Silicon Valley Wire

Milpitas-Based Intersil Acquires Data Converter Maker Kenet

Milpitas, Calif. -- Intersil, a Milpitas-based maker of analog chips used in flat panel displays, cell phones and notebooks, said on Tuesday that it will acquire Kenet, a Massachusetts-based maker of high speed, low power data converters. Financial terms of the deal, expected to close in the next several days, were not disclosed. Kenet's data converters are designed to increase the functionality in a variety of industrial and communications products, such as portable digital oscilloscopes and software defined radios. "Intersil remains committed to key strategic acquisitions to broaden our product portfolio," said Dave Bell, Intersil's CEO.
http://www.intersil.com
http://www.intersil.com/pr/shell/0,1091,1777,00.html

San Francisco-Based PicApp Lands $3.2 Million

San Francisco -- PicApp, a San Francisco-based online provider of stock photography for web site publishers and bloggers, said that it has raised $3.2 million in a new round of funding, led by Carmel Ventures. PicApp was spun off from visual content monitoring company PicScout, and now features a library of more than 10 million images, with 10,000 new images being added daily. The company also announced that the sports-focused Yardbarker Network, which claims over 550 websites and blogs, has selected PicApp as its primary photo source.
http://www.picapp.com
http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Picapp-901762.html  

Google Takes Stance Against Calif. Proposal to Eliminate Gay Marriage

Mountain View, Calif. -- In a most unusual move for any company, much less one of the world's largest technology firms, Mountain View-based Google has taken an official stance opposing California's Proposition 8, which would eliminate the state Supreme Court-sanctioned right of same-sex couples to get married. "It is the chilling and discriminatory effect of the proposition on many of our employees that brings Google to publicly oppose Proposition 8," Sergey Brin, Google's co-founder and president, wrote in the company's official blog. "While we respect the strongly-held beliefs that people have on both sides of this argument, we see this fundamentally as an issue of equality." Google added that it "[does] not generally take a position on issues outside of our field, especially not social issues."
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/our-position-on-californias-no-on-8.html 

Palo Alto-Based Facebook Hires Washington Lawyer as General Counsel

Palo Alto, Calif. -- Facebook, the Palo Alto-based social networking giant, has hired high-profile Washington lawyer Ted Ullyot as its vice president and general counsel, the Los Angeles Times reported. Ullyt, a former White House lawyer in the Bush administration who helped coordinate the response to the investigation into the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity, will join Facebook next month. He also has served as the chief of staff to former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, as well as vice president and associate general counsel at AOL Time Warner. He currently serves as a partner at law firm Kirkland & Ellis. "He has an extraordinary combination of private legal practice and public sector experience," Elliot Schrage, Facebook's vice president of communications and public policy, told the Times. "So many of the legal issues we face touch on both of those arenas. He is equally comfortable helping us expand internationally as he is in helping us navigate complicated legal issues we may face in Washington."
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2008/09/facebook-hire-1.html

San Mateo-Based Zvents Lands $24 Million in Funding

San Mateo, Calif. -- Zvents, the San Mateo-based developer of a local search engine and paid listings ad network, said on Tuesday that it has raised $24 million in a new round of funding. New investors Nokia Growth Partners, NAVTEQ and AT&T joined previous investors Vantage Point Venture Partners and Red Rock Ventures in the round, which the three-year-old company will use to expand the reach of its local listings ad network. The network is designed to let local businesses and national chains promote their locations with search-targeted events such as sales and weekly specials. Zvents, which was founded in 2005 by CEO Ethan Stock, also said that plans to expand its local search platform, which includes more than 250 media partners such as Viacom's mtvU, Microsoft's MSN CityGuides and AT&T's Yellowpages.com.
http://www.Zvents.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/080930/0438345.html

Nasdaq Falls Nearly 7% Following Rejection of Bailout Bill

Washington, DC -- The Nasdaq on Monday closed down 6.6%, after the House of Representatives' rejected the $700 billion bailout of the nation's financial system. Following a 228-205 defeat of the bill, House leaders -- amid heavily partisan squabbling -- vowed to redouble their efforts to get a similar bill passed on the coming days. Analysts noted that even with an eventual passage of legislation, a downturn in technology spending -- both on the consumer and corporate level -- is likely in the coming months. Cupertino-based Apple's shares fell nearly 18%, pulled down by analyst downgrades for the company due to predictions of a drop in IT spending. Mountain View-based Google fell nearly 11%.

