Silicon Valley Wire

Palo Alto-Based Coapt Systems Raises $22.6 Million in Fifth Round

Palo Alto, Calif. -- Coapt Systems, a Palo Alto-based developer of bioabsorbable implants for use in aesthetic surgerym said that it has raised $22.6 million in its fifth round of funding, co-led by Global Life Science Ventures and Easton Capital. Previous investors Alta Partners, Asset Management Company, Canaan Partners, Boston Millennia Partners and Foundation Medical Partners also participated. Coapt Systems, founded in 2000, has developed a range of implantable soft tissue fixation devices for use in facial plastic surgery.
http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/070329/0232466.html
http://www.coaptsystems.com/

Fremont-Based Optovue raises $10.5 million in Second Round

Fremont, Calif. -- Optovue, a Fremont-based an developer of ophthalmic devices designed to improve the diagnosis and therapy of eye diseases, said on Friday that it has raised $10.5 million in its second round of funding. Trevi Health Ventures led the round, which also included participation from several of the company's previous investors. The company, which was launched in late 2003, said that it will use the proceeds will help to expand the production of its latest product, an
ultra-high speed, high resolution OCT retina scanner used for retina imaging and analysis.
http://www.optovue.com/

Apple Launches "Complete My Album" Feature on iTunes Store

Cupertino, Calif. -- Cupertino-based Apple has announced a new iTunes feature that gives consumers a discount on the purchase of full albums from which they have previously purchased individual tracks. The feature, called "Complete My Album," gives site users 180 days to go back and purchase the rest of the tracks on an album -- without having to purchase duplicate songs. "Once we bought a song, we wondered why we had to buy it again if we wanted the album," Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president of iTunes, told the Associated Press. "We hope it helps us sell more songs ultimately, and from the customer point of the view, we think it's the right thing to do." Cue said that about 45% of the 2.5 songs sold on iTunes have been purchased as albums.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070329/sfth029.html?.v=89
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070329/apple_itunes_albums.html?.v=4

Sunnyvale-Based LitePoint Lands Investment from Sequoia Capital

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- LitePoint, a Sunnyvale-based maker of wireless test tools for chip companies,, said on Friday that it has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Sequoia Capital. The company, which is focused on the design process, systems development and manufacturing needs of wireless chipset vendors, original equipment manufacturers and consumer electronics systems makers, did not disclose its plans for the money.
http://www.litepoint.com/content/view/165/179/

Berkeley-Based MOG Exits Beta, Debuts Music Video Feature

Berkeley, Calif. - MOG, a Berkeley-based online music discovery community that has been in public beta since July, said that it has officially launched. The company has debuted a beta version of MOG TV, a personalized music video channel. MOG features an application that tracks computer and iPod music listening, and delivers music news, recommendations, songs and videos based on a user's listening preferences. Users can create their own profiles on the site, as well as visit pages from artists including Ben Gibbard, Branford Marsalis, Deerhoof and The Hold Steady.
http://www.mog.com 
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070329/clth108.html?.v=19

San Jose-Based Super Micro Raises $64 Million in IPO; Stock Climbs 9.5%

San Jose, Calif. -- Super Micro Computer, a San Jose-based maker of high-performance servers, on Thursday raised $64 million in its initial public offering (IPO), selling 8 million shares for $8 each. In their first day of trading on the Nasdaq Global Market, shares of Super Micro (SMCI) rose 9.5% to close at $8.76. The company priced its shares well below their expected price range of $9.50-$11.50. Founded in 1993, Super Micro makes high-end high-end motherboards and servers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070329/20070329005281.html?.v=1
http://www.supermicro.com/
http://ipoportal.edgar-online.com/ipo/displayFundamentals.asp?cikid=725105&fnid=52158&IPO=1&coname=SUPER+MICRO+COMPUTER%2C+INC%2E

Santa Clara-Based GSI Raises $33.7 Million in IPO; Stock Falls

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Shares of Santa Clara-based GSI Technology fell slightly on their first day of trading Thursday after the maker of memory products raised $33.7 million in its initial public offering (IPO). The company sold 6.1 million shares -- below its initial target of 8 million -- for $5.50 each -- below its previous estimate of $6.50-$8. Trading under the symbol "GSIT" on the Nasdaq Global Market, the company's shares closed at $5.29, down nearly 4%. Founded in 1995, GSI makes static random access memory, or SRAM, products that are used in networking and telecommunications equipment.
http://www.gsitechnology.com/IRstuff/turkey/news.htm

