Silicon Valley Wire

Google Invests Another $2.6 Million in Mountain View-Based 23andMe

Mountain View, Calif. -- Google revealed in a regulatory filing that it has invested another $2.6 million in 23andMe, a Mountain View-based developer of DNA analysis technologies co-founded by Anne Wojcicki, the wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Google also had previously invested $3.9 million in the company in May 2007, and purchased an additional $500,000 stake in the company from another investor in November of that year. Other investors, including New Enterprise Associates, also took part in 23andMe's latest funding round. Google also entered into a lease agreement with the company earlier this month. Founded in 2006 by Linda Avey and Wojcicki, 23andMe offers services designed to help people learn more about their personal ancestry, genealogy and inherited traits through DNA analysis technologies and web-based interactive tools.
https://www.23andme.com/
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1288776/000119312509133284/d8k.htm

San Mateo-Based Veodia Acquires ScreenToaster

San Mateo, Calif. -- Veodia, the San Mateo-based developer of a video platform for communicating online, said on Friday that it has acquired France-based ScreenToaster, developer of a free browser-based service designed to capture screen activity along with audio for playback in flash players. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The company said that the acquisition will allow clients using its video service to also share tutorials, product demos and document reviews. Veodia expects to announce specific service offerings related to the acquisition later this year. ScreenToaster was founded in 2008 by entrepreneurs Marco Fucci and Elie Curetti.
http://www.veodia.com
http://www.screentoaster.com
http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/20090619/bs_prweb/prweb2552874_1

Google, Facebook Post Iran-Centric Language Updates

Mountain View-based Google and Palo Alto-based Facebook this week both posted Persian (Farsi) language updates to their web services, a nod to making them more readily available as the post-election events unfold in Iran. Google added Farsi to Google Translate, meaning that users can now translate any text from Farsi into English and vice versa. "Since the Iranian election last week, people around the world have increasingly been sharing news and information on Facebook about the results and its aftermath," Facebook's Eric Kwan wrote in a blog post. "Much of the content created and shared has been in Persian-the native language of Iran -- but people have had to navigate the site in English or other languages." To that end, Facebook added a Persian version of its entire site, which was developed with the help of "more than 400 Persian speakers who submitted thousands of individual translations of the site."
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/google-translates-persian.html
http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=97122772130

AT&T Loosens Pricing Policy on iPhone 3G S Upgrades

San Antonio -- Responding to customer outcry, wireless carrier AT&T has loosened restrictions that would have made owners of Apple's iPhone 3G -- released last year -- pay significantly more to upgrade to the new iPhone 3G S model than most other customers. Under the carrier's original rules, most customers who purchased the 11-month-old iPhones would have had to pay as much as $499 for the new model -- roughly $200 more than new customers or purchasers of first-generation iPhones. Now, however, AT&T said that it willing to waive a rule requiring a minimum amount of time between discounted upgrades. "Since many of our iPhone 3G customers are early adopters and literally weeks shy of being upgrade eligible… we're extending the window of upgrade eligibility for a limited time," the company said. Cupertino-based Apple released its newest iPhone model on Friday.
http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=13745

Schappert to Return to EA as COO; Pleasants to Become CEO of Playdom

Redwood City, Calif. -- Electronic Arts (EA), the Redwood City-based developer and publisher of video games, on Thursday named John Schappert as its new COO, following news that John Pleasants will leave the company to become the new CEO of Mountain View-based social game developer Playdom. Schappert returns to EA, where he broke in as a software engineer in 1991 and went on to lead many of the company's biggest game franchises. He left in 2007 to become the corporate vice president of Microsoft's interactive entertainment business, responsible for Microsoft Game Studios and Xbox Live. He is scheduled to return to EA on July 14. Pleasants, also the former president and CEO of Revolution Heath and Ticketmaster, will replace Playdom co-founder Dan Yue, who will become chief product officer.
http://www.playdom.com/
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/John-Schappert-Returns-to-EA-bw-2708450215.html?x=0&.v=1
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Playdom-Names-John-Pleasants-bw-1641472831.html?x=0&.v=1

