Silicon Valley Wire

San Francisco-Based aniBoom Lands $10 Million in Second Round

San Francisco -- aniBoom, the San Francisco-based operator of a network of independent animators who produce original cartoons and animations, said on Friday that it has raised $10 million in its second round of funding, co-led by Draper Fisher Jurvetson and DFJ Tamir Fishman Ventures. Previous investor Evergreen Venture Partners also [participated in the round, which the company plans to use to expand its operations, fund short form content for web and mobile platforms and develop original animation series for television. Founded in 2006 by Uri Shinar, aniBoom currently has a network of more than 4,000 independent creators. "aniBoom is the innovator of the now very hot virtual digital animation studios and animation incubation model, and to see the major media and entertainment powers following suit is a strong endorsement of our vision," said Shinar.
http://www.aniBoom.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080627/20080627005135.html?.v=1

Shares of Yahoo Slide Following Organizational Changes

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Shares of Sunnyvale-based Yahoo slid 3% by mid-afternoon Friday, a day after the company announced a series of organizational changes aimed at bolstering its business. Among the changes are the centralization of Yahoo's consumer product development activities, the creation of a U.S. region, the formation of an insights strategy team and enhancements to the company's technology infrastructure designed to improve coordination between its product and engineering teams. Jerry Yang, Yahoo's CEO, said that the moves will help the company "build great products, grow our audiences and improve monetization globally." Chief among the company's technology goals will be to develop a new cloud computing and storage infrastructure, as well as to "rewire" Yahoo onto common platforms.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080626/20080626005924.html?.v=1

San Francisco-Based RateItAll Raises Funding

San Francisco -- RateItAll, the San Francisco-based developer of a consumer web application that lets users find, share and solicit opinions on any topic, said that it has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from investors including Accelerator Ventures, JAIC America, Pacific I&T Ventures and Eric Di Benedetto. RateItAll allows users to rate and review almost anything, and post their reviews to web sites through its widgets. Revenue is shared with content contributors. The company said that the site attracted about 1 million visitors during May, with the  number of ratings posted per month growing about 1000% since February.
http://www.rateitall.com/wt-funding.aspx 
http://www.rateitall.com

Ecologic Leasing Solutions Acquires San Francisco-Based Captara

San Francisco -- Ecologic Leasing Solutions, a Virginia-based provider of web-based software and outsourcing services used by large companies to manage corporate equipment leases, said that it has acquired its main competitor, San Francisco-based Captara. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Ecologic said that it actually gained control of Captara through a deal last June, but held off an fully integrating the company until the California firm recently settled trademark litigation. "Captara software enables users to easily plan and manage their corporate equipment lease portfolio," said Michael Keeler, the CEO of Ecologic. "We were most interested in their lessor marketplace functionality."
http://www.ecologicleasing.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080626/lath523.html?.v=12

Orbotech to Acquire San Jose-Based Photon Dynamics for $290M

San Jose, Calif. -- Orbotech, an Israel-based developer of supply chain technology for the electronics industry, said on Thursday that it will pay about $290 million in cash to acquire Photon Dynamics, a San Jose-based maker of test and repair systems for the liquid crystal (LCD) flat panel display industry. Orbotech said that the deal, it's largest to date, will help it grow and diversify its flat panel display business. "By teaming up with Orbotech… we will be able to grow the combined business and improve its competitive positioning as we face a maturing industry," said Jeffrey Hawthorne, the president and CEO of Photon Dynamics. The deal is expected to close during the second half of this year.
http://www.orbotech.com
http://www.photondynamics.com 
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080626/20080626005467.html?.v=1

Mountain View-Based Google Names Patrick Pichette New CFO

Mountain View, Calif. -- Completing a nearly year-long search, Mountain View-based Google has named Bell Canada executive Patrick Pichette to become its new senior vice president and CFO. Pichette, who will start on August 1 and become CFO on August 12. replaces George Reyes, who announced his plans to retire last August before officially stepping down in December. Most recently, Pichette served as the president of operations at Bell Canada, a company he joined in in 2001 as an executive vice president.
http://www.google.com
http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/pressrel/ir_20080625.html

San Mateo-Based BlueRoads Raises $6 Million in Fifth Round

San Mateo, Calif. -- BlueRoads, a developer of tools designed to help companies with multi-dimensional channels market and sell more effectively, said that it has raised $6 million in its fifth round of funding, led by ZenShin Capital. The company said that the round will help it to accelerate sales to medium and large corporations, including its expansion into additional vertical markets. BlueRoads' clients include Avaya, Brocade, Polycom, Xerox and NetApp.
http://www.blueroads.com
http://www.blueroads.com/news/pr_0625_08.html

