Silicon Valley Wire

San Jose-Based Veraz Networks Cuts 160 Jobs

San Jose, Calif. -- Looking to return to profitability, San Jose-based Veraz Networks, a developer of application, control and bandwidth optimization products, said on Thursday that it has cut 160 jobs, or about 35% of its workforce. The company, which said that the move will "significantly" lower its break-even point, will be left with about 300 employees. "While these workforce reductions are difficult for all involved, today's actions are necessary in light of the challenging business environment," said Doug Sabella, the president and CEO of Veraz. "We believe that these restructuring initiatives will allow us to return to profitability while taking advantage of growth opportunities." The company will take a restructuring charge of $1.2-$1.5 million as a result of the cuts. Veraz is expected to report its quarterly results on Aug. 6. Earlier this month, the company said that it expects to record revenue of $15-$17 million, about half as much as a year ago.
http://www.veraznetworks.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080731/20080731006399.html?.v=1

WSJ: Google Planning to Launch Venture Capital Arm

Mountain View, Calif. -- Following the lead of other technology firms such as Intel and Motorola, Mountain View-based Google is planning to launch a new venture capital arm, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. Citing several people knowledgeable about the situation, the paper said that the company has hired former entrepreneur William Maris to help set up the venture, which will be led by David Drummond, Google's senior vice president of corporate development and chief legal officer. Details, such as the kind of investments the group will make, remain unclear. The company last year unveiled plans to invest several hundred million dollars in renewable energy projects through its philanthropic arm.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121747323523899779.html?mod=2_1571_topbox&apl=y&r=87682 (subscription required)
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080731/google_vc.html?.v=2
http://www.google.com

Santa Clara-Based Kickfire Raises $20 Million in Second Round

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Kickfire, the Santa Clara-based developer of an open source database appliance for the MySQL market, said on Thursday that it has raised $20 million in its second round of funding, led by Pinnacle Ventures. Previous investors Accel Partners, Greylock Partners and The Mayfield Fund also participated in the round, which the company will use to build out the sales, marketing and customer operations infrastructure, as well as bring its appliance to market. Kickfire said that its appliance is built to capitalize on the analysis and reporting needs of the more than 11 million active MySQL installations that are struggling to support explosive data volumes.
http://www.kickfire.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/080730/0420319.html

San Francisco-Based ngmoco Lands First Round of Funding

San Francisco -- ngmoco, a new San Francisco-based publisher of games for Apple's iPhone, said on Thursday that it has raised an unspecified amount of funding in its first round, led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB). Maples Investments also participated. As part of the deal, Bing Gordon, a partner at KPCB and former chief creative officer at  Electronic Arts (EA), will join the company's board. ngmoco said that it will use the new capital to create, acquire and publish games built specifically for the iPhone. The investment comes four months after KPCB launched its iFund, a $100 million fund to invest in companies developing applications and services for Apple's iPhone and iPod touch. "The iPhone is the next great game platform and we see an incredible opportunity to build games worthy of the customers that use it," said Neil Young, the CEO of ngmoco.
http://www.ngmoco.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080731/20080731005859.html?.v=1

Facebook to Use Intel Chips to Beef Up Datacenter Infrastructure

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Intel, the Santa Clara-based chipmaker said on Thursday that it has signed a deal with Palo Alto-based Facebook to help optimize the social network's hardware and software as the company builds out its datacenter infrastructure. Facebook said that it plans to deploy thousands of Intel Xeon processor-based servers over the next year to help it meet the processing needs of its increasingly rich media applications that span videos, music and photos. Facebook said that it has been testing a number of different server platforms and scenarios over the past several months. The company, which counts more than 90 million members, now has begun deploying the new Intel chips.
http://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/releases/20080731comp.htm
http://www.facebook.com

San Jose-Based RFI Cracks List of Top 100 Security Systems Integrators

San Jose, Calif. -- San Jose-based RFI Communications and Security Systems is the top-ranked state firm on Security Distributing & Marketing (SDM) Magazine's newly released annual ranking of the nation’s top 100 security systems integrators, based on 2007 revenue. RFI came in at No. 18 with revenue of $40.6 million. Launched in 1979, the firm has 221 full-time employees and handled more than 1,500 new projects last year. The report ranks the nation's largest firms that contract electronic security projects, such as access control, video surveillance, alarms, perimeter security and other network-based technologies. The complete list, which includes a half dozen other state companies, is available at the links below.
http://www.sdmmag.com/SDM/Home/Files/PDFs/Integrators.pdf (PDF)
http://www.sdmmag.com/Articles/Cover_Story/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000375514

