharing technology, said that it has launched a legitimate download service featuring content from 35 sources, including MGM, Fox, Lionsgate, Paramount, MTV Networks and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. The company's network will initially feature more than 5,000 movies, TV shows, PC games and music titles, including over 40 hours of HD programming. The service will offer movie rentals for $3.99 (new releases) and $2.99 (catalog titles), and TV shows and music videos for $1.99 each. BitTorrent said that most of its partners' content will be wrapped in digital rights management (DRM), to prevent copying, although a wide variety of both professional and user-generated content will also be offered for free and without DRM. The company's main advantage over existing download services is its peer-to-peer distribution technology, which breaks large files down into small bits distributed across its network of over 135 million users -- decreasing bandwidth costs while increasing download speeds.
http://www.bittorrent.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070226/20070226005556.html?.v=1

Cupertino-Based Apple Delays Shipments of New Apple TV Device

Cupertino, Calif. -- Cupertino-based Apple said that it will delay the release of its new Apple TV product -- a box that streams web video and other computer content to a television -- until mid-March, Reuters reported. "Wrapping up Apple TV is taking a few weeks longer than we projected," Apple spokeswoman Lynn Fox told Reuters. The company had previously planned to launch the $299 device this month.
http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybrid.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20070226:MTFH65662_2007-02-26_21-32-52_N26325999&type=comktNews&rpc=44
http://www.apple.com/appletv

Overall Quality of Congressional Web Sites Called "Disappointing"

Washington, DC -- A new report card on congressional web sites from the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) finds their overall quality "disappointing," with over a third of the sites earning a substandard or failing grade. "Given the increasing number of Americans using the Internet to get information from or communicate with their government, it is disappointing that the most common grade earned was a D," said Beverly Bell, executive director of CMF, a non-profit organization that promotes a more effective Congress. "Congress has just not kept up with the demands of an increasingly Internet-savvy public." Funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, the report evaluated 615 congressional sites based on how well they incorporated audience, content, usability, interactivity and innovation. Eight-five, or 13.8%, earned a grade of "A." Only Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA), Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) have received awards for their sites in all three of the organization's reports, dating to 2002. The complete report is available at the link below.
http://www.cmfweb.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=198&Itemid=60

Report: One-third of U.S. Internet Users Have Tried Wireless Internet

Washington, DC -- About one-third of U.S. Internet users have logged on using a wireless connection, according to a new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The survey also found that 20% of Internet users now have wireless home networks, double the number from two years ago. "We know that 'always on' broadband connections really deepen people's relationship to the Internet. Adding 'on the go' to the mix takes this a step further," John Horrigan, associate research director at the Pew Internet Project, told Reuters. "The convenience of wireless access gives people the chance to fire off a quick e-mail to someone while waiting in a doctor's office or check the news headlines on the way to work."
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/203/report_display.asp   
http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN2518346420070225

John Riccitiello Rejoins Redwood City-Based EA as New CEO

Redwood City, Calif. -- Electronic Arts, the Redwood City-based developer and publisher of video games, on Monday named John Riccitiello as its new CEO, effective April 2. Riccitiello had served as EA's president and COO before leaving the company in 2004 to co-found Elevation Partners, where he served as managing partner. He will replace Larry Probst, who will continue as executive chairman. "Leading EA has always been my dream job," said Riccitiello, who also serves on the board of Hyperion Solutions.
http://info.ea.com/news/news.php

Brisbane-Based BiPar Sciences Raises $35 Million in Second Round of Funding

Brisbane, Calif. -- BiPar Sciences, a Brisbane-based biopharmaceutical firm developing cancer therapies, said on Monday that it has raised $35 million in its second round of funding, led by Domain Associates. Previous investors Vulcan Capital, Canaan Partners, PolyTechnos Venture-Partners, Asset Management Company and Quantum Technology Partners also participated. The company said that the round will fully funds Phase 2 clinical trials program for its lead drug candidate, aimed at advanced malignancies, as well as accelerates the development of two additional drug candidates from BiPar's pipeline.
http://www.biparsciences.com/PressReleases/BiParRaises35Million.html