Fremont-Based Mattson Technology to Cut 5% of Workforce

Fremont, Calif. -- Citing the continuing downturn in the wafer fabrication equipment industry, Fremont-based Mattson Technology, a supplier of process equipment used by semiconductor manufacturers, said on Thursday that it will cut its workforce by 5%, or about 25 jobs. "Memory spending is highly cyclical and has been exacerbated by the overall weak global economy," said David Dutton, the company's president and CEO. Mattson began informing affected employees on Wednesday, and expects to complete the process by the end of the next fiscal quarter. It expects to save $1.9 million a year as a result.
http://ir.mattson.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=318497
http://www.mattson.com/

Santa Clara-Based Intevac to Acquire Business from Oerlikon

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Intevac, a Santa Clara-based supplier of equipment to the hard disk drive industry and sensors, cameras and systems to the government, said on Thursday that it will acquire the magnetic media equipment business of Swiss high-tech firm Oerlikon. Financial terms of the deal, expected to close after mid-year, were not disclosed. Oerlikon said that it is streamlining its portfolio and divesting itself of non-core assets. "Our customers have undergone significant consolidation; and consequently, it is necessary for the supply base to consolidate as well," said Kevin Fairbairn, Intevac's president and CEO.
http://www.intevac.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080626/20080626005272.html?.v=1

Study: Bay Area Leads Nation in High-Tech Employment

Santa Clara, Calif. -- The Bay Area, combining the three metro areas of San Francisco, San Jose/Silicon Valley and Oakland, had 386,200 high-tech industry workers in 2006, the most of any metro area in the nation, according to AeA's newly released Cybercities report. San Jose held the majority of the tech industry jobs (225,300), and also had the highest concentration of tech workers in the nation, with more than one in four private sector workers employed by the tech industry. "AeA's Cybercities report places the Bay Area as the epicenter of the tech industry," said Ed Keible, the CEO of Endwave. "Combining Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose, we are the largest technology cluster in the nation."
http://www.aeanet.org/PressRoom/prjj_cc2008_bay_area.asp

Santa Clara-Based BridgeWave Lands $10 Million in Fourth Round

Santa Clara, Calif. -- BridgeWave Communications, a Santa Clara-based maker of gigabit wireless products, said on Wednesday that it has raised $10 million in its fourth round of funding, co-led by Core Capital Partners and Intel Capital. The company will use the round to develop and market new products that support next generation wireless networks. Launched in 1999, BridgeWave makes high-speed wireless communications links that provide an alternative to installing fiber cabling to connect local area networks between buildings, as well as to connect buildings to network backbones.
http://www.bridgewave.com 
http://www.bridgewave.com/company/pressreleases_20080625.cfm

Sourcefire Rejects Increased Takeover Bid by Barracuda Networks

Campbell, Calif. -- Barracuda Networks, a Campbell-based maker of email and web security appliances, said that Maryland-based Sourcefire has rejected its beefed up takeover bid. Barracuda revealed that it increased its unsolicited offer for the developer of open source intrusion detection technology by $0.75 to $8.25 a share, or about $206 million, in a letter earlier this month to Sourcefire Chairman Joseph Chinnici. Barracuda, however, said that Sourcefire then rejected the offer in a letter dated June 18,  shortly after the company's announcement that John Burris would replace Wayne Jackson as CEO. "The letter stated that the Sourcefire board believes the Barracuda Networks proposal is not in the best interest of Sourcefire and its stockholders," Barracuda said. Sourcefire rejected the company's original offer in May. "Despite their refusal of our revised proposal, we hope to continue dialogue with the Sourcefire board and Mr. Burris to reach mutually agreeable terms," said Dean Drako, the president and CEO of Barracuda.
http://www.barracudanetworks.com/ns/news_and_events/index.php?nid=276
http://www.sourcefire.com/

WSJ: Google to Launch Web Audience Measurement Service

Mountain View, Calif. -- Mountain View-based Google is planning to introduce a new Internet audience measurement service to compete with existing ratings provided by comScore and Nielsen, The Wall Street Journal reported. Unlike its competitors, however, Google is planning to make its service free, basing it mainly on data from web servers. Ad executives polled by The Journal were somewhat leery of seeing Google wield even more influence over the online advertising market. "For an advertiser, the last thing you want to do is to have your adviser be the same person you are spending your money with," Sarah Fay, the CEO of media agency Aegis North America, told the paper. Ad executives, however, said that they also see the service as a potential game-changer that will likely improvethe process of buying online ads.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121425232721997689 (subscription required)
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINN2328912920080623?rpc=44