Crescendo Networks Raises $9.5 Million in Third Round

Menlo Park, Calif. -- Crescendo Networks, an Israeli developer of application acceleration technologies that late last year moved its North American headquarters from Florida to Menlo Park, said on Wednesday that it has raised $9.5 million in its third round do funding. New investor The Challenge Fund - Etgar II joined previous investors Evergreen Venture Partners, Apax Partners, Magma Venture Partners, StageOne Ventures and Convergent Capital in the round, which increased the company's total backing to $36.2 million. Adoram Ga'ash, the company's chairman and CEO, said that the round will help expand the company's worldwide operations in preparation for new product rollouts. "Therefore, finding a perfect fit to help fund these operations was essential," said Ga'ash. Crescendo's technology is designed to improve the operation of application infrastructure. Clients include Aeropostale, Colgate, Friendster and ICBC.
http://www.crescendonetworks.com
http://www.crescendonetworks.com/press-releases.aspx?46107

Santa Clara-Based Intel Capital Invests $12.5 Million in Voltaix

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Intel Capital, the investment arm of Santa Clara-based chipmaker Intel, said that it has invested $12.5 million in Voltaix, a New Jersey-based provider of materials for semiconductor chips and solar cells. Voltaix, the former ChemOvonic Division of Energy Conversion Devices, was spun off as an independent business in 1986. In 1998, the company acquired Florida Scientific Laboratories. The company said it will use the new capital to accelerate its manufacturing capacity expansion.
http://www.voltaix.com
http://www.voltaix.com/press/07_29_2008.htm 

WSJ: Earthlink May Pursue Bid for AOL's Dial-Up Business

New York -- The CEO of Earthlink told The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that his company is contemplating a possible bid for the dial-up Internet business of AOL. "We think it's worth aggressively pursuing," Rolla Huff told The Journal, adding that such a bid would depend on the outcome of recent talks between AOL parent Time Warner and potential suitors Microsoft and Sunnyvale-based Yahoo. "There's a lot of things in play here that are moving around." Both dial-up businesses have experienced sharp losses in subscribers in recent years, with the emergence of faster broadband services. During Earthlink's quarterly earnings conference call on Tuesday, Huff said that his company is "best positioned to be the consolidator in this industry." Huff declined to reveal whether Earthlink currently is in talks with Time Warner. AOL has sharply deemphasized its dial-up business in recent months in favor of a more lucrative online advertising model.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121736759842294717.html?mod=yahoo_hs&ru=yahoo (subscription required)
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/earthlink-shares-fall-aol-bid/story.aspx?guid=%7BEE00CEF1%2DBB58%2D4433%2DB1AF%2D0C47B0E0653A%7D&siteid=yhoof
http://seekingalpha.com/article/87752-earthlink-inc-q2-2008-earnings-call-transcript?source=yahoo

"Scrabulous" Knock-off Game Removed from Facebook

Palo Alto, Calif. -- "Scrabulous," the popular Internet knock-off of Hasbro's official "Scrabble" game that recently was targeted with a copyright infringement lawsuit, has been removed from the U.S. and Canadian versions of Palo Alto-based online social network Facebook. "In response to a legal request from Hasbro, the copyright and trademark holder for Scrabble in the U.S. and Canada, the developers of Scrabulous have suspended their application in the U.S. and Canada until further notice," a Facebook representative told CNET News.com. Hasbro sued the makers of Scrabulous last week, shortly after its official online Scrabble game, developed by Redwood City-based Electronic Arts (EA)  became available on Facebook. The company also sent a cease-and-desist to Facebook, asking the company to remove the game from its sites. The knock-off game was counting over 500,000 daily active users on Facebook as of last week.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10001319-36.html
http://www.scrabulous.com

Local Companies Well Represented in 2008 CRN Fast Growth 100 List

San Francisco -- Bear Data Systems, a San Francisco-based provider of IT infrastructure services, leads several local companies on Everything Channel's newly released 2008 CRN Fast Growth 100 list. The list ranks U.S. companies that derive a majority of their revenue from IT services, based on their rate of revenue growth between 2005-2007. Bear Data Systems ranked No. 20 with growth of (190.5%). Other locals on the list include San Francisco-based FusionStorm (No. 29, 146.6%), Campbell-based Groupware Technology (No. 35, 125%), Santa Clara-based Infoyogi (No. 48, 99.7%) and Livermore-based AMS.Net, (No. 54, 94.1%). The complete list is available at the link below.
http://www.crn.com/crn/fastgrowth/fg_2008.jhtml

British Telecom Acquires Mountain View-Based Ribbit

Mountain View, Calif. -- British Telecommunications (BT), the U.K. telecommunications giant, said on Tuesday that it paid $105 million in cash to acquire Mountain View-based Ribbit, developer of an open platform that allows users to combine telephony and Internet technologies to create new voice applications and services. BT said that the acquisition will accelerate its strategy to transform into a platform-based, software-driven services company. "With Ribbit, not only do we extend our presence in the Valley, but we also gain a groundbreaking platform, a growing community of developers and a world-class team that share a common vision," said JP Rangaswami, the managing director of service design at BT. Using Ribbit's platform, developers are able to add voice and automation features to virtually any web-based application or community. Ribbit was founded in early 2006 and funded by venture capital firms Alsop Louie Partners, Allegis Capital, KPG Ventures and Peninsula Ventures.
http://www.ribbit.com
http://www.bt.com/aboutbt
http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/080729/0419882.html