Redwood City-Based ViDeOnline Communications Lands $12 Million

Redwood City, Calif. -- ViDeOnline Communications, a Redwood City-based company that  aggregates digital media content for distribution over its network to Internet service providers, said on Monday that it has landed $12 million in a new round of funding led by Intel Capital. ViDeOnline said that it is hoping to become a major player in digital media distribution in Asia by distributing licensed movie and music content to local carriers, Internet service providers and IPTV companies. The company is initially focusing on the Chinese market.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070226/sfm111.html?.v=60
http://www.videonline.com/

San Jose-Based CiperMax Raises $10 Million in New Funding Round

San Jose, Calif. -- CipherMax, a San Jose-based developer of data storage security technology, said on Monday that it has raised $10 million in a new round of funding, co-led by U.S. Venture Partners, Venrock Associates and Scale Venture Partners. The company said that it will use the new capital to further enhance its line of storage security products and expand its sales and marketing efforts. CipherMax's products are designed to protect medium to large volumes of data on tape and disk from unauthorized viewing or tampering, as well as to address regulatory compliance issues relating to the confidentiality of information.
http://www.ciphermax.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070226/20070226005588.html?.v=1

San Francisco-Based GoFish Names Tabreez Verjee as President.

San Francisco -- GoFish, a San Francisco-based video sharing site, on Monday named Tabreez Verjee as its new president. Verjee, a general partner at Global Asset Capital, has been associated with GoFish for the past year as a shareholder, executive consultant and board member. He will retain his title at Global, but devote the majority of his time to GoFish, the company said. The move comes just two weeks after GoFish announced its plans to acquire New York-based Bolt Media in a stock-for-stock deal worth as much as $30 million. The combined company will develop made-for-Internet programming geared toward 18-34 year-olds.
http://www.gofish.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070226/20070226005592.html?.v=1

San Francisco-Based Riverbed to Raise $79.8 Million in Follow-On Offering

San Francisco -- Riverbed Technology, a San Francisco-based developer of technology focused on wide-area data services, said on Friday that it plans to raise $79.8 million through a follow-on offering. The company plans to offer a total of 5.25 million shares -- about half to be sold by Riverbed and half by its stockholders for $32.50 each. Shares of Riverbed fell nearly 2% to close at $32.55 in Friday's trading on the Nasdaq.
http://www.riverbed.com/ 
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070223/20070223005157.html?.v=1

Menlo Park-Based Cannan Leads $23.1 Million Round for Chimerix

Menlo Park, Calif. -- Canaan Partners, a Menlo Park-based venture capital firm, has led a new $23.1 million funding round for Chimerix, an North Carolina-based biotechnology company. Other invested in the company's fourth round included Sanderling Ventures, Asset Management Company and Frazier Healthcare Ventures. Chimerix said that the investments will augment a $36.1 million grant that it received from the National Institutes of Health to help it develop a treatment for smallpox infection. The financing will also support development of Chimerix's oral drug in preclinical development for the treatment of multi-drug resistant HIV infection. http://www.canaan.com
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/851517/chimerix_raises_231_million_to_advance_antiviral_drug_pipeline/index.html?source=r_health

Google CEO: YouTube Copyright Protection Tools Coming "Very Soon"

Mountain View, Calif. -- Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Mountain View-based Google, said that adding anti-piracy technologies to its YouTube video-sharing site and other services is "one of the company's highest priorities," and added that such copyright protection will be launched shortly, Reuters reported. While declining to give a specific timeframe for the launch of the technology, Schmidt said, "It is going to roll out very soon … It is not far away." Media firms such as NBC and Viacom have demanded that YouTube install copyright filters. Schmidt also told Reuters that Google plans to make its video anti-piracy technologies generally available to all copyright owners.
http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?view=CN&storyID=2007-02-22T144352Z_01_N22434417_RTRIDST_0_GOOGLE-YOUTUBE-UPDATE-1-REPEAT.XML&rpc=66&type=qcna

Sunnyvale-Based Yahoo Planning Offbeat Site Where Anchor Will Sing the News

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Sunnyvale-based Yahoo is planning to launch an unorthodox news site that will feature an anchor singing the news, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Sources told THR that "Odd News Underground" will feature offbeat news and an anchor not unknown either as a journalist or a musician; Yahoo would not reveal the person's identity. Yahoo's other original news venture, "The Hot Zone With Kevin Sites," was launched last year and chronicles the journalist's travels to war zones around the world.
http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSN2238102420070222