San Mateo-Based Skydeck Raises $3 Million in First Round

San Mateo, Calif. -- Skydeck, the San Mateo-based developer of an online service that helps consumers keep track of their mobile phone calls and text messages, said that it has raised $3 million in its first round of funding from Saban Ventures, the venture capital arm of Saban Capital Group (SCG). The company, which also previously raised $1 million in angel funding, will use the proceeds to accelerate the delivery of its service to mobile devices. Craig Cooper, Saban's managing director, will join Skydeck's board of directors. Cooper previously co-founded Boost Mobile USA, which was sold to Nextel in 2003, and was a venture partner at VantagePoint Venture Partners. Skydeck's software is designed to combine users' call records with their address books to create a history of their mobile phone conversations. The company was founded in 2007 by Jason Devitt and Mike Wells.
http://www.skydeck.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080929/20080929005710.html?.v=1

Mountain View-Based Google Opens Federal Sales Office Near DC

Mountain View, Calif. -- Trying to land more business with the federal government, Mountain View-based Google has set up shop near Washington, DC, recently opening a new office in Reston, Va., The Washington Post reported. The company, which has been trying to crack the government market for the past couple years, has deployed an 18-person federal sales staff to the area in an effort to get more federal agencies to use specialized versions of its popular Internet tools for mapping, email, word processing and search, which cost about $50 a year for each user.  The Post reported that federal agencies have so far been reluctant to store sensitive information on Google's servers. "They think that, because it's so easy to use, it must not be that sophisticated," Mike Bradshaw, Google's head of federal sales, told the paper. "We take care of everything behind the scenes."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/28/AR2008092802216.html?nav=rss_technology

San Mateo-Based MotionDSP Lands Investment from Nvidia

San Mateo, Calif. -- MotionDSP, a San Mateo-based developer of video enhancement technology, has received an investment from Santa Clara-based graphics chipmaker Nvidia as part of its first round of funding, which remains open, VentureBeat reported. The amount of Nvidia's investment was not disclosed. MotionDSP's FixMyMovie application is designed to correct blurring and lighting in consumer videos, and claims to improve resolution by four times. The company was founded in 2005, raised $1 million in angel funding in 2006 from backers including the CIA, and debuted its consumer technology at the DEMOfall 07 conference. MotionDSP CEO Sean Varah told VentureBeat the technology could eventually be used to improve the resolution of real-time video, like conference calls.
http://www.motiondsp.com
http://www.nvidia.com/
http://venturebeat.com/2008/09/25/nvidia-invests-in-motiondsps-video-fixing-technology/
http://www.motiondsp.com/press/nvidia-announces-strategic-partnership-with-

San Mateo-Based Etelos Replaces President and CEO

San Mateo, Calif. -- Etelos, a San Mateo-based developer of web-based tools for software distribution, said that Jeffrey Garon has been terminated its president and CEO. Danny Kolke, the company’s founder, chairman and chief technical officer, will serve as interim CEO. Kolke founded Etelos in May 1999. The company also announced that Bob Thordarson, the founder and CEO of BluCapp,  will replace Larry DeBower on its board of directors. DeBower will remain a consultant to the company.
http://www.etelos.com 
http://www.etelos.com/article.espx?show=14213

Sunnyvale-Based Yahoo Launches New Digital Ad Platform

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Yahoo has unveiled a new digital advertising platform, APT, which the Sunnyvale-based company bills as a tool that will streamline the process of planning, buying and optimizing online display advertising. The company is rolling out APT in phases, starting with the San Francisco Chronicle and San Jose Mercury News. APT "is designed to streamline advertisers' ad-buying process for multiple accounts across multiple publishers, and enable creative testing and campaign optimization," Yahoo said. "It is also intended to help advertisers precisely yet easily identify audiences through geographic, demographic and interest-based targeting." The platform will be made available to partners outside of Yahoo's 784-member Newspaper Consortium, including advertisers, publishers, networks and agencies, in 2009.
http://apt.yahoo.com
http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/press/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=336557

San Carlos-Based Nuvelo to Merge with ARCA biopharma

San Carlos, Calif. -- Nuvelo, a San Carlos-based biopharmaceutical firm developing drugs to treat cardiovascular disease, cancer and other debilitating medical conditions, said on Thursday that it will merge with Colorado-based ARCA biopharma, which is developing genetically targeted therapies for heart failure and other cardiovascular diseases. "After thorough review of numerous options, we chose to merge with ARCA because it enables us to transform ourselves into a late-stage company with multiple significant milestones and a near-term commercialization opportunity, backed by a promising cardiovascular pipeline," said Ted Love, the chairman and CEO of Nuvelo. ARCA will become a subsidiary of Nuvelo, with current Nuvelo stockholders retaining about 33% of the combined company.
http://www.nuvelo.com/
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=109749&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1202031&highlight=