Sausalito-Based Adgregate Markets Acquires S.F.-Based Gydget

Sausalito, Calif. - Adgregate Markets, a Sausalito-based developer of transactional advertising technology, announced on Thursday that it has acquired San Francisco-based Gydget, a provider of brand-oriented widget advertising services. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Adgregate, which to date has raised about $2 million in venture capital, said that Gydget will compliment its own ShopAds network, which lets people purchase items by clicking on banner ads. The deal will allow the company to distribute ShopAds through Gydget's 200,000 unique widget installations. "With Gydget, ShopAds bridge the gap between brand advertising and direct response marketing," said Henry Wong, the CEO of Adgregate Markets.
http://www.adgregate.com
http://www.gydget.com
http://www.adgregate.com/about/press/pr-20090617.asp

Fremont-Based Exar Acquires Canada's Galazar Networks

Fremont, Calif. -- Exar, a Fremont-based maker of chips used in portable devices, home media gateways, communications systems and industrial automation equipment, said on Thursday that it has acquires Canadian chip firm Galazar Networks. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Galazar, which will operate as a unit of Exar, makes a variety of silicon and software products targeting packet-based telecom infrastructure. Pete Rodriguez, Exar's president and CEO, said that Galazar's products, combined with security and compression technologies that his company gained through its recent acquisition of Hifn "provides a comprehensive set of solutions for the next wave of telecommunications networks."
http://www.exar.com/
http://www.galazar.com
http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/myPRNJ.jsp?profileid=1140076&resourceid=4007388

S.F. Examiner Owner to Buy Conservative Magazine The Weekly Standard

Denver -- Clarity Media Group, the Denver-based publisher of The San Francisco Examiner, said that it will pay an undisclosed sum to buy conservative opinion magazine The Weekly Standard from owner News Corp. Clarity, owned by billionaire Phil Anschutz, said that it plans to retain the magazine's staff and content. "We're very much looking forward to working with [Clarity]to produce an even better magazine with a stronger web presence and even larger readership," said William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard. The publication, launched by News Corp. in 1995, has an audited circulation of 83,000, with a newsstand price of $3.95.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/
http://www.claritymediagroup.com/
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/48275582.html

Sirius XM Releases Long-Awaited iPhone Application

New York -- Hoping to give a boost to its lagging subscriber base, satellite radio provider Sirius XM on Thursday launched its long-awaited application for the iPhone and iPod touch. The free app will give those who subscribe to Sirius and XM's Internet services access to 120 satellite radio channels through their mobile devices. Channels available feature Oprah, Martha Stewart and Opie & Anthony, among others. Notably absent from the lineup, however, are channels featuring shock jock Howard Stern, as well as those proving Major League Baseball and NFL play-by-play coverage. The app also allows users to purchase a song being played through iTunes, tab channels as "favorites" and quickly scan programming on all channels through a multi-touch user interface. Sirius XM reported 18.6 million subscribers at the end of the quarter, down from 19 million at the end of last year.
http://www.siriusxm.com/app
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/SIRIUS-XM-Radio-Now-Available-prnews-2499530812.html?x=0&.v=1

Report: Americans Value Internet Over Cell Phones, Cable TV

Washington, DC -- Americans now value their Internet connections more than either their cell phones or cable TV, according to a new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The report found that 63% of U.S. adults now have home broadband connections, up 15% in the past year. In another aspect, 22% of respondents said that they either have scaled back or canceled their cell phone or cable TV services over the past year, compared with just 9% who have cut back on the Internet. "We found that broadband is now in the 'must keep' category for Americans, even when economic times are tough," said report author John Horrigan. "Many consumers view their home broadband connection as a conduit for connecting to community and economic opportunities."
http://www.pewinternet.org
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=PRNI2&STORY=/www/story/06-17-2009/0005045536&EDATE=

Cupertino-Based Apple Releases iPhone 3.0 Software

Cupertino, Calif. -- Apple on Wednesday released its 3.0 software update for the iPhone, giving users of the popular devices access to long-desired features like copy-and-paste, push notifications, multimedia messaging and tethering of 3G connections, allowing users to share their connections. Other features added include a landscape keyboard in some applications, including Mail, along with support for stereo Bluetooth and a feature called Find My Phone, available to MobileMe subscribers. The software update is free for iPhone owners, and will cost $9.95 for iPod touch owners. Apple plans to begin selling its new iPhone 3G S on Friday.
http://www.apple.com/iphone/softwareupdate/