S.F.-Based Yoono Lands $4 Million for Social Web Browser

San Francisco -- Yoono, the San Francisco-based developer of a social web browser extension for Mozilla's Firefox, has raised $4 million in its first round of venture capital financing, led by AGF Private Equity, TechCrunch reported. The company, which launched in May, just opened a public beta of its service, which allows users to share links, feeds and various media content. Yoono said that it will use the funds for continued growth, as well as to expand its offering of widgets.
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/06/24/yoono-launches-public-beta-gets-4-million-in-funding/ 
http://www.yoono.com

Mountain View-Based Coupons Inc. Acquires CouponBug

Mountain View, Calif. -- Coupons Inc., a Mountain View-based provider of printable coupon marketing and technology services, said on Wednesday that it has acquired Connecticut-based online coupon provider CouponBug. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Coupons Inc. said that the acquisition will give it direct relationships with television stations in more than 100 local television markets. The stations run TV commercials directing consumers to CouponBug-managed coupon sections of their web sites. "Television is still the most powerful medium for reaching the largest number of consumers, and CouponBug has shown that an integrated approach, with television driving traffic to printable coupons, is a winning formula," said Steven Boal, the CEO of Coupons Inc. The two companies have partnered since 2004.
http://www.couponsinc.com
http://www.couponsinc.com/corp/source/oc_press_release.asp?art=20080625&yr=2008&t=R

Report: Google-Yahoo Ad Deal Drawing Heavy Scrutiny in Washington

Mountain View, Calif. -- Mountain View-based Google's proposed online advertising partnership with Sunnyvale-based Yahoo is drawing heavy scrutiny in Washington, according to a new report in AdAge. Along with the Senate Judiciary Committee -- which has already announced plans to hold a hearing on the deal -- four other Congressional committees and the Justice Department reportedly are examining different aspects. "There are increasing concerns about data collection for online advertising practices across the popular web sites and search engines, the sharing of information and the ability of users to control their personal information," an aide to Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) told AdAge. The Justice Department reportedly also has contacted various customers of Yahoo and Google to seek their input on the potential impact of the deal in closed-door hearings.
http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=127946 

Stevie Awards for Women in Business Opens Nominations

Fairfax, Va. -- The Stevie Awards for Women in Business said that it has begun accepting nominations for its fifth annual competition. The awards feature 50 categories, including Best Entrepreneur, Best Executive, Mentor of the Year, Fastest Growing Company of the Year and Best New Product of the Year. All women entrepreneurs, executives and the organizations they run are eligible. Winners will be announced at a gala awards reception in New York in November. Entry kits and complete details on the competition are available at the link below.
http://www.stevieawards.com/women

Palo Alto-Based Jaxtr Raises $10 million in Second Round

Palo Alto, Calif. -- Jaxtr, a Palo Alto-based provider of Internet phone services for social networks and blogs, said on Tuesday that it has raised $10 million in its second round of funding, led by new investor Lehman Brothers Venture Partners. The company, which launched its first consumer service in March 2007, previously had raised $10 million in its first round last summer. The service, used by more than 10 million people, links users' mobile phones to the web, allowing them to keep their phone numbers private while making less expensive long distance calls.
http://www.jaxtr.com
http://www.jaxtr.com/user/press/june_24_2008.jsp

Sunnyvale-Based Proofpoint Acquires Email Archiving Firm Fortiva

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Proofpoint, a Sunnyvale-based developer of email and data security products that in February raised $28 million in funding, said on Tuesday that it has acquired Connecticut-based Fortiva, a developer of web-based email archiving software used for legal discovery, regulatory compliance and email storage management. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Gary Steele, the CEO of Proofpoint, called Fortiva's software "a natural extension" to his company's email security platform. Development and support for the Fortiva's software will continue to be based out of the company's Canadian headquarters in Toronto.
http://www.fortiva.com
http://www.proofpoint.com
http://www.proofpoint.com/news-and-events/press-releases/pressdetail.php?PressReleaseID=209