HP, Intel and Yahoo Team on Cloud Computing Project

Three of the Bay Area's technology giants, Palo Alto-based HP, Santa Clara-based Intel and Sunnyvale-based Yahoo, said on Tuesday that they have partnered to create an open source test bed aimed at advancing cloud computing research and education. The companies said that the project will provide a large-scale testing environment designed to encourage research on the software, data center management and hardware issues associated with cloud computing. Other partners in the project include the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany. The test bed initially will consist of six "centers of excellence" -- each hosting a cloud computing infrastructure, largely based on HP's hardware and Intel's processors. The locations are expected to be fully operational and made accessible to researchers through a selection process later this year. "To realize the full potential of cloud computing, the technology industry must think about the cloud as a platform for creating new services and experiences," said Prith Banerjee, the senior vice president of research at HP and director of HP Labs. "This requires an entirely new approach to the way we design, deploy and manage cloud infrastructure and services."
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080729/20080729005585.html?.v=1
http://www.intel.com
http://www.yahoo.com
http://www.hp.com

Emeryville-Based MedeFinance Lands $50 Million in Funding

Emeryville, Calif. -- MedeFinance, an Emeryville-based provider of web-based business analytics and client services to healthcare organizations, said that it has raised $50 million in a new round of funding led by Bain Capital Ventures. Several previous investors also participated in the round, which the company plans to use to fund new growth initiatives and acquisition opportunities. The company also used a portion of the proceeds to complete a stock repurchase from certain investors. "We are extremely pleased by the vote of confidence Bain has given the company and its strategy," said Michael Gallagher, the CEO of MedeFinance. The company provides a range of web-based software for improving the financial, operational and clinical performance of healthcare organizations.
http://www.medefinance.com/company/PR/2008_07_28.html
http://www.baincapitalventures.com/ 

Mountain View-Based Actel Acquires Pigeon Point Systems

Mountain View, Calif. -- Actel, a Mountain View-based developer of power-efficient chips, said on Tuesday that it has acquired Scotts Valley-based Pigeon Point Systems, a supplier of components for the management of telecommunications computing architecture. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition, which builds on an existing partnership between the companies, gives Actel 140 customers, including several of the top communications equipment manufacturers. Actel said that the companies' combined portfolio of reference designs, development kits, development environments and design services gives designers the capability to address system and power management issues throughout the design process.Pigeon Point will become an Actel subsidiary, continuing to operate out of its current headquarters.
http://www.pigeonpoint.com
http://www.actel.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080729/aqtu030.html?.v=63

Foster City-Based EFI Acquires Pace Systems Group

Foster City, Calif. -- Electronics For Imaging (EFI), a Foster City-based maker of color digital print servers and superwide format printers, said on Tuesday that it has paid $21 million in cash to acquire Pace Systems Group, a Florida-based developer of print management software. The value of the deal could rise if Pace achieves certain performance milestones. Pace, which has approximately 80 employees, makes software appliances used by printing, bindery and prepress trade service companies for estimating, scheduling, production, accounting and e-commerce. EFI said that it had been working on a browser-based, integrated system to serve the mid-sized commercial market, but "we decided the best solution for our clients was to acquire this proven platform and add to it some of our latest technology."
http://www.ir.efi.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=117454&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1180652&highlight=
http://www.efi.com/

San Jose-Based deCarta Raises $20 million in Third Round

San Jose, Calif. -- Six weeks after initially revealing a $6 million investment from the T-Mobile Venture Fund, San Jose-based deCarta, a developer of geospatial software platforms that power location-based services, said on Monday that it has now raised $20 million in its third round, all told. Aside from T-Mobile, the company said that major participants included two other large, but unnamed investors. Hotung Group and TransLink Capital, and previous investor Norwest Venture Partners also participated. "This is an important round for deCarta as it not only provides capital to meet the needs of the expanding market, but also brings us closer to several highly strategic partners," said Kim Fennell, the president and CEO of deCarta. The company powers location-based services deployed by companies such Verizon, Sprint Nextel, AT&T, Telia, Multimap and Ask.com
http://www.decarta.com/
http://www.decarta.com/pressroom/press_releases/07282008.html 

Sunnyvale-Based EBR Systems Lands $35 Million in Third Round

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- EBR Systems, a Sunnyvale-based developer of medical technology, said on Monday that it has raised $35 million in its third round of funding, led by Delphi Ventures. Previous investors SV Life Science Advisers, Split Rock Partners, Frazier Healthcare Ventures and De Novo Ventures also participated. EBR Systems is developing a leadless, implantable pacing device designed to treat heart failure. The company said that it will use the proceeds to complete product development and initiate clinical trials.
http://www.ebrsystemsinc.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080728/20080728005279.html?.v=1