New Casual Games Studio iQ212 Launches in San Francisco

San Francisco -- Rick Marazzani, a game developer who has worked for Electronic Arts, Pogo and Digital Chocolate, has announced the formation of a new casual games studio, iQ212. Based in San Francisco, the company plans to develop casual game titles for online, mobile and PC platforms. iQ212 plans to introduce its first titles at the Game Developers Conference next month in San Francisco.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=2292 5
http://www.iq212.com 

Cupertino-Based Apple Reaches Deal with San Jose-Based Cisco Over iPhone Name

Cupertino, Calif. -- Ending a potentially lengthy legal battle, Cupertino-based Apple said late Wednesday that it has reached a deal with San Jose-based Cisco to resolve their dispute over the "iPhone" trademark. Under the agreement, both companies will be able to use the "iPhone" name on their products, with each side dismissing its pending litigation against the other. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Apple and Cisco also said that they will explore opportunities for interoperability in the areas of security and communications. Apple ended months of speculation in January by introducing its iPhone, a handheld device that combines a mobile phone, widescreen video iPod and Internet access tool. Cisco, however, claimed that it already owned the trademark, and filed suit shortly thereafter.
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2007/02/21iphone.html

Mobixell to Acquire Palo Alto-Based Adamind for $5.5 Million

Palo Alto, Calif. -- Mobixell, a Massachusetts-based maker of mobile multimedia software, said on Thursday that it will acquire Palo Alto-based Adamind, a supplier of media adaptation software, for $5.5 million. Mobixell said that it plans to merge the two companies'  products and technologies, as well as hire the majority of Adamind's 's employees. "The combined customer installed base is impressive, with over 150 mobile operator and content provider deployments worldwide," said Shailendra Jain, the CEO of Adamind.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070222/20070222005415.html?.v=1
http://www.mobixell.com/

Nuance Communications to Acquire Mountain View-Based BeVocal

Mountain View, Calif. -- Nuance Communications, a Massachusetts-based supplier of speech and imaging technology, said on Thursday that it will acquire BeVocal, a Mountain View-based provider of self-service customer care technology for mobile communications service providers, for $140 million. Nuance said that the acquisition will expand its product portfolio with technology for mobile customer lifecycle management and a range of premium services for mobile consumers. BeVocal's customers include Cingular, Liberty Wireless, Metro PCS and Virgin Mobile. Nuance said that it expects the acquisition to add between $21-$23 million in revenue this fiscal year, as well as up to $70 million in fiscal 2008.
http://www.nuance.com/news/

YouTube Deals with CBS, Viacom Fall Through; NBC Warns on Copyrights

Mountain View, Calif. -- A deal that Mountain View-based Google's YouTube had been brokering with CBS, which would have put TV clips on the site in exchange for ad revenue, has fallen through, The Wall Street Journal reported. Google also offered Viacom a similar deal at the time of its $1.65 billion acquisition of YouTube last year, but those talks also eventually faltered, the paper said. Google reportedly sought a five-year deal with CBS, and would have guaranteed $500 million in ad revenue. Although the larger pact did not materialize -- partly due to disagreements about the proposed deal's length -- the companies may still negotiate smaller agreements. Viacom recently demanded that YouTube remove over 100,000 of its copyrighted clips, and earlier this week announced a deal to license TV and film content to Joost, a start-up that streams TV to users' PCs. Separately, the Journal reported that the general council of NBC sent YouTube a letter last week demanding the company take steps to prevent copyrighted content from being posted.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117202467170614399-search.html?KEYWORDS=YouTube&COLLECTION=wsjie/6month (subscription required)
http://www.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/idUSN2021579520070221