San Carlos-Based Mark Logic Names Cathy Lewis as CFO

San Carlos, Calif. -- Mark Logic, a San Carlos-based developer of XML content platforms, on Thursday named Cathy Lewis as its new CFO. Lewis most recently served as the assistant corporate controller at Sun Microsystems, and previously was the vice president and corporate controller at Saba Software. Mark Logic's technology allows clients to load, query, manipulate and render unstructured data. The company also recently named Jason Monberg as its vice president of product management.
http://www.marklogic.com
http://www.marklogic.com/news-and-events/press-releases/mark-logic-corporation-appoints-cathy-lewis-as-chief-financial-officer.html?PHPSESSID=rbgt5f90241q10mdno6ijqalj7

Shares of Fremont-Based Vermillion Delisted from Nasdaq

Fremont, Calif. -- Vermillion, a Fremont-based developer of diagnostic tests used by physicians, said on Thursday that its stock has been delisted from the Nasdaq Capital Market. The move is the result of the company's noncompliance with the market's minimum stockholders' equity requirement. Vermillion, which just over a year ago raised $20.5 million in a private placement, said that its shares will continue to trade under the symbol, VRML" on the Pink Sheets. The company also plans to eventually shift its stock to the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board.
http://www.vermillion.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080925/aqth041.html?.v=71

San Francisco-Based Digg Lands $28.7 Million for Expansion

San Francisco -- Digg, the San Francisco-based social news aggregation site that lets users vote on what they think are the most important news stories, said on Wednesday that it has landed $28.7 million in its third round of funding, led by Highland Capital Partners. Previous investors Greylock Partners, Omidyar Network and SVB Capital also participated in the round, which increased the company's total backing to $40 million. Digfg, which has seen traffic to its site double over the past year to more than 30 million monthly unique visitors, said that it will use the proceeds to double the size of its staff to more than 150 by the end of 2009, move into larger corporate headquarters in San Francisco early next year and expand internationally. "We started Digg in 2004 based on the concept of using a collaborative filter of a larger community to prioritize the overwhelming amount of material online," said Kevin Rose, the founder and chief architect of Digg. "Digg today still represents a fraction of our vision for where we can take this concept. This expansion and funding will help us get there faster."
http://digg.com/
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20080924005945/en

South San Francisco-Based KaloBios Raises $20 Million

South San Francisco -- KaloBios Pharmaceuticals, a South San Francisco-based developer of human antibody therapeutics, said that it has raised $20 million in its fourth round of funding, co-led by new investors Mitsubishi UFJ Capital and Genzyme Ventures. Previous investors MPM Capital, Alloy Ventures, GBS Ventures, Sofinnova Ventures, Singapore Bioinnovations, 5AM Ventures and Lotus Bioscience Ventures also participated. "These new funds will enable us to complete our seven Phase 1 and Phase 2a clinical trials and to prepare to advance our current clinical drug candidates, KB001 and KB003, to Phase 2b clinical trials," said David Pritchard, KaloBios' president and CEO.
http://www.kalobios.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080923/20080923005606.html?.v=1

San Jose-Based Asetek Lands $16 Million in Second Round

San Jose, Calif. -- Asetek, a San Jose-based developer of thermal management technology designed to more efficiently cool PCs, said on Wednesday that it has raised $16 million in its second round of funding, led by D. E. Shaw Ventures. The company has now raised $38 million since its founding in 2000. "We will use the additional capital to add sales, marketing and technical resources to enhance our product offerings and expand OEM thermal management products into new markets," said Andre Eriksen, the founder and CEO of Asetek. The company's technology is currently used by computer manufacturers such as  Hewlett-Packard, Acer and Packard Bell.
http://www.asetek.com
http://www.asetek.com/content/view/461/132/

San Francisco-Based Utopy Lands $7.5 Million in Funding

San Francisco -- Utopy, a San Francisco-based developer of speech analytics software designed to help companies improve customer interactions with contact center representatives, said on Wednesday that it has secured $7.5 million in a new round of funding, co-led by Bay Ventures and Pras Holdings. The company said that it will use the proceeds to accelerate its growth in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, as well as expand its product footprint and consulting practices.
http://www.utopy.com
http://www.utopy.com/releases_view.cfm?article_level1_category_id=7&article_level1_id=909&pageno=1&year=2008

