Silicon Valley Wire

Berkeley-Based MOG Raises $9.5 Million in New Funding

Berkeley, Calif. -- MOG, the Berkley-based operator of a network of user-penned music blogs, said on Friday that it has raised $9.5 million in a new round of funding, led by Menlo Ventures. New investor Balderton Capital also participated in the round, which the company will use to support the development of mobile applications, partnerships with consumer electronics makers and launch activities in the U.K. Founded in 2005, MOG recently launched a subscription-based music service, MOG All Access, and said that it is seeing "an incredible 17% user conversion from the free trial" to the paid service. The company plans to launch the music service, which offers a library of 7 million songs, in the U.K. by mid-year.
http://www.mog.com
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100225007165&newsLang=en

San Francisco-Based hi5 Acquires Social Games Firm Big Six

San Francisco -- Bolstering its commerce platforms and payment processing technolog, San Francisco-based hi5, a social entertainment site focused on gaming, said that it has acquired Texas-based social gaming firm Big Six. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Big Six was founded by gaming veterans Kevin Gilner, Monty Kerr and Chad Hansing, who will relocate to San Francisco along with other Big Six employees. hi5 said that the deal will enhance its commerce for virtual goods and games, and that it will implement Big Six's payment processing, fraud detection and conversion optimization technologies, as well as its social gaming platform.
http://www.hi5.com
http://www.hi5networks.com/press/releases/0224100.html 

Facebook Awarded Patent on "News Feed" Technology

Palo Alto, Calif. -- Facebook, the Palo Alto-based online social network, has been awarded a patent on technology related to the "news feed" or "stream" concept, where a user's online activities are broadcast to a group of contacts. With the award, Facebook could now choose to pursue licenses of its technology from a raft of other social networks and services who offer similar news feeds. All Facebook reported that the patent in question does not cover "status updates," as they have come to be known.
http://www.allfacebook.com/2010/02/facebook-feed-patent/

Proposed Legislation Would Grant U.S. Visas to Entrepreneurs

Washington, DC -- A new proposal on Capital Hill would grant visas to immigrant entrepreneurs launching new companies in the U.S., provided they have commitments to secure a minimum amount of investment capital. The Startup Visa Act, sponsored by Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Richard Lugar (D-Ind.), is being supported by signatures from more than 100 U.S. venture capital and angel investors. To qualify, entrepreneurs would need to land capital from a qualified U.S. investor of at least $100,000, as part of an equity financing of not less than $250,000. A previous incarnation of the act enables investors from other countries to earn visas in exchange for starting a business in the U.S. with $1 million in capital and creating at least 10 U.S. jobs. "We applaud Senators Kerry and Lugar for recognizing the importance of foreign born entrepreneurs to U.S. economic growth," said Mark Heesen, president of the Arlington-based National Venture Capital Association. "These individuals want to build their companies in the United States, but many have been discouraged in the past by difficult immigration laws. Today entrepreneurs can build their companies and create jobs anywhere. This bill sends the right signal that we want them here."
http://startupvisa.com/2010/02/24/kerry-lugar-startup-visa-act/
http://startupvisa.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/startup-visa-act_-final-final-1.pdf
http://www.nvca.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=74:nvca-public-policy&catid=38:nvca-public-policy&Itemid=91

Report: Streamlining Tech Transfer Policies Could Create Jobs

College Park, Md. -- The federal government can spur the creation of jobs and businesses by streamlining its policies for bringing new technologies to market, according to a new report from the College Park-based Association of University Research Parks (AURP). "This is not only about money -- it's also a matter of adjusting the policies and regulations that too often deter entrepreneurial researchers in our universities and federal labs from commercializing their work," said report author Brian Darmody, president of the AURP and associate vice president for research and economic development at the University of Maryland. The report offers 10 steps to fix the problem, including making federal grant policies more flexible for technology commercialization, taking better advantage of the $25 billion in R&D spent internally in federal labs and connecting federal researchers with the private sector. The complete report is available at the link below.
http://www.aurp.net/more/AURPPowerofPlace2.pdf (PDF)