San Francisco-Based SeeSaw Lands $3.5 Million in Second Round

San Francisco -- SeeSaw Networks, the San Francisco-based developer of an out-of-home digital media advertising network, has raised $3.5 million in its second round of venture capital financing, PEHub.com reported. Participants included previous investor Sutter Hill Ventures. SeeSaw's network includes screens in over 22,000 venues, and claims to deliver more than 35 million impressions weekly. The company raised $10 million in its first round, which closed in November 2006.
http://www.pehub.com/article/articledetail.php?articlepostid=12851 
http://www.seesawnetworks.com 

Milpitas-Based Credence Systems to Merge with LTX

Milpitas, Calif. -- Credence Systems, a Milpitas-based maker of automated test equipment for the consumer semiconductor industry, said that it will merge with Massachusetts-based counterpart LTX. Credence shareholders will own 50.02% of the combined company under the all-stock deal. Lavi Lev, the president and CEO of Credence, will become the company's executive chairman during a transitional period, with David Tacelli, the president and CEO of LTX, retaining his roles. "The new company will address the broad, divergent test requirements of the wireless, computing, automotive and entertainment market segments," the companies said. The deal is expected to close in September.
http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/080622/0409346.html
http://www.ltx.com/ltxxweb.nsf/published/062208release?Open

California Drops to No. 4 in Milken Rankings for Technology and Science

San Diego -- California is in the fourth best position of any state to achieve high-quality economic growth thanks to its technology and science assets, according to a new study by the Milken Institute. The state dropped two spots from its previous ranking in 2004. Massachusetts, which just passed a $1 billion life sciences bill, topped the list, with Maryland, Colorado, California and Washington rounding out the top five. "The changes in this year's Index give a good measure of who is ahead in the increasing competition for scarce human capital and other resources needed for a successful industry," said Ross DeVol, Miken's director of regional economics and lead author of the study. The index looks at 77 indicators categorized into five major components: Research and Development Inputs, Risk Capital and Entrepreneurial Infrastructure, Human Capital Investment, Technology and Science Work Force, and Technology Concentration and Dynamism.
http://www.milkeninstitute.org/newsroom/newsroom.taf?cat=press&function=detail&level1=new&ID=142&utm_source=Publicaster&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Milken+Institute

Cupertino-Based Parascale Raises $11.4 Million in First Round

Cupertino, Calif. -- Parascale, a developer of cloud storage systems for rich media content, said on Monday that it has raised $11.4 million in its first round of funding, co-led by Charles River Ventures and Menlo Ventures. The company said that it will use the proceeds for product development and marketing in preparation for the launch of Parascale Cloud Storage, an application that aggregates disk storage on multiple Linux servers. Founded in 2004 by industry veteran Cameron Bahar, Parascale focuses on the media and entertainment markets, but also provides a platform for handling content in the oil and gas, medical imaging, video surveillance and genomic industries.
http://www.parascale.com
http://www.parascale.com/index.php/parascale-funding

E&Y Names Winners of Northern Calif. Entrepreneur of the Year Awards

San Francisco -- Eleven of the Bay Area's top technology executives have been named winners of the 2008 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards for Northern California. The firm on Friday announced the award recipients during an event in San Francisco. An independent panel of judges selected winners in categories such as "Online Services,'" "Software," "Technology" and "Clean Tech." Winners, available at the link below, will be eligible for consideration in Ernst & Young's national Entrepreneur of The Year program.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080623/lam061.html?.v=101

Santa Clara-Based WhiteHat Security Lands $7 Million in Fourth Round

Santa Clara, Calif. -- WhiteHat Security, a Santa Clara-based provider of web site security services, said on Monday that it has secured $7 million in its fourth round of funding, led by new investor Horizon Ventures. Previous backers Altos Ventures, Garage Technology Ventures and Startup Capital Ventures also participated in the round, which it plans to use to fuel its product development and sales and marketing efforts. "Because of the prevalence of web-based attacks, the demand for web application security is growing rapidly," said Stephanie Fohn, the CEO of WhiteHat. "This new round of funding will help us meet that demand."
http://www.whitehatsec.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080623/nem033.html?.v=51

Redwood Shores-Based Oracle to Acquire Business from Skywire

Redwood Shores, Calif. -- Oracle, the Redwood Shores-based developer of back-office business software, said on Monday that it will acquire the application software business of Texas-Based Skywire Software. Financial terms of the deal, expected to close after mid-year, were not disclosed. Skywire's software is designed to help its 1,450 insurance customers manage insurance policies. Oracle said that the acquisition, coupled with its pending acquisition of AdminServer, will help it to complete a software suite for the insurance industry. Skywire's employees and management are expected to join Oracle's Insurance Global unit.
http://www.oracle.com/SkywireSoftware
http://www.oracle.com/SkywireSoftware/customer-letter.html