T-Mobile Unveils First Google Phone, Amazon MP3 Link

Mountain View, Calif. -- Mobile network operator T-Mobile USA has introduced the G1, the first mobile phone to feature Mountain View-based Google's Android operating system. The phone will sell for $179 with a two-year voice and data agreement when it goes on sale on Oct. 22. Viewed as a competitor to Cupertino-based Apple's iPhone, the G1 -- manufactured by Taiwan's HTC -- features both a touch-screen display and a full QWERTY keyboard that slides out from underneath. It also features GPS, Wi-Fi, MMS, a 3-megapixel camera, full HTML browser and a music player that links to the Amazon MP3 store. T-Mobile USA is currently accepting pre-orders for the G1 from its web site.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/first-android-powered-phone.html 
http://www.t-mobileg1.com 

San Francisco-Based OpenTV to Acquire Australia's Ruzz TV

San Francisco -- OpenTV, a San Francisco-based developer of interactive TV software and services, said on Tuesday that it has acquired Ruzz TV, an Australian maker of software for television broadcasters. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Ruzz TV, which was founded in 1999 and has 10 employees, , is a developer of technology designed to help broadcasters more efficiently manage their workflow and content processes. The software will compliment OpenTV's offerings, which have been integrated into more than 111 million devices to enable enhanced program guides personal video recording, and interactive advertising. Ruzz founder Robert Rutherford will continue as CTO following the acquisition.
http://www.opentv.com
http://www.opentv.com/about/releases/Ruzz_Acquisition_23Sep08_FINAL.pdf (PDF)

Santa Clara-Based Intel Capital Invests $20 Million in Telligent Systems

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Intel Capital, the investment arm of Santa Clara-based chipmaker Intel, said on Tuesday that it will acquire a $20 million stake in Telligent Systems, a Texas-based developer of software for online communities and social networks. Under the deal, Intel Capital has completed its initial closing, and plans to acquire the remainder of its stake within a year. Telligent will utilize the funds to expand its sales teams and territories, including growth in international markets, as well as increase its marketing, advertising and product development efforts. "These social media applications offered by Telligent will help push the boundaries of online collaboration and communication allowing companies to be more efficient and productive," said Arvind Sodhani, the president of Intel Capital. Telligent's flagship product, known as Community Server, is a social computing platform for businesses with more than 3,000 customers.
http://www.intelcapital.com
http://www.telligent.com 
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20080923005778/en

Palo Alto-Based ooma Lands $16 Million in Third Round

Palo Alto, Calif. -- ooma, the Palo Alto-based developer of a device that gives consumers unlimited telephone service in the U.S. with no monthly fees or contracts, said on Tuesday that it has raised $16 million in its third round of funding. Investors included Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Worldview Technology Partners, The Founders Fund Management, WI Harper Group the Telecommunications Development Fund and Draper Richards. The four-year-old company said that it will use the proceeds to expand retail distribution channels for its home phone system. "This funding is the next step in ooma's continued national expansion," said Andrew Frame, the company's CEO. "Investments will be made in additional services, an expanded support team and a national retail network." ooma's system consists of a hub device connected to a broadband connection and a primary phone. The company also makes an additional device that links the system to additional phone jacks in the home.
http://www.ooma.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080923/20080923005550.html?.v=1

Redwood City-Based Trion World Network Raises $70 Million

Redwood City, Calif. -- In one of the largest funding rounds for any U.S. gaming company in recent years, Redwood City-based Trion World Network said on Tuesday that it has landed $70 million in its third round, increasing its total backing to more than $100 million since 2006. Act II Capital and an unnamed "large global financial institution" co-led the round, which also included participation from previous investors DCM, Trinity Ventures, Rustic Canyon, Time Warner, Peacock Equity and Bertelsmann. Trion was founded two years ago by Lars Buttler, a former vice president at Electronic Arts, and Jon Van Caneghem, a member of the Computer Gaming World Hall of Fame and creator of the Might and Magic and Heroes franchises. The game is developing server-based games, and currently has two massively multiplayer online titles in development.
http://www.trionworld.com
http://www.trionworld.com/news13.php

San Mateo-Based Adap.tv Raises $13 Million in Second Round

San Mateo, Calif. -- Adap.tv, the San Mateo-based developer of an online video advertising platform that allows publishers and advertisers to match relevant advertising with online video content, said on Tuesday that it has raised $13 million in its second round of funding, led by Spark Capital. Previous investors Redpoint Venture and Gemini Israel Fund also participated in the round, which the company will use to accelerate the development of its flagship offering, Adap.tv OneSource, and its adoption by video publishers and online ad networks. Founded in 2005, Adap.tv utilizes sophisticated algorithms that analyze video content and determine the most relevant ad, while also adapting to viewer behavior. The company, which raised $10 million in its first round last summer, is led by CEO Amir Ashkenazi, formerly the co-founder and CTO of Shopping.com.
http://www.adap.tv  
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080923/aqtu061.html?.v=64