Santa Clara-Based ZillionTV Lands $10 Million Investment from Qwest

Santa Clara, Calif. --  ZillionTV, the Santa Clara-based provider of a web-based video-on-demand service, has received a $10 million investment from Qwest Communications, Multichannel News reported. Founded in 2007, ZillionTV plans to launch its service commercially later this year, with partners including Qwest. The service will offer a library of over 15,000 movies, TV episodes and other videos, licensed from partners including Disney, Fox, NBC Universal, Sony and Warner Bros. Qwest counts nearly 3 million high-speed Internet subscribers in 14 states.
http://www.zilliontv.tv
http://www.multichannel.com/article/450696-Qwest_Plows_Millions_Into_ZillionTV.php

Justice Dept. Says it Won't Challenge Proposed Online News Service

Redwood Shores, Calif. -- The Justice Department said that it won't challenge a proposal by Redwood Shores-based MyWire to form a new online subscription news aggregation service. The service, to be known as the Global News Service, would link news articles, video and audio clips from different publishers that relate to the same topic. Site publishers would be able to add a "related item" box to their pages, containing linked abstracts of content from other participating sites. Users would pay a subscription fee to access all fee-based content within the network. There would be no charge to view free content. MyWire submitted its proposal to the department to gauge whether it complied with antitrust laws. The department said that the service "has the potential to benefit consumers by allowing them to access a broad network of related content without having to conduct their own online searches."
http://www.mywire.com/
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/February/10-at-190.html

Italian Court Convicts Google Executives Over YouTube Video

Mountain View, Calif. -- An Italian court has convicted three executives from Mountain View-based Google of violating the privacy of a child with Down's syndrome, after a video of the child being bullied in a schoolyard was posted to the company's YouTube video site. The executives were acquitted on charges of defamation, but received six-month suspended sentences on the privacy violation charges. Google said in a statement that it will appeal "this astonishing decision," which the company said "attacks the very principles of freedom on which the Internet is built." Google called the video in question "reprehensible," and maintains that it "took it down within hours of being notified by the Italian police." The company added that it worked with local police to identify the uploader who, along with several other classmates, was sentenced to community service. None of the Google executives convicted -- senior vice president and chief legal officer David Drummond, former Google Italy board member George De Los Reyes and global privacy counsel Peter Fleischer -- reside in Italy or were present at the court proceedings.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/serious-threat-to-web-in-italy.html

Meltwater Group Acquires Sunnyvale-Based BuzzGain

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Meltwater Group, a Norwegian provider of media monitoring services with operations in San Francisco, announced on Wednesday that it has acquired Sunnyvale-based social media monitoring firm BuzzGain. While the companies did not disclose financial terms of the deal, PaidContent pegged the purchase price at $4 million, including potential earnouts. Founded in 2001, Meltwater monitors the traditional news media for its 18,000 clients, and has more recently expanded its services to online media. The company plans to integrate BuzzGain's service into its own Meltwater Buzz social media monitoring offering. 
http://www.meltwater.com
http://buzzgain.com
http://meltwater.com/en/meltwater-group-acquires-buzzgain-and-reaches-100-million-bookings
http://paidcontent.org/article/419-meltwater-buys-social-media-monitor-buzzgain-for-4-million/

Fremont-Based Quantenna Communications Lands $15 Million

Fremont, Calif. -- Quantenna Communications, a Fremont-based developer of chipsets for Wi-Fi home entertainment networking, said on Wednesday that it has landed $15 million in its fourth round of funding. Participants included previous backers Grazia Equity, Sequoia Capital, Sigma Partners, Southern Cross, Swisscom and Venrock Associates. The company said that it will use the cash infusion to accelerate volume production of its Wi-Fi chipsets for wireless networks and devices. Quantenna said that its chipsets allow Wi-Fi home networks to deliver the same quality as wired Ethernet, including supporting full HD video with 1080p resolution, anywhere in the home. "This financing round enables us to accelerate production shipments to customers for retail deployments," said Behrooz Rezvani, Quantenna's founder and chairman.
http://www.quantenna.com/
http://www.quantenna.com/pressrelease-02_24_10.html