UC-Berkeley Professor Wins Kyoto Prize for Advance Technology

Berkeley, Calif. -- University of California, Berkeley professor Richard Manning Karp has been named the winner of the 2008 Kyoto Prize for Advanced Technology. The Kyoto Prize, presented annually by the non-profit Inamori Foundation of Japan, is a lifetime achievement award honoring "significant contributions to the scientific, cultural and spiritual development of humanity." Past winners include Jane Goodall, Noam Chomsky, Akira Kurosawa, Roy Lichtenstein, Leroy Hood and Alan Kay. Karp, 73, will receive the award for his contributions to the theory of computational complexity, which he began developing in the early 1970s by establishing the theory of NP-completeness. In addition to creating computer algorithms of his own, Karp's work has profoundly influenced the guiding principles behind the analysis and design of algorithms used in many scientific disciplines. Each of this year's three Kyoto Prize laureates will receive a diploma, a 20-karat gold medal and a cash gift of 50 million yen (approximately $460,000).
http://www.inamori-f.or.jp/laureates/k24_a_richard/prs_e.html

San Francisco-Based Seesmic Lands Another $6 Million

San Francisco -- Just four months after raising $6 million in funding, San Francisco-based Seesmic, a developer of webcam video distribution technology, has raised another $6 million, VentureBeat reported. Omidyar Network and Wellington Partners reportedly led the round. The company's platform is used on more than 1,500 sites to allow users to post short videos on blogs or clips to comments sections. Seesmic, founded by French web entrepreneur Loic Le Meur, in February raised its first round of funding, led by Atomico. Other investors included Steve Case, the co-founder of AOL; Michael Arrington, the founder of TechCrunch, and Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn,
http://www.seesmic.com
http://venturebeat.com/2008/06/20/seesmic-raises-another-6m-for-online-video/

Financial Times: Microsoft Won't Pursue Other Internet Acquisitions

Palo Alto, Calif. -- Despite speculation to the contrary, Microsoft told the Financial Times on Friday that it won't attempt to make up for its failed bid for Sunnyvale-based Yahoo by pursuing other acquisition targets such as Palo Alto-based Facebook or AOL. "People don’t understand what they’re talking about," Steve Ballmer, the CEO of Microsoft, told the paper. "At the end of the day, this is about the ad platform. This is not about just any one of the applications." Rumors have swirled in recent months about the potential sale of AOL by parent Time Warner. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9f71573c-3e3e-11dd-b16d-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1

Take-Two Strikes Deal with FTC to Provide Info on EA Bid

Redwood City, Calif. -- Take-Two Interactive, the New York-based video game publisher behind "Grand Theft Auto," said that it has reached a deal to provide information to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding Electronic Arts' takeover bid. Take-Two, which initially had refused to comply with a subpoena from the FTC, said that the agreement will allow it to "limit the scope of its production of information and witnesses," and also "substantially reduce the economic burden on the company." The agreement also alleviates the need for a federal court hearing, which had been scheduled for June 24. Take-Two repeatedly has rejected EA's unsolicited $2 billion takeover bid. Redwood City-based EA earlier this week extended its tender offer for the company until July 18. So far, less than 8% of Take-Two's shares have been tendered.
http://ir.take2games.com/EdgarDetail.cfm?CIK=946581&FID=1104659-08-40790&SID=08-00

Semiconductor Equipment Orders Continue Downward Trend

San Jose, Calif. -- North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.03 billion in orders in May, down 37% from the same period in 2007 and also 5% less than figures from the prior month, according to a new report from San Jose-based industry association SEMI. The group also reported a book-to-bill ratio of 0.79, meaning that $79 worth of orders were received for every $100 of products billed for the month. "Booking are approaching levels observed in 2005, which was the last time the semiconductor industry reported a year-over-year decline," said Stanley Myers, the president and CEO of SEMI. "The data does not indicate a change in this trend over the next quarter."
http://www.semi.org   
http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=871115&sourceType=2

San Francisco-Based Mochi Media Raises $10 Million in Second Round

San Francisco -- Mochi Media, the San Francisco-based developer of an online games advertising network, said on Thursday that it has raised $10 million in its second round of funding, led by Shasta Ventures. Previous investor Accel Partners also participated in the round, which the company will use to grow its platform of tools and services for the game development community. Launched in October, the company's flagship MochiAds game distribution and ad network now reaches over 60 million unique users a month. The company also has developed a Flash analytics product and a free service that allows publishers to search, add and monetize Mochi's catalog of games. "This capital will help us move forward in key areas of our business," said Jameson Hsu, Mochi Media's CEO.
http://www.mochimedia.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/080619/0408487.html