San Francisco-Based truAnthem Lands $2 Million in Angel Funding

San Francisco -- trueAnthem, a San Francisco-based online music label focused on the monetization of social networking, said that it has raised $2 million in an angel round of funding. The company, which launched in April, is the developer of trueWidgets, which are used by fledgling artists to place their music on social networking web pages. Fans interested in the music can simply "grab" the widgets and drop them onto their own sites. Fans can choose either free songs embedded with ads or ad-free versions for $0.99. Artists currently using the technology include Hootie & The Blowfish, Ultraviolet Sound, Nick Black, Celldweller and Ryan Huston.
http://www.trueanthem.com
http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/20080725/bs_prweb/prweb1135614_1

Mountain View-Based Quova Acquires Pleasanton's Verifia

Mountain View, Calif. -- Quova, a Mountain View-based provider of a service that allows online businesses to instantly identify where a visitor to their site is geographically located, said on Monday that it has acquired Verifia, a Pleasanton-based developer of geolocating software. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Quova plans to integrate NetGeo's analysis and data collection technology into its current offerings. The company said that the move will enable additional data fields, such as cyber café locations and end-organization domain names. Quova said that its customers use this information to detect card-not-present fraud, comply with local regulations and localize online ads and content. Quova said that it has retained all of Verifia's employees. Verifia's customers include American Express, Boots and the British Columbia Lottery.
http://www.quova.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/080728/0419351.html

Washingtonpost.com Adds Online Prediction Tool from Predictify

Redwood City, Calif. -- Washingtonpost.com, the web site of The Washington Post, said that it has added a new feature allowing site visitors to debate and predict future news events related to politics, sports, business and local issues. The site's newly launched Prediction Center, powered by Silicon Valley-based Predictify, scores and ranks the predictions based on accuracy. The tool then aggregates them into forecasts used on the site. Jim Brady, the executive editor of washingtonpost.com, said that the technology "provides our readers with a dynamic forum to interact with the news in a fun and competitive environment." Since its launch in October, Predictify also has partnered with The New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, Freakonomics, Mashable and ReadWriteWeb.
http://predictify.washingtonpost.com/
http://www.predictify.com
http://www.prweb.com/releases/predictify/washingtonpost/prweb1150454.htm

Study: VC Returns Remain Positive in First Quarter

Arlington, Va. -- Despite the recent economic slowdown, venture capital returns remained positive during the first quarter, according to new data from Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). For the quarter, private equity over a one-year period saw returns of 13.3%, down 7.6% from the prior quarter. The figures remained more stable over longer time periods. The groups said that venture returns across most time periods outperformed public market indices. "Our asset class continues to out perform many other investment alternatives including the public markets over the long term," said Mark Heesen, president of the NVCA. "That said, But we will need to see the exit markets improve dramatically to maintain that position in the coming year."
http://www.magnetmail.net/images/clients/NVCA/attach/Q108PerformanceReleaseFINAL.pdf (PDF)
http://www.nvca.org/

Berkeley-Based Sensys Networks Raises $5 Million in Funding

Berkeley, Calif. -- Sensys Networks, a Berkeley-based maker of wireless sensors for the transportation industry, said on Friday that it has raised $5 million in an expansion round of funding, led by Voyager Capital. Previous investors Velocity Interactive, Horizon Ventures and Garrett Gruener also participated. Amine Haoui, the CEO of Sensys, said that the new capital will "give us the resources to build on our market momentum and expand our global sales, marketing and customer support presence." The company's wireless vehicle detection and traffic data systems currently are deployed in more than 30 states and 10 countries.
http://www.sensysnetworks.com/company.html
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20080725005106/en

Foster City's Kennet Partners Closes New $315 Million Tech Fund

Foster City, Calif. -- Kennet Partners, a technology-focused private equity firm with dual headquarters in Foster City and London, said that it has closed a new $315 million fund. The firm said that its third fund, Kennet III, will invest in later-stage technology companies in segments including software, IT services, semiconductors and new media, both in the U.S. and Europe. "Kennet's growth equity strategy is well-timed for the U.S. market, where bootstrapped, founder-led businesses are underserved, since the majority of investment capital is targeted at early-stage venture deals or large buyouts," said Javier Rojas, the firm's managing director in the U.S. The newest fund already has invested in a pair of companies -- Telemedicine Clinic and NTRglobal. Investors in Kennet III include Access Capital Partners, Adveq, Alpha Associates, BNP Paribas Private Equity, Capital Dynamics, Credit Agricole Asset Management Capital Investors, Credit Suisse, European Investment Fund, Finama, LGT Capital Partners and Siemens.
http://www.kennet.com
http://www.kennet.com/news/press-releases/kennet-targets-high-growth-technology-firms-with-third-fund/