Report: Nintendo Wii Leads U.S. Game Console Sales in January

San Francisco -- Nintendo's Wii was the top-selling video game console in the U.S. in January, followed by Sony's PlayStation 2, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, Reuters reported, citing sales data from market research firm NPD Group. The Wii sold 436,000 units during the month, compared with sales of 299,000 of Sony's older PlayStation 2 console, 294,000 Xbox 360s and 244,000 PlayStation 3s. Overall, video game hardware and software sales in January totaled $1.3 billion.
http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybrid.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20070221:MTFH52746_2007-02-21_20-22-45_N21233490&type=comktNews&rpc=44
http://www.npd.com

RIAA Increases Pressure on College Campus Music Downloaders

Washington, DC -- The music industry has ratcheted up its pressure on universities and their students to stop downloading music illegally on campus networks, the Associated Press reported. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) identified for the AP the 25 schools that have received the most copyright complaints so far this year. The University of Ohio, Purdue, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Tennessee and University of South Carolina made up the top five. Purdue students received 37 complaints in 2006, but so far this year have been sent 1,068. "It's something we feel we have to do," RIAA president Cary Sherman told the AP. "We have to let people know that if they engage in this activity, they are not anonymous." The complaints are sometimes a preliminary step towards filing more formal copyright infringement lawsuits, which the RIAA has done against the most egregious campus offenders.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070221/ap_on_hi_te/downloading_music_3

Campbell-Based Focus Enhancements Raises $6.5 Million Through Offering

Campbell, Calif. -- Focus Enhancements, a Campbell-based developer of video production and conversion technology, said on Wednesday that it has raised $6.3 million through a public offering. The company said that it sold 5 million shares for $1.26 each, in addition to warrants. Focus said that it will use the net proceeds for working capital and general corporate purposes. "This financing will allow us to continue the commercialization of our Ultra Wideband wireless technology, including first customer shipments of UWB chipsets currently expected to begin in the third quarter of 2007," said Brett Moyer, the CEO of Focus Enhancements.
http://www.focusinfo.com/company/article.asp?id=19

Sunnyvale-Based Blaze DFM to Merge with Santa Clara's Aprio Technologies

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Blaze DFM, a Sunnyvale-based provider of software to fabless semiconductor companies, integrated device manufacturers and silicon foundries, said on Tuesday that it will merge with Santa Clara-based competitor Aprio Technologies. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The merged company will retain the name Blaze DFM, and will be headquartered at Blaze's current location in Sunnyvale. The company will retain Aprio's international offices in Japan and Taiwan. Blaze also has an office in San Diego. The deal is expected to close in the next few weeks.
http://www.blaze-dfm.com/news/Press_releases/release11.html

Palo Alto-Based Mozes Raises $5 Million in First Round of Funding

Palo Alto, Calif. -- Mozes, a Palo Alto-based start-up that allows people to create and manage text message-based mobile campaigns and promotions, said on Wednesday that it has raised $5 million in its first round of funding from Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) and North Bridge Venture Partners. The company said that it will use the bulk of the proceeds for marketing. Mozes' service, which is currently in beta testing, allows users build mobile lists and create targeted interactive mobile campaigns. The service, initially focused on the music industry, also incorporates online and instant messaging components, allowing artists and labels to keep fans in the loop about concert dates, new releases, offers and downloads. Fans can send messages to artists through the service, which also can support live events such as contests and audience voting.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070221/nyw048.html?.v=86
http://www.mozes.com/.

SV Life Sciences Raises $570 Million for Fourth Fund

San Francisco-- SV Life Sciences, a venture capital fund with offices in San Francisco, Boston and London, said that it has raised $572 million for its fourth investment fund. Of the total commitments, about 60% came from the U.S. and 40% from Europe and other overseas regions. SV said that it will invest across a range of life sciences sectors, including biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, medical devices, healthcare services and healthcare information technology. Investments will typically be between $5 and $25 million, the firm said.
http://digital50.com/news/items/BW/2001/07/14/20070219005478/sv-life-sciences-raises-over-us-570-million-for-fourth-fund-sv-life-sciences-fund.html