Mountain View-Based HyTrust Raises $10.5 Million in Second Round

Mountain View, Calif. -- HyTrust, a Mountain View-based developer of policy management and access control tools for virtual infrastructure, said on Wednesday that it has secured $10.5 million in its second round of funding. New investors Granite Ventures and Cisco Systems joined previous backers Trident Capital and Epic Ventures in the round, which the company will use to drive sales efforts and fuel its next stage of growth. Eric Chiu, the president and CEO of HyTrust, said that his company plans to deepen its relationship with Cisco's Server Access & Virtualization business unit, while also working closely with Cisco's Security unit to address the needs of joint customers. "We feel strongly that policy management is key to enabling the 'next generation data center'," said Chiu.
http://www.hytrust.com
http://www.hytrust.com/company/press-release-20100224-funding

San Francisco-Based Visage Mobile Raises $4.5 Million in Second Round

San Francisco -- Visage Mobile, a San Francisco-based developer of web-based software that helps companies keep better tabs on employees' mobile devices, said on Wednesday that it has raised $4.5 million in its second round of funding, led by new investor Qualcomm Ventures. Previous backers Worldview Technology Partners, ATA Ventures,  Vesbridge Partners and Emergence Capital Partners also participated in the round, which the company will use to bolster product development and services. Visage's tools are designed to help businesses take control of their mobile budget and inventory, as well as set policies that govern employee usage of smartphones and mobile broadband.  The company's cloud-based applications is currently used by more than 150 U.S.-based corporations.
http://www.visagemobile.com
http://www.visagemobile.com/news/blogs/2990/visage-mobile-raises-4-5-million-to-improve-mobilitycentral-and-scale-our-customer-facing-teams/

FTC Warns of Data Leaks on File-Sharing Networks

Washington, DC -- The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has warned nearly 100 organizations -- including schools, local governments and businesses -- that personal information, including sensitive data about customers or employees, is being leaked on peer-to-peer file-sharing networks. The FTC is urging recipients of the notices to "protect such information from unauthorized access, including taking steps to control the use of P2P software on your own networks and those of your service providers." The agency said that the data could potentially be used to commit identity fraud, corporate espionage or other crimes. The FTC also has released a new educational brochure, designed to explain the technology and address its potential risks.
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/02/p2palert.shtm

CEA Names Mark of Excellence Awards Finalists

Orlando, Fla. -- The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) on Wednesday announced the finalists for its 2010 Mark of Excellence Awards, which honors innovation and achievements in custom home electronics products, services and installation technologies. Winners in 28 categories will be announced at a reception on March 26 during the Electronic House Expo in Orlando, Fla. A complete list of all 93 finalists is available at the link below.
http://www.ce.org/Press/CurrentNews/press_release_detail.asp?id=11873

Study: Sweden Leads World's Information Economy; U.S. Ranks 19th

Geneva, Switzerland -- Sweden again ranks as the world's most advanced information and communications technology economy, according to a new report from the International Telecommunications Union. The list, based on factors such as access to services, number of subscribers and literacy rates, includes eight countries from Northern Europe among the top 10. The U.S. ranks 19th. The report found that while most of the world now has access to high-speed Internet services, broadband penetration in developing countries remains as low as 3.5%, compared with 23% in developed countries. Still, all 159 countries in the report improved their levels from the prior year. "The report confirms that despite the recent economic downturn, the use of [information and communication technology] services has continued to grow worldwide," said Sami Al Basheer Al Morshid, director of the ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau. "At the same time, the report finds that the price of telecommunication services is falling -- a most encouraging development."
http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2010/08.html

San Francisco-Based Adura Technologies Raises $12 Million

San Francisco -- Adura Technologies, a San Francisco-based developer of wireless lighting control and energy management technology, said on Tuesday that it has raised $12 million in a new round of funding, led by NGEN Partners. Previous backers VantagePoint Venture Partners and Claremont Creek Ventures also participated. "The new funding will help Adura continue to grow through the expansion of our commercialization efforts and ongoing technology development," said Jack Bolick, the company's president and CEO. Adura said that its wireless management platform, which addresses both lighting and HVAC uses in commercial buildings, could save users up to 50% in energy costs.
http://www.aduratech.com/
http://www.streetinsider.com/Press+Releases/Adura+Technologies+Adds+$12+Million+in+Funding;+NGEN+Partners+Joins+Board/5372430.html