Foster City-Based Right90 Secures $10 Million in Third Round

Foster City, Calif. -- Right90, a Foster City-based developer of web-based sales forecasting software, said on Tuesday that it has raised $10 million in its third round of funding, led by Horizon Ventures. Previous investors InterWest Partners, Shasta Ventures and U.S. Venture Partners also participated in the round, which increased the company's total backing to $27 million. The company said that it will use the proceeds to accelerate its expansion into new markets, such as software, media and professional services. Right90 said that it has tripled its customer base over the past year, adding clients such as smartFOCUS Digital, SRS Labs and Thomson.
http://www.right90.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080923/aqtu109.html?.v=64

California Again Leads Nation in High-Tech Exports

Santa Clara, Calif. -- California had the most high-tech exports of any state, $48.2 billion in 2007, according to new figures from Santa Clara-based high-tech trade association AeA. Those exports, however, also fell by $3.5 billion from the prior year, the largest numeric decline of any state. The state's two largest sectors were computers and peripheral equipment ($12.3 billion) and semiconductors ($12.2 billion). Nationally, U.S. high-tech goods exports decreased 3% to $214 billion last year. "The bad news is that U.S. tech exports declined slightly in 2007," said Christopher Hansen, the president and CEO of AeA. "The good news, however, is that tech exports rose in 29 states. These exports support nearly 900,000 American jobs -- an often overlooked fact."
http://www.aeanet.org/PressRoom/prac_TCS_2008_california_sv.asp
http://www.aeanet.org/PressRoom/prac_TCS_2008.asp

Santa Clara-Based 3Leaf Systems Raises $35 Million in Third Round

Santa Clara, Calif. -- 3Leaf Systems, a Santa Clara-based developer of server virtualization technology for large data centers, said on Monday that it has raised $35 million in its third round of funding, led by LSI. Previous investors Alloy Ventures, Enterprise Partners Venture Capital, Intel Capital and Storm Ventures also participated in the round, which the company will use to accelerate the development of its virtualization products, as well as to expand sales and marketing activities. 3Leaf's technology is designed to migrate businesses from traditional data center operations to fully virtualized environments. The company last raised $20 million in April 2007.
http://www.3leafsystems.com  
http://www.3leafsystems.com/press_08_09_22_funding.html

San Francisco-Based GreenVolts Lands $30 Million

San Francisco, Calif. -- GreenVolts, a three-year-old developer of photovoltaic technology designed to deliver solar power at costs competitive with that derived from fossil fuels, said on Monday that it has landed $30 million in its second round of funding from Oak Investment Partners. The company said that it will use the proceeds to continue to build out its organization, accelerate its research and development efforts and scale capacity for anticipated 2009 deployments. It also plans to use a portion of the funds for its GV1 project, a two-megawatt power plant in Byron, Calif. built under a 20-year power purchase agreement with Pacific Gas & Electric. "We will soon be generating energy from the sun at what will be the world’s largest non-silicon CPV power plant," said Bob Cart, the founder and CEO of GreenVolts. “Having a partner like Oak… is a great asset as we make the long-term decisions necessary to meet existing demand while continuing to innovate for the future."
http://www.greenvolts.com
http://www.greenvolts.com/news_and_events/press/2008/09/22/greenvolts-closes-30-million-from-oak-investment-partners-in-series-b-financing/

Palo Alto-Based HP to Buy Back Another $8 Billion in Stock

Palo Alto, Calif. -- Hewlett-Packard (HP), the Palo Alto-based technology giant, said on Monday that it will repurchase up to $8 billion in additional company shares. The company said that the move is part of its ongoing program to manage the dilution created by shares issued under employee stock plans. HP repurchased approximately $1.6 billion worth of its shares in the third quarter and, as of July 31, had approximately $3.0 billion of repurchase authorization remaining under its previous program. It currently has about 2.5 billion shares outstanding.
http://www.hp.com/
http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2008/080922b.html