Santa Clara-Based PMC Sierra to Close Canadian Facilities, Cut 175 Jobs

Santa Clara, Calif. -- PMC-Sierra, a Santa Clara-based maker of broadband communications and storage semiconductors, said on Thursday that it plans to close two of its research and development facilities in Canada, eliminating 175 jobs, or about 15% of its total workforce. The company said that the moves will save it about $20-$24 million a year, and are part of an ongoing effort to improve its operating performance. The facilities to be closed are located in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Bob Bailey, the chairman and CEO of PMC-Sierra, said that the leaner company will be "in a better position to compete and gain share in our key target market segments."
http://investor.pmc-sierra.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=74533&p=irol-newsCorporateArticle&ID=979950&highlight=

San Jose-Based Cisco to Acquire Mountain View-Based SpansLogic

San Jose, Calif. -- Cisco Systems, the San Jose-based networking equipment giant, said that it has reached a deal to acquire Mountain View-based SpansLogic, a maker of processors designed to improve packet processing speeds across a network. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close by the end of April, when SpansLogic will be integrated into into Cisco's Datacenter Business Unit. "With SpansLogic, Cisco will be able to improve overall traffic efficiency and throughput across the network," said Tom Edsall, Cisco's senior vice president of the unit. SpansLogic was founded in 2004 and has 14 employees.
http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2007/corp_032807.html

S.F.-Based Penguin Computing Raises $9 Million in Second Round

San Francisco -- Penguin Computing, a San Francisco-based developer of software designed to make large pools of Linux servers act like a single virtual system, said on Thursday that it has raised $9 million in its second round of funding, led by vSpring Capital. Previous investors San Francisco Equity Partners, Weber Capital and Convergence Partners also participated. The company said that it will use the funds to enhance the capabilities of its software, as well as to grow its sales force and professional services organization. Penguin was founded in 1998 and acquired Linux clustering firm Scyld Computing in 2003.
http://www.penguincomputing.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070329/aqth028.html?.v=8

Sunnyvale-Based Yahoo to Offer Unlimited Storage on Free Email Accounts

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Sunnyvale-based Yahoo has announced plans to offer unlimited email storage to its customers starting in May, upping the ante in the free email space where Google offers 2.8GB for free and Microsoft 2GB. "We are giving them no reason to ever have to delete old emails," Yahoo co-founder David Filo told Reuters. "You can keep stuff forever." The company said that, on average, its email users are utilizing far less than 1GB of storage, but that more consumers are using email to send large files like photos, music and videos. Filo added that Yahoo is considering lifting storage caps on other services, such as its Flickr photo-sharing site.
http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybrid.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20070328:MTFH83486_2007-03-28_01-00-28_N27206040&type=comktNews&rpc=44

o Foster City-Based Equinix to Build $70 Million Data Center in Washington, DC

Foster City, Calif. -- Equinix, a Foster City-based operator of data centers and provider of Internet exchange services, said that it will spend $70 million to build a new 85,000-aquare-foot data center on the outskirts of Washington, DC. The new center will be located adjacent to the four other data centers that Equinix currently operates, and will help the company meet increased demand for its services from DC-area companies. It will feature approximately 1,650 high-power density cabinets, and is expected to open to customers in the first quarter of 2008. "Today's announcement is a continuation of our ongoing expansion program, which includes the opening of four new centers in 2007," said Peter Van Camp, the CEO of Equinix.
http://www.equinix.com/press/press/2007/03_27_07a.html

JibJab Releases "What We Call the News" Parody Video

Santa Monica, Calif. -- JibJab, the Santa Monica-based producer of digital parody cartoons, on Wednesday night released its latest musical satire entitled "What We Call the News" at the Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner in Washington, DC. The video -- which features representations of news personalities such Bill O'Reilly, Larry King, Geraldo Rivera and Anderson Cooper, as well as celebrities such as Britney Spears, Anna Nicole Smith and Donald Trump -- also was broadcast Wednesday night on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," and released on its JibJab.com web site on Thursday.  The company said that the two-minute video, which is set to the tune of "Battle Hymn of the Republic," lampoons news outlets for covering "absurd and ridiculous stories to the exclusion of hard news in their epic quest for ratings." It is available at the link below.
http://www.jibjab.com/what_we_call_the_news