New Alliance to Invest $3.5B in U.S. Tech Firms, Create Jobs for Grads

Santa Clara, Calif. -- The head of Santa Clara-based computer chip giant Intel on Tuesday unveiled a multi-faceted program aimed at boosting the U.S. tech industry while also increasing jobs available to recent college graduates. The centerpiece of the Invest in America Alliance features investments totaling $3.5 billion in U.S. tech companies over the next two years, from Intel and 24 venture capital firms. The firms plan to invest in area such as clean tech, IT and biotechnology, with Intel Capital announcing a new $200 million fund as part of the effort. A second component of the plan  includes commitments from 17 companies to increase their hiring of recent college graduates, some by as much as two-fold. Tech companies making that pledge include Adobe Systems, Dell, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft and Yahoo, among others. "It would be a long-term mistake to let our future scientists and engineers sit idle after graduation," said Intel CEO Paul Otellini. "Today's announcements are both an investment in the country's innovators and a signal to the global marketplace about America’s commitment to innovation and future competitiveness."
http://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/releases/2010/20100223corp.htm

San Francisco-Based ngmoco Lands $25 Million for iPhone Games

San Francisco -- ngmoco, a San Francisco-based developer of iPhone games, said on Tuesday that it has raised $25 million in a new round of funding, led by Institutional Venture Partners (IVP). Previous investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Norwest Venture Partners and Maples Investments also participated. Founded in 2008 by games industry veterans Neil Young, Bob Stevenson, Alan Yu and Joe Keene, ngmoco focuses on free-to-play games such as Eliminate Pro, Touch Pets Dogs and Epic Wars. The company, whose games have been downloaded more than 12.5 million times, said that it will use the latest backing to expand its team and development activities, as well as the use of its Plus+ player network as a development platform for partners. "We're looking forward to growing ngmoco both organically and strategically," said Young, the company's CEO.
http://www.ngmoco.com

Millennial Media Acquires San Francisco-Based TapMetrics

San Francisco -- Three months after raising $16 million in funding, Baltimore-based Millennial Media, developer of an independent mobile advertising network, said on Tuesday that it will acquire TapMetrics, a San Francisco-based mobile analytics firm, focused on application usage and behavior. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. TapMetrics, which is backed by LaunchBox Digital and also has offices in Washington, DC, makes software designed to help developers better manage the sales and revenue of their applications through a simplified dashboard. "When we raised our growth round of financing in November, we stated that we would make investments to accelerate our growth," said Michael Avon, Millennial's CFO. "We continue to actively evaluate other potential acquisitions to further expand our business." TapMetrics will continue to be based in San Francisco.
http://www.millennialmedia.com
http://www.millennialmedia.com/2010/02/millennial-media-acquires-mobile-analytics-firm/
http://www.millennialmedia.com/2010/02/millennial-media-acquires-tapmetrics/

Report: Wal-Mart to Acquire Santa Clara-Based Vudu

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Retail giant Wal-Mart has agreed to acquire Santa Clara-based online movie service Vudu, The New York Times reported, citing two people briefed on the deal. Founded in 2004, Vudu offers a web-based movie and TV episode distribution service, which can connect with televisions through set-tops and other devices. The company has raised a total of $21 million in funding to date, from backers including Benchmark Capital and Greylock Partners. The Times reported that Wal-Mart and Vudu "began informing Hollywood studios and television manufacturers of the deal on Monday." Vudu has already secured deals to embed its service in devices made by Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp, Toshiba, LG, Vizio and Mitsubishi.
http://www.vudu.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/technology/23video.html

USITC to Probe Nokia on Apple Smartphone Patents

Cupertino, Calif. -- The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) has launched an investigation into whether cell phone giant Nokia has infringed upon 13 of Cupertino-based Apple's patents on mobile phone technology, AllThingsD reported. Apple alleges that Nokia has not given Apple fair licensing terms on patents that are included on essential smartphone technologies, such as Wi-Fi. The USITC previously announced an investigation of Apple, prompted by a complaint from Nokia, into whether Apple is infringing 10 Nokia patents. Both companies are asking the USITC to ban imports of cell phones that contain the allegedly infringing technologies. Both also have separately filed patent infringement lawsuits against one another in federal court in Delaware.
http://www.usitc.gov
http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20100222/itc-investigating-nokia-over-apple-patent-complaints-and-vice-versa/