Valuations of U.S. Venture-Backed Companies Reach Highest Level Since 2000

San Francisco -- U.S. venture-capital backed companies are being valued at the highest level since 2000, according to a report released on Wednesday by Dow Jones VentureOne. The median pre-money valuation -- the values ascribed to businesses prior to funding rounds -- reached $18.5 million in 2006, up from $15.9 million in 2005. In the fourth quarter alone, the figure reached $20 million, up from $11.7 million the prior year. The figures can be largely credited to sharply higher valuations placed on information technology and healthcare companies, which are finding more opportunities to achieve liquidity through IPOs and acquisitions. "In 2006, the U.S. had the strongest exit climate in several years," said Steve Harmston, the director of global research for VentureOne.
http://www.ventureone.com/

S.F.-Based Obvious Inc. Puts Audio Podcast Aggregator Odeo Up for Sale

San Francisco -- San Francisco-based Obvious Inc. said that it has put its audio podcast aggregation site, Odeo, up for sale so that it may focus more on Twitter, its social networking start-up. Obvious said that the Odeo domain, code and database of 3 million MP3s would be included in any prospective deal. "Were open to a variety of scenarios -- from cash offer to equity position," Obvious said in a blog posting. In the past month, the site has registered almost 700,000 visitors, 3 million page views and 1.5 million plays through its Flash media player. The company added that the site doesn't cost much to run, with AdSense covering its hosting fees. "It seems like Odeo is worth more to someone else than it is to us at this point…We've been having some conversations with potential buyers, and this is our attempt to put the word out more widely in the most expeditious way [and without involving investment bankers and the like]," Obvious said.
http://blog.obvious.com/2007/02/looking-for-odeos-new-home.html 
http://www.odeo.com   

San Mateo-Based ScanSafe Raises $15 Million in Second Round of Funding

San Mateo, Calif. -- ScanSafe, a provider of web security services with U.S. headquarters based in San Mateo, said on Tuesday that it has raised $15 million in its second round of funding, led by Scale Venture Partners. Benchmark Capital, an early investor in the company, also participated in the round, which ScanSafe plans to use to speed its global expansion and accelerate its research and development efforts. ScanSafe's services scan web and IM traffic, blocking malware and unwanted content before it reaches the corporate network.
http://www.scansafe.com/news/press_releases/press_releases_2007/scansafe_secures_$15_million_in_series_b_financing_led_by_scale_venture_partners

SAP Acquires Mountain View-Based Pilot Software

Mountain View, Calif. -- Business software giant SAP said on Tuesday that it has acquired Mountain View-based Pilot Software, a maker of strategy management software. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. SAP said that the acquisition will add a key piece to its  portfolio of analytic applications. Founded in 2002, Pilot Software has more than 150 customers across a variety of industries,  including financial services, public sector and retail. The company's core product will be integrated with SAP applications and built into SAP's NetWeaver platform. SAP also said that it will continue to operate Pilot's current facilities, with its employees becoming part of SAP Labs.
http://www.pilotsoftware.com/news/pr_news/pr_022007.html

Mountain View-Based Google to Acquire S.F.-Based Adscape Media

Mountain View, Calif. -- Google, the Mountain View-based Internet search giant, has agreed to acquire Adscape Media, a San Francisco-based provider of in-game advertising, for $23 million, RedHerring.com reported. Founded in 2002, Adscape has developed technology that allows marketers to place dynamic ads inside of video games. The company raised $3.2 million from HIG Ventures in February 2006, and launched its service last year, but to date has not announced any game publisher partners. The sources told RedHerring.com that the acquisition gives Google "little beyond a few potentially interesting patents," and cautioned that deals with big-name publishers are not likely "anytime soon." Rival Microsoft acquired in-game ads firm Massive Inc. last April.
http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=21323 
http://www.adscapemedia.com

Santa Clara-Based ChipX Acquires U.S. ASIC Assets of Oki Semiconductor

Santa Clara, Calif. -- ChipX, a Santa Clara-based maker of programmable application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), said on Tuesday that it has acquired the U.S. ASIC assets of Sunnyvale-based Oki Semiconductor for an undisclosed sum. Under the agreement, Oki's U.S. ASIC engineering team, ASIC specialists and marketing personnel have joined ChipX. As part of the deal, Oki has licensed its embedded array and Gate array technology, as well as other internally developed intellectual property, to ChipX.
http://www.chipx.com/corporate/publicrelations.asp?aid=152f