Foster City-Based Teracent Lands $3.8 Million Investment from NEA

Foster City, Calif. -- Teracent, the Foster City-based developer of an online consumer product advertising network, said on Wednesday that it has received a $3.8 million investment from New Enterprise Associates (NEA). Teracent is a new online ad network that generates revenue for publishers by finding popular product ads to show on their web sites. The company uses learning-based matching technology to determine popular product advertisements, rather than trying to match products to site content. "We have invested heavily in building our technology and are now ready to expand our reach," said Vikas Jha, Teracent's CEO. Two of NEA's partners, Krishna Kolluri and Peter Sonsini, will join the company's board of directors.
http://www.teracent.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070328/20070328005328.html?.v=1

Redwood City-Based Coghead Lands $8 Million in Second Round of Funding

Redwood City, Calif. -- Coghead, a Redwood City-based developer of a service that lets tech-savvy users create customized web-based applications, said on Wednesday that it has secured $8 million in its second round of funding. American Capital Strategies led the round, which also included participation from SAP Ventures and previous investor El Dorado Ventures. Coghead said that it will use the funds to promote and support the large-scale adoption of its service. The company said that its service lets people create applications that solve specific business challenges within a matter of hours. Since launching its public beta program in October, Coghead has attracted more than 16,000 developers. The company plans to make its service generally available by mid-year.
http://blog.coghead.com/

JPMorgan, Wells Fargo Invest $44 Million in UPC Wind

San Francisco -- Affiliates of San Francisco-based Wells Fargo and New York-based JPMorgan Chase and have made a $44 million equity investment in UPC Wind, a Massachusetts-based developer and owner of wind-generated electricity "farms." The investment will be used to support operations at UPC's Mars Hill Wind Farm in northern Maine, which began construction in the first quarter of 2006 and achieved full commercial operations two days ago. The facility now supplies about 42 megawatts of wind-generated power. "This investment is significant as it demonstrates the financial community's serious commitment to developing and funding renewable sources of electricity generation," said Paul Gaynor, the president and CEO of UPC Wind.
http://www.upcwind.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070328/20070328005645.html?.v=1

Mountain View-Based MAP Pharmaceuticals Secures $50 Million in Fourth Round

Mountain View, Calif. -- MAP Pharmaceuticals, a Mountain View-based biopharmaceutical firm developing treatments for respiratory and CNS diseases, said that it has raised $50 million in its fourth round of funding, which the company plans to use to advance its two lead drug candidates into late-stage clinical trials. Participants included new investor D. E. Shaw group, as well previous investors Perseus-Soros Biopharmaceutical Fund, Pequot Ventures, Brookside Capital, Bay City Capital and Skyline Ventures. "We raised this round shortly after receiving positive Phase 2 clinical trial results for both of our lead programs," said Timothy Nelson, the CEO of MAP Pharmaceuticals. "We expect to use the proceeds from this financing to advance our two lead programs into Phase 3 clinical trials and to continue to develop further pipeline candidates."
http://www.mappharma.com/InvestorRelations/Press/032707.asp

Berkeley-Based Aerovance Lands $32 Million in New Funding

Berkeley, Calif. -- Aerovance, a Berkeley-based biopharmaceutical company developing drugs for respiratory and allergic diseases, said that it has landed $32 million in the second tranche of its third round of funding, increasing the size of the round to $60 million. The first closed the first tranche of the round last May. Investors include Apax Partners, Clarus Ventures, Alta Partners, Lehman Brothers, NGN Capital and Burrill & Co. Aerovance, which was formed as a spin-out of Bayer Pharmaceuticals in 2004, said that the new funding will allow it to continue funding clinical trials for its asthma drug, Aerovant.
http://www.aerovance.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070327/nytu036.html?.v=86

Cupertino-Based Ecrio Lands $10 Million Investment from NTT DoCoMo

Cupertino, Calif. - Ecrio, a Cupertino-based developer of mobile communications and commerce software, said that it has received a $10 million investment from Japanese wireless carrier NTT DoCoMo. Ecrio's software has been deployed by customers such as NEC, Panasonic, Visa and NTT DoCoMo. The company said it will use the funds for development of additional 3G mobile applications, including video-sharing, VoIP and push-to-talk. "This investment marks a significant milestone in our work with Ecrio," said Toshio Miki, a vice president at NTT DoCoMo. "We look forward to an even closer relationship as we cooperate on next generation services based on their experience and technology."
http://www.ecrio.com/pressmar27.html