Red Cross Launches New Site to Spur Blood Donations

Washington, DC -- Hoping to ramp up blood donations, the American Red Cross on Tuesday launched redcrossblood.org, a new, integrated site for its blood program. The site, designed by San Diego-based BusinessOnLine, allows visitors to find local blood donation opportunities and view local Red Cross news upon entering their zip code. It replaces more than 30 individual Blood Region sites, as well as the national site previously hosted at givelife.org. "We wanted to make it as easy as possible for people to find a blood drive, schedule a donation and get any information they may need about giving blood," said Chris Hrouda, executive vice president of American Red Cross Biomedical Services.
http://www.redcrossblood.org/
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/BusinessOnLine-Launches-New-bw-3611370713.html?x=0&.v=1

GreenRoad Lands $10 Million from Al Gore's Generation Investment

Redwood Shores, Calif. -- GreenRoad, a Redwood Shores-based developer of technology designed to improve driving behavior, said on Monday that it has landed a new $10 million investment from Al Gore's Generation Investment Management. The company will use the proceeds to accelerate the development of its GreenRoad 360 service, which provides instant feedback and analysis of drivers' abilities, maneuvers and patterns. GreenRoad claims that typical customers save as much as 50% in crash costs and 10% in fuel within the first year. Generation, co-founded in 2004 by Gore and David Blood, targets companies focused on sustainability issues, such as climate change and the environment. The funding comes less than a year after the company -- which also counts Richard Branson's Virgin Green Fund among its backers -- raised $15 million in a round led by DAG Ventures.
http://www.greenroad.com
http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/20100222/bs_prweb/prweb3632994_1

Mountain View-Based Google Completes $124.6M Acquisition of On2

Mountain View, Calif. -- Google said that it has completed its $124.6 million acquisition of New York-based video encoding firm On2 Technologies, following a vote by On2's shareholders to approve the deal. The news comes more than five months after investors of On2 filed to block the acquisition, claiming that the company was being undervalued.  Mountain View-based Google responded last month by adding about $26.5 million in cash to the otherwise all-stock offer. "We believe On2's engineering talent and technology will be an incredible asset for us as we work to improve [the Internet] platform," said Sundar Pichai, Google's vice president of product management. Google said that it plans to repurchase an equal number of shares on the open market that it issued as part of the transaction, to be funded from available working capital.
http://www.on2.com
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100219005941/en/Google-Closes-On2-Technologies-Acquisition

Obama Administration Creates Chief Greening Officer within GSA

Washington, DC -- Moving forward with President Obama's push for sustainability throughout the federal government, the General Services Administration (GSA) on Monday established the new office of "chief greening officer." The position, part of the GSA's Public Buildings Service, will be tasked with incorporating greener and more energy-efficient building technologies at the GSA's 1,500 owned and 8,000 leased facilities. Scott Conner, the director of the Denver Federal Center for GSA's Rocky Mountain region, will act in the position until a permanent chief greening officer is named. Robert Peck, the GSA's commissioner of public buildings, said that the chief greening officer will "deliver our goal of becoming a 'Green Proving Ground' for the American building industry."
http://www.gsa.gov/
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20100222/pl_usnw/DC58552_1

Forecast: Traditional Ad Revenue to Stagnate; Online Spending to Double

Chantilly, Va. -- Though local advertising is expected to grow at only a modest rate over the next five years, the amount spent online is expected to more than double, according to a new survey by BIA/Kelsey. The firm forecasts that spending on traditional media will decline from $115 billion to $108.2 billion by 2014. At the same time, however, spending on interactive media is projected to grow from $15.2 billion to $36.7 billion. "Even with improvements in the overall economy, we do not anticipate a rapid recovery among traditional media over the forecast period, because we believe the structural change in the local media industry has accelerated," said Neal Polachek, the president of BIA/Kelsey. Total local ad spending is expected to increase just 2.2% annually during the period, hurt by larger than previously forecast declines in newspapers and direct mail.
http://www.bia.com/pr220210.asp