Yahoo CEO Visits Capital Hill to Rally Support for Google Ad Deal

Washington, DC -- Trying to assuage antitrust concerns, Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang on Wednesday met with Congressional leaders on Capital Hill to outline details of the company's recently signed ad pact with Google, Dow Jones Newswires reported. Under the deal announced last week, Sunnyvale-based Yahoo will run ads supplied by Mountain View-based Google alongside its own search results, as well as on some of its web properties in the U.S. and Canada. Some lawmakers, however, have expressed concerns about the deal's ramifications, citing recent statistics showing that Google and Yahoo together accounted for 80% of online searched in the U.S. during April. Yang reportedly met with Sen. Herb Kohl, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee's Antitrust Subcommittee, as well as Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin House Energy and Commerce Telecommunications Subcommittee Chair Edward Markey. Though he did not meet with Yang, Sen. Joe Barton, the ranking Republican of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, also expressed his concerns in a statement. "I am concerned about how this collaboration will impact competition within the online search advertising industry," Barton wrote.
http://republicans.energycommerce.house.gov/Media/File/News/6.18.08_Letter_to_Yahoo_on_Partnership.pdf (PDF)
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200806181808DOWJONESDJONLINE000846_FORTUNE5.htm

Menlo Park-Based Center'd Lands $6.5M, Debuts Event Planning Site

Menlo Park, Calif. -- Center'd, the Menlo Park-based developer of an online service that combines local search, event planning and social networking, said that it has launched a public beta test of its site after raising $6.5 million in funding. Norwest Venture Partners and Keynote Ventures participated in the round. Center'd's site features tools designed to help users to manage all of the core elements of local planning, including picking a place, agreeing on a time, selecting service providers, sending invites, managing volunteers, hosting and communicating. The company was founded by a team of former Microsoft and Yahoo executives. CEO Jennifer Dulski formerly served as Yahoo's vice president and general manager of local markets and commerce, while CTO Chandu Thota was the lead developer for Virtual Earth at Microsoft.
http://www.centerd.com
http://sev.prnewswire.com/computer-electronics/20080618/AQW06818062008-1.html

Palo Alto-Based TIBCO Software to Acquire Insightful Corp.

Palo Alto, Calif. -- TIBCO Software, a Palo Alto-based maker of business process management software, said on Thursday that it will acquire Seattle-based Insightful Corp., a developer of predictive analytics and reporting software, in a deal valued at $25 million. The deal is expected to close after mid-year, when Insightful will become a subsidiary of TIBCO and its stock will cease trading. TIBCO said that the acquisition will complement key growth areas within its business optimization portfolio.
http://www.insightful.com/
http://www.tibco.com/company/news/releases/2008/press913.jsp

Report: Internet Ad Revenue Rises 18.2% in First Quarter

New York -- Internet advertising revenue reached $5.8 billion in the first quarter, up 18.2% over the same period in 2007, according to new data from the Internet Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers. The figure is the second-highest quarterly tally ever recorded, following $5.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007. It also, however, marks the first time in three years that Internet ad revenue experienced a quarter-to-quarter decline. "The fundamentals of interactive advertising spend continues to be positive and I would expect to see continued growth in the future," said David Silverman of PricewaterhouseCoopers. "The cyclical fourth quarter to first quarter drop in traditional media advertising spend, combined with an overall economic slowdown, resulted in a not so unexpected first quarter slowdown in the growth of online advertising," said
http://www.iab.net/insights_research/iab_news_article/339798?o12499

Mountain View-Based LinkedIn Raises $53M; Valuation $1 Billion

Mountain View, Calif. -- In one of the largest rounds for a Bay Area technology company in recent months, Mountain View-based LinkedIn, creator of an online professional network with more than 23 million members, said on Wednesday that it has secured $53 million in its fourth round of funding, which values the company at just over $1 billion. Bain Capital Ventures led the round, which also included previous investors Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners. The funding comes as LinkedIn is in the process of launching several new lines of business. Its current revenue streams include advertising, subscriptions, job listings and corporate hiring technology.
http://www.linkedin.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080618/20080618005397.html?.v=1