Microsoft Inks Web Search, Ad Deal with Facebook

Palo Alto, Calif. -- Microsoft has announced a deal that will expand its relationship with Palo Alto-based online social network Facebook, a company in which it invested $240 million last October. Under the deal, Microsoft will provide web search and search advertising for Facebool beginning this fall, The Wall Street Journal reported. Satya Nadella, a senior vice president at Microsoft, disclosed the partnership during a meeting with financial analysts at the company's headquarters, but did not provide further details. Microsoft already has a deal in place to provide search ads on Facebook sites outside of the U.S.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121691790581781505.html (subscription requiired)
http://www.facebook.com 

AOL to Shutter Several Underperforming Services

New York -- Unable to find its niche in the personal media space, AOL plans to shutter its Bluestring media sharing, Xdrive online storage and AOL Pictures photo services, TechCrunch reported, citing an internal company email. "With two quarters behind us, it is fair to say that results across the AOL products team have been mixed," wrote Kevin Conroy, an executive vice president at AOL, in an email to staff. "And while I expect 2008 to finish stronger than it started, the current situation is that some of our products are doing very well while some continue to struggle." The company also plans to halt further investment in AIMWorld and shutter its MyMobile service next year to focus on its core revenue-producing products, including email, messaging and mapping. In addition, Conroy said that the company will transform its MyAOL platform from proprietary to industry open standards. "There was a time at AOL when the strengths of our aggregate portfolio of products more than compensated for the weakness of an underperforming product," wrote Conroy. "The realities of the industry and market shifts in online advertising no longer make that possible."
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/24/full-text-of-aol-email-xdrive-aol-pictures-mymobile-and-bluestring-to-shut-down/
http://www.aol.com

Hasbro Sues Makers of "Scrabble" Web Knock-off "Scrabulous"

Pawtucket, R.I. -- Toymaker Hasbro on Friday filed a copyright infringement suit against the makers of "Scrabulous," a knock-off version of its "Scrabble" board game that counts over 510,000 daily active users on Facebook. The company also served Palo Alto-based Facebook a notice under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, asking the social network to remove the game from its sites in the U.S. and Canada as soon as possible. The lawsuit names Scrabulous creators Rajat Agarwalla and Jayant Agarwalla, and their company, RJ Softwares, and seeks unspecified damages. Earlier this month, Hasbro launched an official online version of "Scrabble," developed by Redwood City-based Electronic Arts, which is also available on Facebook. "We view the Scrabulous application as clear and blatant infringement of our Scrabble intellectual property," said Barry Nagler, Hasbro's general counsel.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080724/20080724005915.html?.v=1
http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=14916117452&ref=s
http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=3052170175&ref=s

Sunnyvale-Based Juniper Names Kevin Johnson as New CEO

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Juniper Networks, the Sunnyvale-based maker of networking equipment, on Thursday named Microsoft veteran Kevin Johnson as its new CEO. Effective September, he will replace Scott Kriens, who will remain chairman. Johnson previously spent 16 years at Microsoft, most recently as president of its Platforms and Services Division. The move comes less than a year after Juniper COO Stephen Elop left the company to become the president of Microsoft's software business division.
http://www.juniper.net
http://www.juniper.net/company/presscenter/pr/2008/pr_2008_07_24-19_0.html

Milpitas-Based Phoenix Technologies to Acquire General Software

Milpitas, Calif. -- Phoenix Technologies, a Milpitas-based developer of core systems software, said on Thursday that it will acquire General Software, a Bellevue, Wash.-based developer of embedded firmware that is at the heart of millions of devices. Financial terms of the deal, expected to close later this quarter, were not disclosed. Phoenix said that the acquisition will expand its presence in a variety of applications and devices, from IP network routers to medical devices. General Software's product portfolio includes a BIOS adaptation kit for embedded development, a 32-bit operating environment and a firmware application suite. Clients include Boeing, Cisco Systems, GE Healthcare, Microsoft, Nielsen Media Research and Siemens Acuson.
http://www.phoenix.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080724/aqth052.html?.v=58

San Jose-Based Interwoven to Acquire Discovery Mining

San Jose, Calif. -- Interwoven, a San Jose-based developer of content management software, said on Thursday that it will pay $36 million in cash to acquire Discovery Mining, a developer of web-based electronic discovery software used in litigation and investigations. The deal is expected to close by the end of September. Discovery Mining's software is designed to help users process, review and produce massive volumes of electronic data. "We plan to leverage our market experience to bring leadership to what is today a fragmented market for eDiscovery," said Joe Cowan, the CEO of Interwoven.
http://www.interwoven.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080724/aqth075a.html?.v=1

San Francisco-Based Zynga Lands $29 Million in New Funding

San Francisco -- Zynga, the San Francisco-based developer of a social gaming service, said on Wednesday that it has raised $29 million in a new round of funding, co-led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Institutional Venture Partners (IVP). Previous investors Union Square Ventures, Foundry Group and Avalon Ventures also participated in the round, which the company will use to accelerate its creation of social games. Zynga also said that it has acquired YoVille, the largest virtual world game on social networks, and plans to add Bing Gordon, a partner at Kleiner Perkins and co-founder and former CEO of EA, to its board of directors. Zynga's games are available on Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Hi5 and Friendster and include Texas Hold’em Poker, Blackjack, Mafia Wars, Scramble, Word Twist and Triumph.
http://www.zynga.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080723/20080723005398.html?.v=1