Report: Digital Video Recorder Owners Watch Two-Thirds of TV Ads

Orlando, Fla. - Contrary to previous beliefs, owners of digital video recorders (DVRs) -- such as TiVo -- watch about two-thirds of commercials during TV programming, according to a new report from the Nielsen Company. Though the firm attributed part of the figure to viewers' habits of watching programming like sports and news at their scheduled broadcast times when ads can't be skipped, it said that  DVR owners still watch 40% of the ads they could have skipped. "People are actually playing back more of the commercials than we thought," Steve Sternberg, the executive vice president and director of audience analysis at Magna Global Media Research, told The New York Times. "People are buying DVRs not because they want to time-shift all of their viewing and skip all commercials, but because they want to time-shift some of their viewing." DVR owners are also younger, better educated and have higher incomes than the average U.S. household, Nielsen found.
http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp;jsessionid=8AD13D135236B131478D48C66E3F64D4.tomcat2?beat=BEAT_ENTERTAINMENT&view=LATEST&resourceid=3403456
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/16/business/16commercials.html

Redwood City-Based Visto Raises $35 Million in New Funding

Redwood City, Calif. -- Visto, a Redwood City-based independent provider of mobile email services, said on Friday that it has raised $35 million in its final round of funding from Altitude Capital Partners. The company, which raised $51 million in September, now has raised a total of $86 million. Visto said that it plans to use the capital to continue its worldwide growth, as well as expand its product portfolio and protect its intellectual property. "With this total of $86 million, Visto has a balance sheet that is stronger than any private company in this market," said Brian Bogosian, the company's chairman, president and CEO. Visto is the developer of a platform that allows mobile operators to provide mobile email to a broad set of devices. Current customers include Cingular, Rogers Wireless, Sprint Nextel and the Vodafone Group.
http://www.visto.com/news/releases/07.02.16_financing.asp

Milpitas-Based SanDisk to Cut 250 Jobs in Cost-Cutting Effort

Milpitas, Calif. -- Needing to cut costs to combat falling prices for its components, Milpitas-based SanDisk, a maker of flash storage card products, said on Friday that it will cut 250 jobs -- or about 10% of its workforce -- and reduce the salaries of its executives by as much as 20%. SanDisk said that the job cuts will primarily occur in early March, and will reflect its recent decision to de-emphasize the company's USB private label business in favor of its more profitable SanDisk branded business. Other cost-cutting measurers will include salary freezes for all employees and a hiring freeze in most areas of the company. SanDisk said that it expects to save $30-$35 million a year as a result of the measures. The company said that it has been hurt by component pricing that has deteriorated by as much as 50%, as well as seasonally weak demand.
http://www.sandisk.com/Corporate/PressRoom/PressReleases/PressRelease.aspx?ID=3723

Milpitas-Based LSI Logic to Acquire Fremont-Based SiliconStor

Milpitas, Calif. -- LSI Logic, a Milpitas-based maker of data storage chips, said on Friday that it will acquire Fremont-based SiliconStor, a developer of silicon products used in storage networks, for $55 million in cash. LSI said that the acquisition, which will add about 30 employees, will position it as one of the only storage building block suppliers with offerings for all nodes in the storage systems architecture. The deal is expected to close before the end of March.
http://www.lsi.com/news/corporate_news/2007/2007_02_16.html

Novato-Based Sonic Solutions Receives Delisting Warning from Nasdaq

Novato, Calif. -- Sonic Solutions, a Novato-based developer of digital media software, said on Friday said that it has received letter from the Nasdaq Stock Market warning the company that its stock is subject to delisting from the Nasdaq Global Select Market. Sonic said that the notice was expected after it failed to timely file its quarterly report for the quarter ended Dec. 31, due to an internal review of its stock option grant practices and related accounting. Sonic said that it will appeal the ruling, and has requested a hearing.
http://www.sonic.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070216/20070216005607.html?.v=1