Sunnyvale-Based FastScale Technology Raises $6.5 Million in First Round

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- FastScale Technology, a Sunnyvale-based start-up developing software virtualization and provisioning tools for web farms and data centers, said on Wednesday that it has raised $6.5 million in its first round of funding, led by ATA Ventures. Leapfrog Ventures and Hunt Ventures also participated. The company, which has been operating in stealth mode since its founding in early 2006, said that it is planning to officially launch with the release of its first product in mid-April. "Our aim is to provide the next generation of software infrastructure that will lower spiraling system administration costs and dramatically simplify data center management," said Lynn LeBlanc, the CEO of FastScale.
http://www.fastscale.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070328/20070328005198.html?.v=1

Emeryville-Based MobiTV Signs Mobile Ad Deal with Yahoo

Emeryville, Calif. - MobiTV, an Emeryville-based a provider of mobile TV delivery technology used by Sprint, AT&T and others, said that it has signed a deal that will make Sunnyvale-based Yahoo the company's mobile advertising network partner. Under the agreement, Yahoo will provide text, banner and mobile video ads on MobiTV-delivered content as part of its new Yahoo Mobile Publisher Services. Yahoo said that it is recruiting other publisher partners for its mobile ad network, and is also allowing companies to submit their content for inclusion in its mobile search index.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070327/20070326006331.html?.v=1
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070327/20070326006329.html?.v=1
http://mobile.yahoo.com/business
http://www.mobitv.com

Sunnyvale-Based Aruba Networks Prices $88 Million IPO; Shares Jump 29%

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Shares of Sunnyvale-based Aruba Networks rose 29% in their first day of trading on Tuesday after the company raised $88 million in its initial public offering (IPO). The company priced 8 million shares at $11 each -- above its expected price range of $8-$10. The company, which has developed technology designed to provide secure access to data, voice and video applications across wireless and wireline corporate networks, has a client list that includes Google, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, SAP and the U.S. Air Force. Aruba's stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol "ARUN." Shares closed on Tuesday at $14.15.
http://www.arubanetworks.com/
http://ipoportal.edgar-online.com/ipo/displayFundamentals.asp?cikid=110751&fnid=52680&IPO=1&coname=ARUBA+NETWORKS%2C+INC%2E

Foster City-Based Equinix to Raise $200 Million in Notes Offering

Foster City, Calif. -- Equinix, a Foster City-based operator of data centers and Internet exchange services, said on Tuesday that it plans to raise $200 million through a notes offering. The company said that it will offer convertible notes due in 2012 under its shelf registration statement with the Securities and ?Exchange Commission. Equinix also said that it could make up to $30 million by granting underwriter Citigroup an over-allotment option. The company said that it plans to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes, including funding its expansion activities and working capital requirements.
http://www.equinix.com/press/press/2007/03_27_07b.html

S. F.-Based HandHeld Acquires U.K. User-Generated Media Site UnOriginal.co.uk

San Francisco -- HandHeld Entertainment, a San Francisco-based maker of portable media players and operator of video download sites, said on Tuesday that it has acquired UnOriginal.co.uk for $500,000. The deal includes $250,000 in cash payable over the next 15 months and $250,000 in HandHeld stock. UnOriginal.co.uk is a site focused on user-generated videos, pictures and games optimized for searches. Launched in 2004, the site attracts close to 900,000 unique visitors a month and has had more than 82 million page views since its launch. It marks HandHeld's third acquisition in Europe, following its deals for Putfile.com in February  and YourDailyMedia.com in December.
http://www.hheld.com/news/20070327.php

ITT to Pay $100 Million Fine for Illegally Exporting Night-Vision Technology

White Plains, N.Y. --  Industrial technology giant ITT on Tuesday agreed to pay $100 million in fines to the Department of Justice for illegally exporting components of classified night vision goggles to foreign countries, including China. In U.S. District Court in Roanoke, Va. on Wednesday, ITT plans to plead guilty to felony counts of exporting defense articles without a license and omitting material facts in arms exports reports. The $100 million fine is one of the largest penalties ever paid in a criminal case, and the Department of Justice said that ITT will be the first major defense contractor convicted of a criminal violation of the Arms Export Control Act. "The sensitive night vision systems… are critical to U.S. war-fighting capability and are sought by our enemies and allies alike," said General Wainstein, an assistant U.S. attorney. "ITT's exportation of this sensitive technology to China and other nations jeopardized our national security and the safety of our military men and women on the battlefield."
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2007/March/07_nsd_192.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070327/nytu081.html?.v=84

Microsoft's Paul Allen to Lead 11 Into Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame

Arlington, Va. -- The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), an industry trade group representing more than 2,100 electronics, communications and IT companies, said that it will induct 11 new members into its CE Hall of Fame this October. The 2007 class includes Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft; Amar Bose, the founder and chairman of Bose Corp.; Steve Sasson, an electrical engineer who invented the digital camera at Eastman Kodak; the German team of Karlheinz Brandenberg, Dieter Seitzer and Heinz Gerhauser, who developed the MP3 format; John McDonald, the former CEO of Casio; Dick Schulze, the founder and chairman of Best Buy; William Crutchfield, the founder of catalog retailer Crutchfield; Edward Day, the lawyer who represented the consumer electronics industry in the Betamax case; and The late Art Weinberg, who wrote about the industry for Home Furnishings Daily. The Hall, established in 2000, enshrines inventors, executives, engineers, retailers and journalists chosen by a panel of industry judges each year. The judging for 2007 took place in New York last month, following online nominations from industry professionals and media.
http://www.ce.org/Press/CurrentNews/press_release_detail.asp?id=11257

YouTube Announces Winners of First Video Awards

San Bruno, Calif. -- Google's YouTube has named the winners of its first YouTube Video Awards, with the site's users voting online comedy "Ask a Ninja" the Best Series on YouTube. Voters during the week-long contest also recognized the band OK Go's unique treadmill-dance music video for their song "Here It Goes Again" as Most Creative Video. Other winners included Terra Naomi, whose homemade music video for "Say It's Possible" has garnered enough attention to land her a record deal with Island Records; and "The Winkone," a video blogger who took the nod for Best Commentary. A full list of winners, nominees and their videos are available at the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/YTAwards   

Over 46,000 PS3 Owners Join Stanford Medical Research Project

Palo Alto, Calif. -- More than 46,000 PlayStation 3 owners have signed up so far for Folding@Home, a distributed computing project from Stanford University that will use the consoles' cell processors to crunch research data on diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and cancer. Instead of relying on supercomputers, the six-year-old project utilizes CPU power of personal computers enrolled by hundreds of thousands of users. Stanford announced in August that it would begin accepting PS3's into the project, and Sony last week issued a software update that for the first time allowed console owners to join. The software, which runs in the background while the PS3 is idle, allows researchers to draw on the electricity of the units. Stanford now has nearly 2 million machines employed in its research project.
http://fah-web.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/main.py?qtype=osstats   

Electronic Arts, Nettwerk Team on Record Label Joint Venture

Redwood City, Calif. -- Electronic Arts, the Redwood City-based developer and publisher of video games, said that it has partnered with Canadian record label Nettwerk to form a joint venture label, Artwerk, that will sign and develop artists for physical and digital distribution. The label's first signing -- producer Junkie XL -- has previously provided tracks for EA games like "Madden NFL 07" and "Need for Speed Carbon." The companies said that they will accept music submissions for consideration from artists worldwide through the EA Trax web site. "For the past five years, EA has been instrumental in breaking new artists, but we have been limited in our ability to grow them. With Artwerk, we can now directly sign, develop and launch artists for publishing, master recordings, sync deals and beyond," said Steve Schnur, the worldwide executive of music and marketing at EA.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070326/20070326006037.html?.v=1 
http://www.ea.com/eatrax 

San Francisco-Based Sharper Image Names Steven Lightman as New CEO

San Francisco -- Sharper Image, the struggling, San Francisco-based specialty retailer, on Monday named veteran marketing executive Steven Lightman as its new president and CEO. Lightman, who most recently served as the president of Crosstown Traders, also will join the company's board, which will expand its membership from nine to 10 directors. He will succeed Jerry Levin, who will remain chairman. Levin, a turnaround specialist, was named chairman and interim CEO in September, replacing company founder Richard Thalheimer. The company's board retained Levin's company, JW Levin, for one year to help address its operating issues.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070326/20070326005526.html?.v=1

just abou tto

Pleasanton-Based Verticals onDemand Raises First Round of Funding

Pleasanton, Calif. -- Verticals onDemand, a Pleasanton-based provider of customer relationship management (CRM) software for specific industry segments, said on Monday that it has raised an undisclosed amount in its first round of funding from private investors. The company, which was founded in January by software industry veterans from Oracle, Siebel Systems, PeopleSoft, and salesforce.com, is initially focusing on the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device sectors.
http://www.verticalsondemand.com/news-media/press-releases/03-26-2007.php