Berkeley-Based i2we Lands $750,000 in First Round

Berkeley, Calif. -- i2we, a Berkeley-based developer of social networking applications, has landed $750,000 in its first round of funding, led by IDG Ventures San Francisco, PEHub.com reported. The company, founded by Karel Baloun, the first senior engineer at Facebook, said that its social applications have been installed more than 1.5 million times on Facebook. They include I Am Green, I Am Happy, I Am Teacher and over 200 other similar "I Am" apps.
http://www.pehub.com/article/articledetail.php?articlepostid=12728
http://www.i2we.com 

Santa Clara-based Agilent Technologies Acquires RVM Scientific

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Agilent Technologies, the Santa Clara-based developer of communications, electronics, life sciences and chemical analysis technology, said on Wednesday that it has acquired RVM Scientific, a Santa Barbara-based manufacturer of rapid, direct heating and cooling systems. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Agilent said that the acquisition expands its portfolio of gas chromatography platform products. Robert Mustacich, the founder and president of RVM Scientific, has joined Agilent in an R&D capacity.
http://www.agilent.com
http://www.agilent.com/about/newsroom/presrel/2008/18jun-gp08009.html

CEA Launches Competition for New Consumer Technologies

Las Vegas -- The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has announced plans for a new technology event and competition, designed to uncover the most innovative new consumer technology products coming to market. The event, called i-stage, will take place at the CEA's Industry Forum, scheduled October 19-22 in Las Vegas, and will feature product demonstrations and presentations of technologies ready for launch. The top prize for the winning product will include $50,000 in funding to assist with product deployment and a showcase booth at the 2009 International CES tradeshow. The CEA will accept entries through August 1 at the link below.
http://www.ce.org/istage/EntryForm.aspx

Inman News Names Finalists for 2008 Innovator Awards

San Francisco -- Inman News has named 25 finalists for its Innovator Awards, which annually honor companies that "use technology and innovation to enhance the real estate transaction and experience for consumers and real estate professionals." Categories include Brokerage or Franchise, New Technology, Web Service, Blog and Media Site.  Winners will be announced in a July 25 ceremony during Inman's annual Real Estate Connect SF technology conference, held July 23-25 in San Francisco. Previous winners include Google Earth, Century21, N.Y. Times Real Estate, E*Trade and Lending Tree, to name a few. This year's finalists are available at the link below.
http://www.inman.com/events/real-estate-connect-san-francisco-2008/innovator-awards

Survey: VCs Foresee Rise in Digital Content Investments

New York -- A majority (52%) of venture capitalists expect investments in digital content creation to increase over the next two years, according to a new survey by KPMG. One-quarter of those believe investments will rise at least 20%. Fifty-nine percent of respondents expect to see more mergers and acquisitions in the coming year, while 90% predict the mass adoption of mobile video in the next five years. "The population of consumers who prefer to receive content via their mobile devices is a rapidly growing segment of the market, and VCs have shown keen interest," said KPMG partner Brian Hughes. "We've seen new funds created specifically for the mobile sector, and social media also continues to gain traction."
http://www.us.kpmg.com
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/06-17-2008/0004833845&EDATE=

Redwood City-Based Funambol Lands $12.5 Million in Second Round

Redwood City, Calif. -- Funambol, a Redwood City-based developer of open source mobile messaging software, said on Tuesday that it has secured $12.5 million in its second round of funding, led by Nexit Ventures. New investor Castile Ventures and previous investor Walden International and HIG Ventures also participated. The company, which now has raised $25 million since its inception, said that it will use a portion of the new capital to accelerate global expansion, particularly in Europe and Asia. "With this funding, we have strengthened our financial resources to enable us to add geographic support in global markets where we see significant demand for mass market open source push email," said Fabrizio Capobianco, the CEO of Funambol.
http://www.funambol.com
http://www.funambol.com/news/pressrelease_2008.6.17.php

Redwood City-Based EA Again Extends $2 Billion Offer for Take-Two

Redwood City, Calif. -- Electronic Arts (EA), the Redwood City-based developer and publisher of video games, on Wednesday extended its $2 billion takeover bid for New York-based Take-Two Interactive Software until July 18. The tender offer of $25.74 a share was previously set to expire at midnight Monday. So far, less than 8% of Take-Two's shares have been tendered. Take-Two's management, which has repeatedly rejected the offer, reiterated that stance on Tuesday. "The latest extension of EA’s unsolicited, highly conditional tender offer does not alter the fact that their proposal still significantly undervalues Take-Two, a fact that is reflected in the overwhelming number of stockholders who still have not tendered their shares," said Strauss Zelnick, the company's chairman. Take-Two recently launched the latest version of its blockbuster "Grand Theft Auto" franchise, and already has sold more than 8.5 million copies. "We congratulate Rockstar on the successful launch of GTA IV, but believe our offer reflects a full and fair price based on the long-term value of Take-Two's entire operation," said Owen Mahoney, EA's senior vice president of corporate development.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080617/20080617005851.html?.v=1
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080617/20080617005656.html?.v=1