Sunnyvale-Based ResponseLogix Lands Investment from Belo

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- ResponseLogix, a Sunnyvale-based provider of Internet sales technology and services to auto dealers, said on Wednesday that it has received a minority investment from Dallas-based Belo, which owns and operates 20 TV stations. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. As part of the investment, Belo signed a multi-year agreement to resell the ResponseLogix Internet-based lead management system to its automotive advertisers. The technology enables auto dealers to more quickly and relevantly respond to customer leads, improving car sales opportunities. Belo joins GRP Partners, Shasta Ventures and A. H. Belo Corp. as equity partners in ResponseLogix.
http://www.belo.com
http://www.responselogix.com/pressrelease/Default.aspx

Netflix to Shutter Film Financing Unit Red Envelope

Los Gatos, Calif. -- Netflix, the Los Gatos-based online DVD rental service, is closing its Red Envelope Entertainment unit, which helped finance various feature and documentary productions, the Los Angeles Times reported. The company reportedly cited business conflicts as its reason, since Red Envelope is in competition with its Hollywood studio partners. Red Envelope employed around 50 people and had invested in more than 100 films, including Oscar-winning documentary "Born Into Brothels" and "This Film Is Not Yet Rated."
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-briefs22-2008jul22,0,4065421.story 
http://www.netflix.com   

Google Officially Launches Knol to Rival Wikipedia

Mountain View, Calif. -- Following eight months of testing, Mountain View-based Google said on Wednesday that it has officially launched its rival to Wikipedia, known as Knol. The new site features articles about a range of specific topics written by self-proclaimed experts in the field. "An enormous amount of information resides in people's heads," wrote the company in its official blog. "Knol will encourage these people to contribute their knowledge online and make it accessible to everyone." Each entry will have an identified author (or group of authors). The site also introduces a collaborative feature that will allow readers to make suggested edits, which the original author may then choose to accept, reject or modify. People also can submit comments, rate or write a review of a knol. Authors also can choose to run ads through Google's AdSense program, sharing the proceeds with the company. In another aspect, Google has signed a deal with the New Yorker magazine, allowing authors to add one cartoon per entry from the publication's cartoon repository.
http://knol.google.com/
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/knol-is-open-to-everyone.html

TiVo Partners with Amazon to Enable On-Screen Product Purchases

Alviso, Calif. -- TiVo, the Alviso-based provider of digital video recorders and programming services, has announced a partnership with online retailer Amazon.com that will allow TiVo owners to purchase physical products from Amazon on their TV sets, using their remote control. The service will enable advertisers to market any product or service that appears on a program. For example, "if a guest on the Daily Show or Oprah has a new book, CD or DVD out, you can purchase it on Amazon.com using your TiVo remote without missing a second of TV, whether the viewer is watching live or recorded," said Evan Young, TiVo's director of broadband services. The service initially will be available to owners of broadband-connected TiVo Series2 and Series3 and HD DVRs, with initial products to be marketed on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," "The Colbert Report" and "Burn Notice."
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080722/aqtu021.html?.v=62 
http://www.tivo.com 

Redwood City-Based Mitrix Lands $6M, Changes Name to Amitive

Redwood City, Calif. -- Mitrix, a Redwood City-based developer of supply chain management software for virtual manufacturers, on Tuesday changed its name to Amitive and announced $6 million in new funding. The new financing, from CMEA Ventures and Logispring, is an extension of the company's first round, which initially closed at $10 million next two years ago. The company said that it plans to use the proceeds to expand its sales, marketing and product development efforts. Amitive is led by former SAP and i2 executive Amar Singh, who joined last year as the company's president and CEO.
http://www.amitive.com
http://www.mitrix.com/mi-AmarSingh.html

San Francisco-Based ZVUE Restructures eBaumsWorld Deal

San Francisco -- ZVUE, the San Francisco-based provider of portable media players and content, said on Tuesday that it has restructured its agreements with Eric Bauman, whose eBaumsWorld.com site was acquired by the company last year for $52.5 million. Under the new terms, Bauman has agreed to reduce the immediate payout owed him from $1.25 million to $1.05 million, and the obligation owed him from $417,000 a quarter to $250,000, with an additional $150,000 payable over five months. The maximum potential payout on the deal has been raised from $27.5 million to $32.7 million, and the earnout period extended to 2012. ZVUE also said it has put its PopSauce network of web sites under Bauman's direction in Rochester, N.Y., and will discontinue its San Francisco and overseas web operations. Additionally, the company said it received $1 million in new financing from its CTO for ZVUE Products, its portable media player business.
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20080722005521/en 
http://www.zvue.com   
http://www.ebaumsworld.com 