Menlo Park-Based AdWhirl Raises $1 Million in Seed Funding

Menlo Park, Calif. -- AdWhirl, the Menlo Park-based creator of an ad platform used by developers of iPhone applications, said that it has raised $1 million in new round of seed funding, led by Foundation Capital. Several angel investors also participated. The company said that it will use the funds to expand to other platforms, such as the Android, Blackberry and Palm Pre. Founded in April, AdWhirl said that it already has more than 1,000 publisher clients with more than a billion ads served monthly to iPhone and iPod touch users. The company's platform is designed to help app developers make money by managing and serving ads to their free apps from ad networks such as AdMob, Quattro Wireless, Videoegg and Jumptap. AdWhirl is planning to add Millenial Media and Google's Adsense in the near future, as well. "Our goal as a platform has always been to give developers full control over their ad space," said company co-founder Ra Roath.
http://www.adwhirl.com
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/iPhone-Application-bw-15542092.html?.v=1

MySpace Lays Off 420 Employees; 30% of U.S. Staff

Los Angeles -- Confirming runors last week, News Corp.'s MySpace announced that it will cut 30% of its U.S. staff, or about 420 employees as part of a larger restructuring plan. "Simply put, our staffing levels were bloated and hindered our ability to be an efficient and nimble team-oriented company," said new MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta. The news came a day after Internet audience measurement service comScore revealed that rival social networking site Facebook had for the first time overtaken MySpace in U.S. web traffic during May.  "MySpace grew too big considering the realities of today's marketplace," said Jonathan Miller, News Corp.'s CEO of digital media and chief digital officer. "I believe this restructuring will help MySpace operate much more effectively both structurally and financially moving forward."
http://www.myspace.com
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/MySpace-Reduces-Staff-by-bw-15538841.html?.v=1

Twitter Postpones Maintenance to Support Iranian Protestors

San Francisco -- Twitter, the San Francisco-based microblogging service, postponed plans to take down its site for scheduled maintenance Monday night after hearing from both users and the State Department that its service is being used by protestors communicating information about the election and aftermath in Iran. "Our network partners at NTT America recognize the role Twitter is currently playing as an important communication tool in Iran," Twitter co-founder Biz Stone wrote in a blog post. The maintenance was moved to Tuesday afternoon -- early morning in Iran. With many forms of communications in the country either censored or unreliable, Iranians increasingly have used social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook to report on events in the county, according to media reports.
http://blog.twitter.com/2009/06/down-time-rescheduled.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssTechMediaTelecomNews/idUSWBT01137420090616

Palo Alto-Based A9.com Acquires SnapTell

Palo Alto, Calif. - Amazon.com's Palo Alto-based A9.com search engine unit has acquired SnapTell, a Palo Alto-based provider of visual product search and mobile marketing services, for an undisclosed sum, TechCrunch reported. Founded in 2006, SnapTell has developed a service that lets users snap a photo of a book, CD or other media with their mobile phone, and automatically receive related price comparison information and ratings from a range of online sources. The company's iPhone application recently was featured in a commercial for the Apple smartphone.
http://www.a9.com
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/06/16/image-recognition-startup-snaptell-acquired-by-amazon-subsidiary-a9com/
http://snaptell.typepad.com/snaptell_blog/2009/06/snaptell-has-been-acquired-by-a9com-a-subsidiary-of-amazoncom.html

San Francisco-Based Boku Raises $13 Million

San Francisco -- Boku, a San Francisco-based developer of mobile micropayment services, said on Tuesday that it has raised $13 million in a new round of venture capital funding, led by Benchmark Capital. Index Ventures and Khosla Ventures also participated. Boku also announced its acquisitions of mobile payment firms Paymo and Mobillcash, as well as the appointment of Mark Britto, a former executive at Amazon, Ingenio and FirstUSA, as its CEO. Boku said that it is aiming to bring "bank-grade" mobile payments to consumers making purchases of digital and virtual goods with their phones.
http://www.boku.com
http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Boku-1004439.html

San Francisco-Based Zoosk Lands $6 Million in Third Round

San Francisco - Zoosk, the San Francisco-based developer of an online social dating community, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $6 million in its third round of funding, led by previous backer Canaan Partners. The company, which claims to be the top-ranked lifestyle application on Facebook, will use the funds to grow its worldwide market share, as well as for continued product development. Founded in 2007, Zoosk now claims more than 30 million users. The company generates revenue from premium memberships, advertising and the sale of virtual coins that can be used to purchase virtual gifts.
http://www.zoosk.com
http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/06-16-2009/0005044775&EDATE=