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

San Mateo, Calif. -- AdMob, a San Mateo-based developer of mobile advertising tools, said on Monday that it has raised $15 million in its second round of funding, led by Accel Partners. Previous investor Sequoia Capital also participated. AdMob, which said that it has served more than 1.6 billion ads in less than a year, plans to use the proceeds to develop tools aimed at helping potential clients more easily Founded in 2006, AdMob makes self-serve web tools that allow advertisers and publishers to target and personalize mobile ads by country, language, carrier, phone brand, phone model, behavior and operating system.
http://www.admob.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070326/20070326005804.html?.v=1

S.F.-Based Pulse Mobile Raises $7 Million for Mobile Messaging, Entertainment

San Francisco -- Pulse Mobile, a San Francisco-based provider of user-generated mobile messaging and entertainment services, said that it has raised $7 million in its second round of venture capital financing. Participants included Anthem Venture Partners, Draper Associates, Shea Ventures, Hikari Tsushin Group and several other Asian and European investors. Pulse Mobile's technology automatically transforms 2D facial images into animated 3D characters with synchronized audio, and can be used to create user-generated animated picture messages, mobile wallpaper, video ringtones and other media. The company said that it will use the funds to expand the core functionality of its technology and support its distribution network.
http://www.pulse3d.com/news_March22_2007.html 

Menlo Park-Based Sierra Ventures Leads $12 Million Round for Marathon Technologies

Menlo Park, Calif. -- Sierra Ventures, a Menlo Park-based venture capital firm, has led a new $12 million funding round for Marathon Technologies, a Massachusetts-based provider of Virtualization software for Microsoft Windows systems. Other investors in the company's second round include Atlas Venture and Longworth Venture Partners. Marathon's products are designed to protect Windows applications from downtime, while eliminating the need for "failover" processes, specialized applications or proprietary server hardware. The company said that it experienced a significant increase in revenue in 2006, "with a proportional increase in its number of employees." Marathon has a customer base of about 1,200 companies and about 100 resellers and other strategic partners.
http://www.marathontechnologies.com/press_release.html?id=230&rand=578091801

San Jose-Based StarVox Completes Sale to U.S. Wireless Data

San Jose, Calif. -- StarVox Communications, a San Jose-based provider of traditional voice and enhanced Internet telephone services, said on Monday that it has completed the sale of the company to Los Angeles-based shell company U.S. Wireless Data. Financial terms of the deal, which has made StarVox a unit of U.S. Wireless, were not disclosed. StarVox will be the sole operations of U.S. Wireless, which was formed in June 2006 exclusively for the purpose of making an acquisition.   
http://www.starvox.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070326/20070326006153.html?.v=1

S.F.-Based InfoWorld Exits Print Publishing, Goes Completely Online

Boston -- InfoWorld, a San Francisco-based technology news and information publishing unit of International Data Group (IDG), announced that, as of next month, the publication will no longer be distributed in print, and will be available solely online. InfoWorld was founded 29 years ago. "The InfoWorld you know and love has simply relocated to a new address: www.infoworld.com," a blog on the company's web site said on Monday. "We're a relatively small group with limited resources, and going ahead and making a move that's eventually inevitable in any case lets us focus undivided attention on the areas of greatest future opportunity for our business." IDG's other major publishing brands include Channel World, CIO, Computerworld, CSO, DigitalWorld, GamePro, Macworld, Network World and PC World.
http://infoworlditexecconnect.leveragesoftware.com/blog_post_view.aspx?blogpostid=1f65804ef876441dba45e52b7dd2bb5b

S.F.-Based InfoWorld Exits Print Publishing, Goes Completely Online

Boston -- InfoWorld, a San Francisco-based technology news and information publishing unit of International Data Group (IDG), announced that, as of next month, the publication will no longer be distributed in print, and will be available solely online. InfoWorld was founded 29 years ago. "The InfoWorld you know and love has simply relocated to a new address: www.infoworld.com," a blog on the company's web site said on Monday. "We're a relatively small group with limited resources, and going ahead and making a move that's eventually inevitable in any case lets us focus undivided attention on the areas of greatest future opportunity for our business." IDG's other major publishing brands include Channel World, CIO, Computerworld, CSO, DigitalWorld, GamePro, Macworld, Network World and PC World.
http://infoworlditexecconnect.leveragesoftware.com/blog_post_view.aspx?blogpostid=1f65804ef876441dba45e52b7dd2bb5b

