SunRun snags $90M more from Bancorp to expedite residential solar
SunRun, one of several companies that installs residential rooftop solar systems for a small fee in order to sell the power to consumers, has raised an impressive $90 million more in tax equity from a subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp to encourage more homeowners to convert to solar for a low price.
Tax equity is an investment in which the investor receives tax benefits as its main return. Mostly, its a tool used to finance cleantech … Continue Reading
Toyota launches plug-in hybrid, poised to continue green car dominance
Toyota launched its plug-in hybrid electric vehicle in Japan today, setting it up to compete directly with General Motors’ Chevy Volt, which it resembles operationally. Given that the car has the longest driving range and best fuel economy available in a market-ready car so far, its impressive that Toyota predicts a retail price below $35,000 — making it one of the most affordable advanced cars to hit the market in the next two years.
Toyota … Continue Reading
Google Phone could upend telecoms, says Forrester analyst
There’s been no shortage of rumors, some more substantiated than others, that Google’s coming out with a new, game-changing phone, and everyone’s itching for a chance to weigh in.
A few things are certain now, thanks to Saturday’s post from the Google Mobile blog: there is, in fact, a product being tested, or “dogfooded” by Google employees. General consensus is that it’s called the Nexus One, looks like this phone on the right (image from … Continue Reading
GE gets its hands on the world's largest wind power project
General Electric has landed a $1.4 billion contract to build wind turbines for Caithness Energy, the company building the world’s largest wind farm in Oregon — a project that could help the U.S. surpass Germany as the leading user of wind power, a major milestone for the domestic wind industry.
Dubbed the Shepherds Flat project, the wind farm will trump other giants currently in development like the Roscoe Wind Far and the Horse Hollow, both … Continue Reading
Twitter starts experimenting with its first real business feature
On the cusp of launching commercial accounts, Twitter is giving business users a small extra — it is letting professional accounts give bylines for individual tweets. That way if several employees handle a single account for a big brand, it will be easier to tell who did what and provide more of a personal touch to interaction with customers.
A few business-oriented Twitter clients like CoTweet and HootSuite already let multiple users manage a single … Continue Reading
Lowe's wants to turn solar installation into a weekend project
Lowe’s hardware stores are turning solar panel installation into a household project. Aiming to improve the user-friendliness of solar panels, all its new products require is a ladder, cordless drill and some sealing caulk. For about $350 you can have your own 50-watt solar array.
Similar to Home Depot, the chain store is now offering 13 home solar packages on its web site, with plans to make most of them available in-store by the end … Continue Reading
Google and Facebook testing URL shorteners
The competition among URL shorteners seemed to have subsided, with bit.ly emerging as the leader thanks in large part to support from Twitter. But some big tech players could shake things up — Google and Facebook are both experimenting with shortening services of their own, called goo.gl and fb.me, respectively.
The point of a shortening service is to transform a long, convoluted URL into a short one. This is particularly useful on Twitter, where long … Continue Reading
The London Array: Can offshore wind power Europe?
The largest offshore wind farm in the world just got a deadline. By 2012, the London Array should be powering 750,000 homes in the London metro area, the U.K. says, hinting at the potential to generate and sell massive amounts of clean electricity to continental Europe in coming years.
The stretch of Scottish coastline used for the array has now been dubbed “the Saudi Arabia of renewable power,” which not everyone is pleased about. But … Continue Reading
VentureBeat Job Board relaunches – check out these coupons, prizes and referral rewards
I’m delighted to announce the relaunch of our VentureBeat Job Board.
Lots of people are looking for jobs right now, and there are plenty of Silicon Valley companies looking to hire.
So we’re looking to serve our readership with a specialized job board targeted at them. The job board now features a better selection of relevant technology, business development and marketing jobs, useful new features, and more flexible posting options. We’ll be looking to make … Continue Reading
DEMO and VentureBeat arrive in Austin for a reason — great tech companies
I’ve just arrived in Austin, Texas, and look forward to meeting local entrepreneurs.
I was here just five months ago (see pics of that event), and there’s a good reason why I’m returning. Austin may be merely the 16th-largest city in the U.S., but after Silicon Valley there are almost no other high-tech regions that rival its prowess.