Mountain View-Based AdEx Media Acquires VibrantAds

Mountain View, Calif. -- AdEx Media, a Mountain View-based provider of online marketing services, said on Tuesday that it has acquired the core business assets of VibrantAds, an Anaheim-based developer of online advertising technology specializing in promotions and affiliate tracking technology. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. AdEx said that the acquisition will allow it to offer its products and services to the rapidly growing affiliate channel. "Promotions and affiliate marketing are extremely complementary and can be bought and sold in similar ways," said Scott Rewick, the CEO of AdEx Media.
http://www.AdEx.com
http://www.vibrantads.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/080722/0417980.html

Mountain View-Based AdEx Media Acquires VibrantAds

Mountain View, Calif. -- AdEx Media, a Mountain View-based provider of online marketing services, said on Tuesday that it has acquired the core business assets of VibrantAds, an Anaheim-based developer of online advertising technology specializing in promotions and affiliate tracking technology. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. AdEx said that the acquisition will allow it to offer its products and services to the rapidly growing affiliate channel. "Promotions and affiliate marketing are extremely complementary and can be bought and sold in similar ways," said Scott Rewick, the CEO of AdEx Media.
http://www.AdEx.com
http://www.vibrantads.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/080722/0417980.html

Shares of Milpitas-Based SanDisk Plunge After Surprise Loss

Milpitas, Calif. -- Shares of SanDisk dropped 24% on Tuesday, a day after the Milpitas-based maker of flash storage cards and MP3 players reported a second-quarter loss that sunk well below analyst expectations. The company said that it recorded a net loss of $68 million last quarter, down from a profit of $28 million the year before. "Our second quarter sales were well below our expectations due to the rapid deterioration in consumer confidence," said Eli Harari, SanDisk's chairman and CEO. "Overall demand is expected to improve in the upcoming holiday season; however, industry-wide Flash inventories remain excessive and pricing and margins will therefore remain under pressure until supply and demand come into balance." The stock closed down $4.31 to $13.62 after sinking to a five-year low earlier in the day.
http://www.sandisk.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080721/20080721006165.html?.v=1

Sunnyvale-Based Yahoo Strikes Deal with Dissident Investor Carl Icahn

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Heading off a likely proxy battle, Sunnyvale-based Yahoo said on Monday that it has reached a settlement with dissident investor Carl Icahn that will give the billionaire a seat on the company's board. Under the agreement, eight members of Yahoo's current board will stand for re-election at the company's annual meeting next month. They include Chairman Roy Bostock, Ronald Burkle, Eric Hippeau, Vyomesh Joshi, Arthur Kern, Mary Agnes Wilderotter, Gary Wilson and CEO Jerry Yang. Icahn, who owns a 5% stake in the company, will fill a seat, and will recommend nine candidates to fill two other seats. Among them is Jonathan Miller, currently a partner in Velocity Interactive Group and formerly the chairman and CEO of AOL. Icahn, upset about Yahoo's earlier refusal to accept a takeover bid from Microsoft, had threatened to put his own slate of nominees up for control of the board. "I am very pleased that this settlement will allow me to work in partnership with Yahoo's board and management team to help the company achieve its full potential," said Icahn, adding that he remains in favor of a full or partial sale of the company.
http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/press/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=323246   

Emeryville-Based Qumu Lands $10.7 Million in Third Round

Emeryville, Calif. -- Qumu, an Emeryville-based developer of web-based software that allows clients to publish and distribute video content, said on Monday that it has raised $10.7 million in its third round of funding, led by Advanced Technology Ventures. SAP Ventures, Storm Ventures, Garage Technology Ventures, Halo Opportunity Fund and the Angels Forum also participated. Qumu, which counts Dell, Microsoft and eBay among its customers, said that it will use the funds to expand its product development, sales and marketing efforts. The company also announced a collaboration deal with AT&T to deliver streaming video and webcasting over emerging media networks.
http://www.qumu.com
http://www.qumu.com/newsroom/news-releases/2008/qumu-att-funding.htm

San Mateo-Based Appirio Raises $5.6 Million in Second Round

San Mateo, Calif. -- Appirio, a San Mateo-based provider of web-based software to businesses, said on Monday that it has secured $5.6 million in its second round of funding. Sequoia Capital led the round, which comes just months after the company landed $1.1 million in its first round earlier this year from salesforce.com and angel investors. Founded in 2006, Appirio offers clients web-based software and platforms from companies such as Google and salesforce.com. "Their investment will allow Appirio to help more companies realize the potential of cloud computing to impact their business," said Chris Barbin, the CEO of Appirio.
http://www.appirio.com 
http://www.appirio.com/about/pr_sequoia.php