Foster City's Rearden Commerce Acquires Global Ground Automation

Foster City, Calif. -- Rearden Commerce, the Foster City-based creator of a web-based personal assistant, said that it has acquired Global Ground Automation (GGA), the New Jersey-based developer of a technology that automates the reservation process for ground transportation. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition closely follows Rearden's recent purchase of ExpenseWire, a provider of expense management technology. GGA's technology is designed to reduce time spent booking a car service. Since its founding in 1999, the company has signed a third of Fortune 500 companies.
http://www.reardencommerce.com/
http://www.globalground.com/public/newsite/news_and_events.asp#rearden

Apple Recalls Defective iPhone 3G USB Power Adapters

Cupertino, Calif. -- Apple said that it is recalling the USB power adapters sold with its iPhone 3G following reports that the adapter's metal prongs can break off and remain in a power outlet, creating the risk of electric shock. Cupertino-based Apple said it received reports of detached prongs involving "a very small percentage" of the adapters sold, but is voluntarily exchanging the adapters for a redesigned unit free of charge for its customers in stores and online, beginning Oct. 10. The adapters were sold with iPhone 3G units in the U.S., Japan, Canada, Mexico and several Latin American countries. The company added that iPhone 3G USB adapters that feature a small green dot on the bottom are the redesigned model, and do not need to be replaced.
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2008/09/19alert.html 
http://www.apple.com/support/usbadapter/exchangeprogram

San Jose-Based Cisco to Acquire Jabber, Boost Collaboration Platform

San Jose, Calif. -- Cisco, the San Jose-based networking equipment giant, said on Friday that it will pay an undisclosed sum to acquire Denver-based Jabber, a developer of presence and messaging software. Cisco said that the deal will boost the functionality of its collaboration software. "With the acquisition of Jabber, we will be able to extend the reach of our current instant messaging service and expand the capabilities of our collaboration platform,' said Doug Dennerline, the senior vice president of Cisco's Collaboration Software Group. Jabber's technology aggregates presence information across different devices, users and applications. The technology also enables collaboration across different presence systems, including Microsoft Office Communications Server, IBM Sametime, AOL AIM, Google and Yahoo. The deal is expected to close by the end of January.
http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2008/corp_091908.html
http://www.jabber.com/

Amid Scrutiny, Google to Press Forward on Yahoo Ad Partnership

Mountain View, Calif. -- In the absence of any official opposition from regulators, Mountain View-based Google plans to press forward with its proposed search advertising deal with Sunnyvale-based Yahoo, CNET News.com reported. "My understanding is that because it's a commercial deal, we have a choice of when we implement it. We voluntarily delayed it so the government could take a look at it," Google CEO Eric Schmidt told reporters. Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Justice Department had hired antitrust expert Sanford Litvack to head a possible challenge to the deal. Also, no fewer than five Congressional committees said that they would be examining the deal, which has been opposed by the 400-member Association of National Advertisers.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10044908-93.html 

WSJ: First Google Android Phone to Sell for $199

Mountain View, Calif. -- The first mobile phone to utilize Mountain View-based Google's new Android operating system software, HTC's Dream, will cost $199 when it goes on sale later this month, The Wall Street Journal reports. The price set by T-Mobile USA is the same as what Cupertino-based Apple and AT&T are charging for the iPhone 3G. The Journal added that T-Mobile plans to offer "aggressively priced" data and calling plans for the handset.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122168844266649563.html (subscription required)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080918/tc_nm/google_android_dc_1

Yahoo, Rhapsody Enable Song Streams in Search Results

Sunnyvale, Calif. - Sunnyvale-based Yahoo said that it has partnered with RealNetworks' Rhapsody digital music service to deliver full-song streams in search results when users type artist-related searches on its service. A button will appear at the top of search results to instantly launch song streaming through the FoxyTunes Player, which is powered by Rhapsody. Users will be able to continue to browse their results page while the player is in use. "The launch of full-song playback in Yahoo Search brings us closer to realizing Yahoo Music's vision of making the web playable and removing the barriers that prevent people from clicking play and hearing music," said Michael Spiegelman, head of Yahoo Music.
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20080918005317/en
http://www.foxytunes.com 

Semiconductor Equipment Orders Continue Downward Trend

San Jose, Calif. -- North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $884 million in orders in August, down 37% from the same period in 2007 and also slightly 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 0.83, meaning that $83 worth of orders were received for every $100 of products billed for the month. "As we approach the end of the third quarter, orders for semiconductor manufacturing equipment remain very weak compared to 2006 and 2007 levels," said Stanley Myers, the president and CEO of SEMI. "While there are indications of resumed spending in 2009, current economic conditions, industry oversupply and economic uncertainty have resulted in the lowest three month average order level since 2003."
http://www.semi.org/
http://wps2a.semi.org/wps/portal/_pagr/103/_pa.103/248?dFormat=application/msword&docName=P044615