S.F.-Based InfoWorld Exits Print Publishing, Goes Completely Online

Boston -- InfoWorld, a San Francisco-based technology news and information publishing unit of International Data Group (IDG), announced that, as of next month, the publication will no longer be distributed in print, and will be available solely online. InfoWorld was founded 29 years ago. "The InfoWorld you know and love has simply relocated to a new address: www.infoworld.com," a blog on the company's web site said on Monday. "We're a relatively small group with limited resources, and going ahead and making a move that's eventually inevitable in any case lets us focus undivided attention on the areas of greatest future opportunity for our business." IDG's other major publishing brands include Channel World, CIO, Computerworld, CSO, DigitalWorld, GamePro, Macworld, Network World and PC World.
http://infoworlditexecconnect.leveragesoftware.com/blog_post_view.aspx?blogpostid=1f65804ef876441dba45e52b7dd2bb5b

Openwave Systems CEO Resigns, Company Explores Possible Sale

Redwood City, Calif. -- Openwave Systems, a Redwood City-based developer of open software products and services for the communications industry, said on Friday that David Peterschmidt has resigned as its president and CEO, and that the company has retained an advisor to help it explore strategic alternatives, including the possible sale of the company. The company has named Robert Vrij, previously its executive vice president of worldwide field operations, as its new president and CEO. He joined the company in January after serving as the president and CEO of Lucent's Europe, Middle East and Africa operations. Openwave also said that it has retained Merrill Lynch & Co. as its financial advisor to explore alternatives for the company, and also has formed a strategic alternatives committee, chaired by Peterschmidt. Harbinger Capital Partners, which owns more than 10% of Openwave's shares, expressed its disappointment in the naming of Peterschmidt to the role. "By appointing Peterschmidt to chair this committee, the board has put its interests and that of the senior management above those of shareholders and the company," said Harbinger in a statement. "The committee should be comprised of three independent board members who will be able to make unbiased decisions."
http://www.openwave.com/us/news_room/press_releases/2007/20070323_opwv_ceo_0323.htm
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070323/nyf060.html?.v=87

San Mateo-Based Glu Mobile Raises $84 Million in IPO; Stock Slips on Second Day

San Mateo, Calif. -- Shares of Glu Mobile fell more than 6% on Friday, a day after the San Mateo-based publisher of mobile games raised $84 million in its initial public offering (IPO). The company priced 7.3 million shares at $11.50 each, within its forecast range of $10-$12, for a market capitalization of around $327 million. Glu's shares climbed 11% on their first day of trading, but slid back on Friday to close at $11.51. Founded in 2001, Glu has developed or published more than 100 mobile games, which are available from over 150 carriers and other distributors worldwide. The company is trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol "GLUU."
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070321/20070321006250.html?.v=1
http://www.glu.com

Redwood Shores-Based Oracle to Acquire Massachusetts-Based Tangosol

Redwood Shores, Calif. -- Oracle, the Redwood Shores business software giant, said on Friday that it will acquire Tangosol, a Massachusetts-based maker of in-memory data grid software. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Data grid software is designed to increase the performance of  applications by providing fast, distributed access to frequently used data, and is most often used in industries such as financial services, telecommunications and travel and logistics. Oracle said that it plans to couple the software with its own products to create an integrated platform for businesses using a new model of transaction processing. The deal is expected to close in April.
http://www.oracle.com/corporate/press/2007_mar/tangosol.html

Yahoo to Distribute Video for New NBC-News Corp Video Service

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Sunnyvale-based  Yahoo will be one of a handful of major distribution partners for a new video-sharing service that plans to compete with YouTube starting this summer. NBC Universal and News Corp. said that they have formed a joint venture that will distribute thousands of hours of programming through partners AOL, MSN, MySpace and Yahoo. Each distribution partner -- which the companies said collectively represent 96% of the U.S. Internet audience -- will feature a customized, embeddable player offering free, ad-supported video. Initially, content will be provided by at least a dozen networks, and two major film studios, and will include full episodes and clips of shows like "Heroes," "24," "Saturday Night Live," "The Simpsons" and "The Tonight Show." The service also will offer movie trailers and bonus materials, with future plans including the possibility of original programming and the acquisition of additional content. Though users will be able to share their own videos, as well, the companies said that the main thrust of the new service will be their own copyrighted content.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070322/20070322005690.html?.v=1

RIAA Sends More Settlement Offer Letters to Campus File-Swappers

Washington, DC -- The Recording Industry Association of American (RIAA) has sent another round of letters to universities where students are believed to be engaged in illegal music file-sharing. A total of 405 letters were sent to 23 universities, asking each school to identify alleged infringers and forward them the RIAA's letter -- which offers a discounted settlement before a formal lawsuit is filed. The University of Wisconsin received the most letters (66), followed by Boston University (50) and Purdue University (38). "This is not our preferred course, but we hope that students will understand the consequences of stealing music and that our partners in the college community will appreciate the proactive role they can play,” said Cary Sherman, the president of the RIAA. The move comes a month after the RIAA sent several hundred similar letters to students at 13 universities.
http://www.riaa.com/news/newsletter/032107.asp