Report: VC Activity Surges in Silicon Valley During Q2

San Jose, Calif. -- Venture capital activity made healthy gains in Silicon Valley during the second quarter, according to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). VCs invested $2.96 billion in local companies during the quarter, up 11% from the previous quarter and 9% from the prior year. Nationally, however, venture capitalists invested $7.4 billion, about the same as a year ago.  "Despite the turmoil in the markets, the pace of investing in the first half of 2008 indicates that venture investing is on target to reach the $30 billion level this year, putting it on par with 2007 when $30.7 billion was invested," said Tracy Lefteroff, global managing partner of the venture capital practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers.  "VCs are continuing to find and fund new deals."
http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/080719/0417323.html
http://www.nvca.org/

Redwood City-Based EA Again Extends Offer for Take-Two

Redwood City, Calif. -- Electronic Arts, the Redwood City-based developer and publisher of video games, said on Monday that it has again extended its $2 billion offer for New York-based Take-Two Interactive Software. The offer, which was set to expire last Friday, has now been extended at least through August 18.  It marks the fifth time that EA has extended the $25.74-a-share tender offer, which Take-Two repeated has rejected as too low. "Extending the tender offer allows the FTC review process to continue," EA said in a statement. As of Friday, just 11.7 million -- or 15% -- of Take-Two's shares had been tendered. In response, Strauss Zelnick, Take-Two's chairman, urged shareholders to continue rejecting the offer. "We are fully engaged in a formal process to evaluate strategic alternatives that have the potential to deliver greater value than EA's inadequate offer," said Zelnick.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080721/20080721005431.html?.v=1
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080721/20080721005642.html?.v=1

Google Shares Plunge After Earnings Fall Shy of Expectations

Mountain View, Calif. -- Shares of Mountain View-based Google fell more than 9% -- roughly $50 -- on Friday after the Internet giant posted second quarter earnings that fell well short of Wall Street expectations. The company reported net income of $1.25 billion, or $3.92 a share, up about 35% from a year ago, but -- excluding one-time costs -- still about $0.11 shy of consensus analyst estimates, according to a survey by Thomson Financial. Still, the company remained upbeat. "Strong international growth as well as sustained traffic increases on Google's web properties propelled us to another strong quarter, despite a more challenging economic environment," said Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO.
http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/pressrel/revenues_q208.html

Mountain View-Based Google to Acquire Russia ZAO Begun

Mountain View, Calif. -- Google said on Friday that it will pay $140 million to acquire Russian context advertising service ZAO Begun from owner Rambler Media. Google said that the deal will help it to improve the service it offers users, partners and advertisers in Russia, where digital advertising is currently experiencing rapid growth. "This agreement will result in better search results and more relevant advertising for our Russian users and publishers," said Mohammad Gawdat, Google's managing director of emerging markets. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter.
http://www.google.com
http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/pressrel/20080718_begun.html

S.F.-Based SOMA Networks Lands $51 Million in Funding

San Francisco -- SOMA Networks, a San Francisco-based developer of mobile WiMax products and services, said on Frdiay that it has raised $51 million in a new round of funding. Investors included Daiwa Securities Group, Daiwa Securities SMBC Principal Investments, Ridgeway Capital Partners and India Knowledge Fund. The company said that it will use the proceeds to expand its international operations and deployments, including support for its large WiMax network with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) in India. SOMA said that its network targets the more than 1.7 billion households that don't have access to broadband services. So far, its main deployments have been in Southeast Asia, though the company also has worked with AT&T in the U.S.
http://www.somanetworks.com
http://www.somanetworks.com/20080718.html

Investor Legg Mason to Support Yahoo Director; Won’t Back Icahn

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- In a major blow to dissent shareholder Carl Icahn, Legg Mason -- the Baltimore-based asset management firm that owns 4.4% of Sunnyvale-based Yahoo -- announced on Friday that it will be supporting Yahoo's current board, and not the dissident slate nominated by Icahn. On Aug. 1, Yahoo shareholders will vote to elect the entire board of the company. Icahn, angered by Yahoo's rejection of Microsoft's takeover offer, has nominated his own board candidates, who would welcome the overtures by Microsoft. "We have met with representatives of the current board and management, including founder Jerry Yang, several times," said Bill Miller, chairman and chief investment officer of Legg Mason Capital Management. "We believe the current Board acted with care and diligence when evaluating Microsoft's offers." Icahn has said that Microsoft indicated to him that it would bid again for Yahoo if his slate of candidates wins.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080718/nef025.html

AMD Taps Dirk Meyer to Succeed Hector Ruiz as CEO

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- AMD, the Sunnyvale-based chip-maker, has named Dirk Meyer, the company's current president and COO, to succeed Hector Ruiz as its CEO. Ruiz, meanwhile, will become the executive chairman of AMD and chair of its board of directors. Robert Palmer, the company's lead independent director, called the move "the final phase of a two-year succession plan." Meyer joined AMD in 1995, previously leading the company's microprocessor business for six years before becoming president and COO in 2007. Ruiz, 62, had been the company's CEO since 2002.
http://www.amd.com
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_543_15434~127070,00.html