San Mateo-Based Sling Media Hit with Patent Lawsuit

San Mateo, Calif. -- Sling Media, a San Mateo-based developer of technology that allows users to access their home TV channels from any Internet-connected device, has been sued for patent infringement by the inventor of a wireless speaker system, CNET News.com reported. Stuart Meshon owns a patent for technology that transmits audio signals from a home audio source to a remote speaker through a wireless telephone network. Meshon said that he first notified Sling Media of the company's possible infringement in a letter dated March 4, 2005. "We are supremely confident in our position that the suit is totally without merit," Jason Krikorian, co-founder and senior vice president of business development for Sling Media, told News.com.
http://news.com.com/Inventor+sues+Slingbox+maker+for+patent+infringement/2100-1030_3-6159815.html?tag=nefd.top
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=Stuart&s2=Mershon&OS=Stuart+AND+Mershon&RS=Stuart+AND+Mershon

Warren Buffett Tops "Slate 60" List of Biggest Charitable Donations

Washington, DC -- Slate, the daily Internet magazine owned by The Washington Post Company, announced on Friday that Warren Buffett tops the "Slate 60" list with the largest charitable donation in history. Buffett pledged $36.4 billion in 2006 to charitable foundations including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Other notable names on the annual list, compiled by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, include No. 6 David Rockefeller with $252 million, No. 9 Mayor Michael Bloomberg with $165 million, No. 18 Mort Zuckerman with $100 million, No. 31 George Soros with $60 million and No. 35 Oprah Winfrey with $58.3 million. The full list can be found at the link below.
http://specials.slate.com/slate60/2006/

Redwood City-Based Reactrix Raises $45 Million in Fourth Round of Funding

Redwood City, Calif. -- Reactrix Systems, a Redwood City-based provider of interactive media services to malls and theaters, said on Thursday that it has raised $45 million in its fourth round of funding. The round, the largest in the company's history, was co-led by new investors D. E. Shaw group and Menlo Ventures, and included participation from previous investors Mobius Venture Capital, Thomas Weisel Venture Partners and Worldview Technology Partners. Reactrix said that it will use the proceeds to expand its network of more than 160 malls and theaters. The company produces interactive displays that project vivid messages -- from advertisers including AOL, Coca-Cola, DirecTV, Sprint and Visa -- on a particular square space on the floor.
http://www.reactrix.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070215/nyth089.html?.v=78

Sunnyvale-Based MINO Wireless Raises $7 Million from Canaan Partners

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- MINO Wireless, a Sunnyvale-based maker of software that allows mobile phone users to make phone calls through the Internet, said that it has raised $7 million in a new round of funding from Canaan Partners. Mino said that its technology reduces the cost of international calls from mobile phones. Menlo Park-based Canaan Partners has a broad portfolio of investments in mobile and wireless companies including Aperto Networks, Blue Frog Mobile, Dexterra and Mobilitec, a company that was recently acquired by Lucent Technologies.
http://www.minowireless.com
http://www.canaan.com/news070214_mino.html 

Sunnyvale-Based Cepheid Acquires Sangtec Molecular Diagnostics

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Cepheid, a Sunnyvale-based molecular diagnostics firm, said on Thursday that it has acquired Sangtec Molecular Diagnostics from ALTANA Pharma for $27 million in cash. Sangtec, based in Sweden, makes PCR based molecular diagnostics products. Sangtec currently has 59 employees and had revenue in 2006 of approximately $8 million. Cepheid said that it plans to integrate Sangtec's family of PCR molecular diagnostic kits into its existing European and U.S. portfolio of in vitro diagnostic products.
http://www.cepheid.com/Sites/cepheid/content.cfm?id=160&releaseid=963506&listid=137

Google Makes Gmail Web-based E-mail Available to All

Mountain View, Calif. -- Google, the Mountain View-based Internet search giant, has made its Gmail web-based email service available to all users, following a three-year stint in which new users had to be invited to join by an existing user, the Associated Press reported. Despite the announcement, Gmail will remain in "beta" mode, indicating that it still is not considered a fully functional Google service. The launch of the Gmail service with its massive storage limits prompted rivals Yahoo and Microsoft Hotmail to increase their storage limits for users. Google co-founder Sergey Brin said that the company plans to introduce subscription options for heavy users later this year. Google's photo-hosting service charges $25 a year for 6.25GB of storage and $500 for 250GB.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070214/ap_on_hi_te/google_mail_1
http://gmail.google.com