Google Widens Lead Over Yahoo in Internet Searches

Mountain View, Calif. -- Americans conducted 11.7 billion Internet searches in August, with Mountain View-based Google extending its lead in the market by another 1.1% over Sunnyvale-based Yahoo, according to new figures released by comScore. Google now handles 63% of all searches in the U.S., followed by Yahoo (19.6%), Microsoft (8.3%) Ask Network (4.8%) and AOL (4.3%). The figures did not include searches for mapping, local directory and user- generated video sites.
http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=2476

Fujitsu to Consolidate North American Businesses Into New Company

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Japanese IT firm Fujitsu said on Thursday that it will consolidate several of its North American operations into a new, Sunnyvale-based company called Fujitsu North America Holding. This new company, to officially launch on Oct. 1, will unify Fujitsu Consulting, Fujitsu Computer Systems and Fujitsu Transaction Solutions under a single corporate structure. "Our clients will benefit from a simplified engagement model with improved accountability," said Richard Christou, Fujitsu's corporate first senior vice president. "This will significantly improve responsiveness to our global clients who look to Fujitsu to support their North American operations." Fujitsu has named Farhat Ali, the president of Sunnyvale-based Fujitsu Computer Systems, as president and CEO of the new company.
http://www.fujitsu.com
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20080918005685/en 

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Names Eric Keller as COO

Menlo Park, Calif. -- Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), the Menlo Park-based venture capital firm focused on information technology and life sciences, has named Eric Keller as its COO. Most recently, Keller served as the CEO of Movaris, a San Jose-based developer of software used by finance organizations. Movaris merged with Trintech Group in February. He previously was the CFO of Ventritex, Corio, Aspect Communications and Dionex. "Having successfully led startups in diverse technology fields, including software, services, and medical devices, he has a deep understanding of entrepreneurs," said Ted Schlein, a partner at KPCB.
http://www.kpcb.com/
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20080917005372/en

San Jose-Based Cypress Semiconductor Closes Deal for Simtek

San Jose, Calif. -- Cypress Semiconductor, a San Jose-based maker of programmable chips, said that it has closed its $46 million acquisition of Colorado-based Simtek, a large supplier of random access memory (RAM) chips. The deal was first announced in early August. Cypress has been marketing and licensing Simtek's technology since early 2006. Cypress said that Simtek's chips provide the high-speed memory access of standard static RAM chips, but retain data when power is turned off.
http://www.cypress.com/
http://app.cypress.com/portal/server.pt?space=CommunityPage&control=SetCommunity&CommunityID=208&PageID=218&DirectoryID=1199225

Menlo Park-Based BlueRun Ventures Funds Hollywood Interactive Group

Menlo Park, Calif. -- BlueRun Ventures, a Menlo Park-based early stage venture capital firm, said on Thursday that it has led a new $5 million funding round for Hollywood Interactive Group. The Southern California company will use its first round of funding to back MyHollywood.com, its women's web destination for celebrity and entertainment news, casual games, fashion and community features. The site is currently in public beta. "This funding represents a tremendous vote of confidence in MyHollywood.com and recognizes the incredible revenue opportunities driven by our audience on the Internet," said Joey Carson, the CEO of Hollywood Interactive.
http://www.MyHollywood.com
http://www.brv.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080918/20080918005211.html?.v=1

Emeryville-Based Tethys Acquires Lipomics Technologies

Emeryville, Calif. -- Tethys Bioscience, an Emeryville-based developer of tests for chronic diseases such as diabetes, said that it has acquired Lipomics Technologies, a West Sacramento-based developer of analytical technologies designed to assess biological and metabolic changes induced by disease, drug, nutritional or lifestyle influences. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. "The addition of Lipomics furthers our goal of arming patients and physicians with insights that will help reduce the incidence of preventable chronic diseases," said Mickey Urdea, Tethys' founder, chairman and CEO. All 30 employees of Lipomics will retain their jobs, and Steven Watkins, the president and chief scientific officer of Lipomics, will become the CTO of Tethys.
http://www.tethysbio.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080917/new044.html?.v=66

Fremont-Based ArKal Medical Raises $17.5 Million in Second Round

Fremont, Calif. -- ArKal Medical, a Fremont-based startup developing a continuous glucose monitoring system for the management of diabetes, said that it has raised $17.5 million in its second round of funding, led by Thomas McNerney & Partners. Previous investors Delphi Ventures and MedVenture Associates also participated. "With this investment, we will fund the next stage of corporate and product milestones," said Arvind Jina, the company's president and CEO. ArKal said that its monitoring system is designed to eliminate many of the inconveniences of current glucose monitoring technologies.
http://www.arkalmedical.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080916/aqtu002.html?.v=59