Sausalito-Based ImageSpan Raises $11 Million in Second Round

Sausalito, Calif. -- ImageSpan, a Sausalito-based developer of infrastructure for digital content licensing, said on Tuesday that it has raised $11 million in its second round of funding, led by Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments. Previous investors Greycroft Partners and Village Ventures also participated, along with the New York City Investment Fund, City Light Capital Management and Ackerley Partners. ImageSpan's platform is used to license digital photographs, illustrations and video content. The company's current clients include Omnicoms Zimmerman Partners, Sports Illustrated, TAKKLE, Dealer.com and Visible World.
http://www.imagespan.com
http://www.imagespan.com/corporate/release/release-06-16-08.html

Santa Clara-Based ShotSpotter Raises $7.5 Million in Fourth Round

Santa Clara, Calif. -- ShotSpotter, a Santa Clara-based developer of gunshot location systems and technology used by public safety and the military clients, said on Tuesday that it has raised $7.5 million in its fourth round of funding. The Westly Group led the round, which also included participation by Norwest Venture Partners, Broidy Capital Management and previous investors Labrador Ventures, Levensohn Venture Partners and Claremont Creek Ventures. The company will use the new capital to fuel its market expansion both domestically and internationally. Twenty-nine U.S. cities use ShotSpotter's systems to detect and locate gunfire. The systems also create audio files of the event and capture information that can be used in subsequent investigations and criminal prosecutions.
http://www.shotspotter.com
http://www.shotspotter.com/news/pressreleases/2008/pr_061708_SeriesD.html

Pleasanton-Based Verticals onDemand Raises $4 Million

Pleasanton, Calif. -- Verticals onDemand, a Pleasanton-based developer of web-based customer relationship management software for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, said on Wednesday that it has raised $4 million in a new round of funding from Emergence Capital Partners. The company said that it will use the capital to accelerate the growth of its flagship VBioPharma product in the life sciences market, as well as to expand into other vertical markets. Verticals onDemand said that it has signed over 15 new customers in the past 10 months.
http://www.verticalsondemand.com
http://www.verticalsondemand.com/news-media/press-releases/press-release.php?article=98

Deloitte to Acquire Walnut Creek-Based Recombinant Capital

Walnut Creek, Calif. -- Deloitte, the large New York-based consulting firm, said that it will acquire Recombinant Capital (ReCap), the Walnut Creek-based provider of a life sciences subscription database and advisory services. Financial terms of the deal, expected to close within the next month, were not disclosed. Recap's database provides more than 1,500 subscribers with access to historical data used to track publicly available information in the life sciences industry, ranging from alliance formations to intellectual property ownership and clinical trials data.
http://www.recap.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080616/clm053.html?.v=101

Intel Spins Off Solar Technology Assets into SpectraWatt

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Hoping to spur new development and demand for renewable energy sources, Santa Clara-based chipmaker Intel said on Monday that it has spun off key business assets to form an independent company called SpectraWatt, which will manufacturer photovoltaic solar cells. The new company is being backed by $50 million in investments, led by Intel Capital. Goldman Sachs unit Cogentrix Energy, PCG Clean Energy and Technology Fund and Solon also participated. SpectraWatt will focus on improving manufacturing processes and capabilities to reduce the cost of photovoltaic energy generation. The company expects to break ground on its manufacturing and technology development facility in Oregon afdter mid-year, with first product shipments expected by mid-2009.
http://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/releases/20080616corp.htm
http://www.intel.com/capital/

Mountain View-Based PSS Systems Raises $18 Million in Funding

Mountain View, Calif. -- PSS Systems, a Mountain View-based developer of software designed to help companies manage their legal holds and retention programs, said on Friday that it has raised $18 million in a now round of funding led by FTVentures.  Previous investors Lightspeed Venture Partners, Azure Capital, Granite Ventures and Cipio Partners also participated. The company said that it will use the new capital to aggressively expand its legal governance product portfolio, as well as its presence in the U.S. and European markets. PSS, which expects to be profitable this year, said that it plans to open a number of new  customer-facing offices in the coming months.
http://www.pss-systems.com
http://www.pss-systems.com/news/080616.html