Palo Alto-Based Hewlett-Packard to Acquire Tabblo

Palo Alto, Calif. -- Hewlett-Packard (HP), the Palo Alto-based technology giant, said on Thursday that it will acquire Massachusetts-based Tabblo, a developer of web-based software that allows people to arrange and print text, graphics and photos from the web. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. HP said that it plans to make Tabblo's products broadly available by working with other companies to integrate the technology into their web sites. Tabblo was founded in 2005.
http://www.tabblo.com/studio/doc/press032207

Palm Granted Stay in Patent Suit Filed by Arlington-Based NTP

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- A federal judge in Virginia on Thursday granted Sunnyvale-based handheld device maker Palm a stay in its patent infringement lawsuit brought by Virginia-based NTP. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern Division of Virginia also struck down a portion of NTP's complaint alleging misbehavior at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which previously rejected all seven of its patents in question upon reexamination. Mary Doyle, Palm's senior vice president and general council, said that her company was "extremely pleased" with Thursday's rulings. "We hope and expect that the PTO's review of NTP's patents will confirm the decision of the examiners to reject them all and so avert the need for further litigation of this matter," she said. NTP sued Palm in November, eight months after collecting $612.5 million in a patent infringement settlement with Canada's Research In Motion (RIM), maker of BlackBerry wireless email devices.
http://investor.palm.com/pressdetail.cfm?ReleaseID=235119

San Jose-Based Electroglas to Raises $25.75 Million Through Private Placement

San Jose, Calif. -- Electroglas, a San Jose-based of wafer probers and software for the semiconductor industry, said on Thursday that it plans to raise $25.75 million through a private placement of convertible senior notes. The deal is expected to close on Monday. The company said that it will use the proceeds to pay off $8.5 million in outstanding bands due in June, as well as for working capital and capital expenditures. The notes are scheduled to mature in 2027.
http://ir.electroglas.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=82106&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=976531&highlight=

Menlo Park-Based Unidym to Merge with Carbon Nanotechnologies Inc.

Menlo Park, Calif. -- Unidym, a Menlo Park-based developer of materials, processes and devices for the electronics industry, said on Thursday that it has signed a deal to merge with Houston-based Carbon Nanotechnologies Inc. (CNI). The combined company will operate under the name Unidym and be headquartered in Menlo Park. Financial terms of the deal, expected to close in April, were not disclosed. CNI, founded in 2000 by the late Rice University professor Richard Smalley, produces carbon nanotubes and holds a broad portfolio of technology covering production processes. Unidym said that it plans to integrate CNI's carbon nanotube manufacturing capabilities into its ongoing development of transparent, conductive films. The manufacturing and development facilities for carbon nanotubes will remain in CNI's facilities in Houston.
http://www.unidym.com/pr_3.html

Palo Alto-Based Hercules Provides $15 Million in Debt Financing to Aegerion

Palo Alto, Calif. -- Building on its biotechnology portfolio, Palo Alto-based specialty finance firm Hercules Technology Growth Capital said on Thursday that it has provided $15 million of debt financing to New Jersey-based Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, a developer of therapeutics to treat cardiovascular and metabolic disease. Founded in 2003, Hercules provides debt and equity growth capital to technology companies at all stages of development.
http://www.aegerion.com/
http://www.htgc.com/hercules_news.asp?NewsType=3

Study: Venture-Backed Companies Account for One-Sixth of U.S. GDP

Arlington, Va. -- U.S. companies that received venture capital from 1970-2005 accounted for 10 million jobs and $2.1 trillion in revenues in 2005, according to a new study by the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). That represents 9% of the total private sector work force and about one-sixth of total U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). The study includes companies that raised venture capital but have since gone public, such as FedEx, Intel, Cisco, eBay and Home Depot. "We took three different measurements at three different points in the business cycle with unwavering results," said Mark Lauritano, the managing director of Global Insight's Lending & Payments Practice, which conducted the study for the NVCA. "The economic contribution that venture-backed companies make is sustainable and growing."
http://nvca.org/presscenter.html
http://nvca.org/pdf/VIPressreleasefinal.pdf (PDF)