Campbell-Based Focus Enhancements Files for Chapter 11

Campbell, Calif. -- Focus Enhancements, a Campbell-based developer of wireless distribution, video conversion and digital media products, said on Wednesday that it has voluntarily filed for Chanter 11 bankruptcy protection after its stock was delisted from the Nasdaq Capital Market. The company said that it will continue to operate as a "debtor-in-possession" under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California. Six of the company's seven board members have resigned, with the exception of President and CEO Brett Moyer.
http://www.focusinfo.com
http://investors.focusinfo.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=335163

Stocks Plunge After News of Government's AIG Bailout

New York -- The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 5% on Wednesday, after the Federal Reserve's $85 billion bailout of insurer American International Group (AIG) failed to calm the nerves of investors still reeling from the bankruptcy of investment bank Lehman Brothers. AIG, the world's largest insurance firm, had lost billions of dollars from the fallout of the subprime mortgage meltdown. Under the deal, the Federal Reserve will issue an $85 billion emergency loan in an exchange for an 80% stake in the company. The news sent the Dow down 450 points.

San Francisco-Based RPX Lands Two New Investments

San Francisco -- RPX, a San Francisco-based provider of patent acquisition services to technology and e-commerce companies, said on Wednesday that it has landed new investments from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Charles River Ventures. Financial terms were not disclosed. RPX said that it plans to announced the launch of its service next month. "Patent assertion and litigation costs U.S. businesses billions of dollars every year," said co-CEO John Amster. "Our goal was to create an affordable service model that reduces the threat of assertion and litigation and provides efficient patent protection to subscribing companies."
http://www.rpxcorp.com
http://www.rpxcorp.com/news.html

Report: Google Pondering Acquisition of Game Developer Valve

Mountain View, Calif. -- Google is reportedly considering an acquisition of Bellevue, Wash.-based Valve Software, the developer of multiplayer games including "Half Life" and "Counter-Strike," according to a report in The Inquirer. Valve also counts over 15 million account holders for its Steam digital distribution system, which is currently being used to deliver more than 400 games and claims 1.2 million daily users. "We do not comment on market rumor or speculation," Mountain View-based Google said in a statement published by CNET News.com.
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/09/17/google-valve
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10044032-52.html 
http://www.valvesoftware.com 

Palo Alto-Based HP to Cut Nearly 25,000 Jobs After EDS Deal

Palo Alto, Calif. -- Less than month after completing its $13.9 billion acquisition of technology services giant Electronic Data Systems (EDS), Palo Alto-based Hewlett-Packard (HP) said that it plans to cut 24,600 jobs, or about 7.5% of the combined company's workforce. Nearly half of the cuts will occur in the U.S. The moves are part of a larger restructuring program that will take place over three years, with the aim of streamlining HP's services businesses. HP said that it expects to replace roughly half of the positions over the next three years, though most likely in different parts of the world. The company, which expects to save $1.8 billion annually as a result of the cuts, said that the moves will "create a global workforce that has the right blend of services delivery capabilities to address the diversity of its markets and customers worldwide." HP will record a one-time charge of $1.7 billion in the fourth quarter relating to the restructuring.
http://www.hp.com/
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080915/20080915006516.html?.v=1

San Bruno-Based Global Lost & Found Raises First Round of Funding

San Bruno, Calif. -- Global Lost & Found, a San Bruno-based provider of tracking and recovery services for portable electronics, said on Tuesday that it has raised an undisclosed amount in its first round of funding, led by DFJ Frontier. The company operates global registry and recovery network designed to help reunite users with lost laptops, cell phones, MP3 players and other portable electronic devices. It also is backed by Sand Hill Angels.
http://www.glfound.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080916/20080916005632.html?.v=1

Social Gaming Network Buys Facebook App (fluff)Friends

Palo Alto, Calif. -- Social Gaming Network (SGN), a Palo Alto-based developer of games for social media, said on Tuesday that it has acquired (fluff)Friends, a Facebook application that lets users adopt virtual pets and compete to earn virtual currency. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. SGN raised $15 million in its first round of funding last May, and last month announced an additional investment from Bezos Expeditions. The company counts 54 million installations of its social media games, and 1.1 million daily active users across various social networks.
http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/080916/0434085.html
http://www.new.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=2219808235
http://sgn.com