San Jose-Based Certify Data Systems Lands Second Round of Funding

San Jose, Calif. -- Certify Data Systems, a San Jose-based developer of technology that allows hospitals and doctors' offices to exchange health information, said on Tuesday that it has raised an undisclosed amount in its second round of funding, led by Ziegler HealthVest Partners. Ziegler also took part in the company's first round last August. Certify's information exchange gateway and appliance are designed to allow disparate systems to exchange clinical data, such as lab reports, discharge summaries and other patient data. The company in March named Jeffrey Rideout, the former chief medical officer at Health Evolution Partners, as its chief strategy officer.
http://www.certifydatasystems.com
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20090616006013/en

Yahoo Adds Five Papers to Newspaper Consortium

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Sunnyvale-based Yahoo on Tuesday announced five new members of its Newspaper Consortium, which aims to boost ad revenue by integrating paid search technology and HotJobs listings on newspaper web sites, as well as offering the company's ad inventory to their local clients. New members include Freedom Communications' Orange County (Calif.) Register and Colorado Springs Gazette, the North Jersey Media Group's The Record and Herald News and The San Diego Union-Tribune. Launched in late 2006, the consortium now has 814 members.
http://www.npconsortium.com/
http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/press/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=389938

San Jose-Based eBay Eliminates Some Fees for Sellers

San Jose, Calif. -- eBay, the San Jose-based online auction giant, on Tuesday launched a new pricing structure that gives sellers five free insertion fees on auction-style listings every 30 days. "By eliminating the upfront costs of selling on eBay, we hope this new structure will encourage all sellers… to use the offering as a cost-effective way to sell on our site and earn a little extra cash," said Lorrie Norrington,the  president of eBay Marketplaces. eBay typically charges insertion fees based on the starting or reserve prices of items listed, ranging anywhere from $0.10 to $4.
http://www.ebay.com
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/eBay-Offers-New-Pricing-bw-15535773.html?.v=1

San Mateo-Based Lucid Imagination Lands Investment from In-Q-Tel

San Mateo, Calif. -- Lucid Imagination, a San Mateo-based distributor and supporter of the open source Apache Lucene and Solr search technologies, said on Monday that it has landed a new investment from In-Q-Tel, the venture fund backed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Lucid said that the investment is part of a larger partnership, in which it will provide advanced access to Lucene and Solr search technologies to the U.S. intelligence community. "Given the increasing adoption of open source in general, and search and information retrieval in particular, Lucid Imagination is an important addition to our technology portfolio," said Troy Pearsall, the executive vice president of architecture and engineering at In-Q-Tel.
http://www.lucidimagination.com
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20090615005182/en

Milpitas-Based SS8 Networks Raises $13 Million in Funding

Milpitas, Calif. -- SS8 Networks, a Milpitas-based developer of interception and surveillance technology for law enforcement clients, said that it has closed a new round of funding, which Dow Jones' VentureWire pegged at $13 million. All of the company's previous investors participated, including W Capital Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, ONSET Ventures, Protostar Partners and Woodside Fund. "It's a tremendous vote of confidence from our investors to secure financing in this economic climate,” said CEO Dennis Haar. SS8's products are designed to intercept communications traffic -- including wired, cellular, satellite, WiFi and broadband data -- in service provider networks, then analyze the results.
http://ss8.com/
http://ss8.com/press-releases/2009/SS8-press-release-2009-06-12-venture-capital-secured.php

Data Domain Rejects EMC's Unsolicited Buyout Offer

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Data Domain, a Santa Clara-based maker of data storage appliances, on Monday formally rejected EMC's unsolicited $1.9 billion buyout offer, while urging shareholders to support an alternative bid from Sunnyvale-based NetApp. Data Domain cited its existing merger agreement with NetApp, as well as EMC's unresponsiveness in negotiating terms as the main reasons for its decision. The company also would be required to pay NetApp $57 million fee to terminate their deal. EMC issued a statement on Monday insisting that its offer is superior to NetApp's. EMC has offered $30 a share in cash, while NetApp has offered approximately $30 a share in cash and stock.
http://www.datadomain.com/news/press_rel_061509.html
http://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2009/20090615-02.htm