Austin is just the latest in a bunch of stops we’re making to major entrepreneurial cities, on … Continue Reading
Cloud storage app ZumoDrive gets $1.5M infusion
Online file storage startup Zecter, maker of ZumoDrive, has secured a $1.5 million round of lending.
ZumoDrive’s trick is to take a cloud-based storage system and present it as local hardware memory to iPhones and other gadgets. That way, customers’ data is automatically stored and backed up in an online location that will still be available should the gadget get lost, broken or stolen. Moreover, ZumoDrive’s storage space for each customer is unlimited, compared to … Continue Reading
Dept. of Energy unveils plans to jumpstart clean energy in the developing world
By far, the most controversial issue at the U.N.’s climate talks in Copenhagen is how the developed world will help industrializing nations reduce greenhouse gas emissions while not sacrificing growth. Most believe this can’t be done, causing countries like China and India to balk at a binding international treaty. Today, the U.S. used the summit’s spotlight to announce its own $85 million plans for bringing advanced and efficient green energy to the developing world under … Continue Reading
Shoot video live on your iPhone, share it in real-time with friends via Qik
Imagine shooting a live video with your iPhone, and having it show up on the desktop screens of friends and family — while you’re still shooting — without them having to hunt it down. Personal live-video streaming site Qik launched just such a feature today.
Qik has restricted access to the feature as an invite-only beta test program for now. The trick piece of software that makes it possible isn’t Qik’s videocasting app that runs … Continue Reading
Flat World Knowledge adds funding, launches open-source textbooks for the blind
Flat World Knowledge, provider of free, open-source textbooks intended to lower mounting book prices for college students, has come out with two pieces of news. First, it added about $2.5 million in funding last month, bringing its total raised to $10.5 million. And second, it just forged a partnership with Bookshare, to make textbooks accessible for visually impaired students.
Flat World is significant because its business model is fairly unique. Similar textbook services like Chegg … Continue Reading
Clarizen gives companies real-time glimpses into project pipelines
Project management has become a hot segment of the enterprise software market, with many startups launching to foster collaboration, organize tasks and track progress. One such company, Clarizen, has distinguished itself by saying it gives executives real-time snapshots of projects and business operations — essentially allowing them to check their company’s pulse at any time.
Now the San Mateo, Calif. company has raised $8 million in a third round of funding to expand its customer … Continue Reading
Netformx dials up $12M to automate telecom network designs
Netformx, provider of a service that fosters collaboration across organization and automates processes for designing networks for large telecommunications companies, has brought in $12 million in venture financing, according to Private Equity Hub. Based in Santa Clara, Calif., the company is backed by Susquehanna Growth Equity and Valley Venture Capital.… Continue Reading
Suvolta takes $3M for low-power semiconductor tech
Suvolta, a stealthy provider of low-power semiconductor technology, has brought in $3 million in equity, debt, rights and securities, according to a filing with the SEC. Based in Los Gatos, Calif., the company has raised $25.7 million to date, including $15.4 million from August Capital and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. It received $354,000 from DAG Ventures two years ago. It doesn’t have a web site.… Continue Reading
MobBuzz brings forums to any iPhone app
Making an iPhone application stand out among 100,000 others is a nearly impossible task. To make it a bit easier, the UserSquare team today launched MobBuzz, an app-based social networking tool to help developers distinguish their creations.
The drop-in module, created by three lines of code, will give app users access to forums where they will be able to find up-to-date information, other users with similar interests, reviews and customer support. Users access the forums … Continue Reading
Widevine raises $15M for delivering web video to consumer gear
Widevine has raised $15 million in funding for its business of delivering video to web-connected consumer electronics gear.
New investors include Liberty Global, Samsung Ventures and a third, unnamed, strategic investor. The Seattle-based company is trying to deliver software that makes it possible to deliver entertainment over any network to any device, fulfilling a goal of “TV everywhere” for cable, satellite and phone companies.
The company’s technology includes video optimization, which means it will size … Continue Reading
Cloud Engines floats on $3M for rich media sharing
Cloud Engines, a startup that allows users to send their friends high-definition videos and other rich media over the internet, has brought in $3 of a targeted $4 million round of equity, according to a filing with the SEC. Based in San Francisco, it has now raised $6.25 million to date, including a first round raised from the Foundry Group in May totaling $3.25.
VentureBeat reported on Cloud Engines last month when it launched its … Continue Reading
