Sequoia Capital rakes in $1.3B for the Valley and China

Perennially successful tech investor Sequoia Capital is once again setting its sights on Silicon Valley, having raised at least $1.3 billion for a new fund that will zero in on up-and-coming startups, according to a filing released today by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Sequoia, a storied venture-capital firm that has invested in white-hot tech companies from AdMob to Apple, Cisco, Google, YouTube and a host of others, will call the new fund Sequoia … Continue Reading

Google’s Eric Chu explains Android Marketplace rejections, in-app purchases

Despite the explosive growth of Android, application developers have voiced their share of complaints about the platform. Eric Chu, group manager of Android, tried to address some of those concerns today while speaking to an audience of developers at the Inside Social Apps InFocus conference in San Francisco.

Most specifically, he talked about the rejection of “mobile arcade application” Kongregate from the Google Android Marketplace.

“It’s clear within our terms of services that you should … Continue Reading

Superstar Marc Bodnick leaving Yelp, Facebook investor Elevation Partners

One of the most-watched private-equity partnerships in Silicon Valley is coming apart.

Marc Bodnick, a cofounder of Elevation Partners, is planning to leave, according to a source close to the firm.

His departure could threaten Elevation’s plans to raise a second fund, which have been on hold as the firm has struggled to convince investors it can recapture its early magic.

Elevation Partners, formed in 2003, brought together a literal rock star — Bono of … Continue Reading

Kongregate takes another crack at launching online arcade on Android

It’s round two in the Google versus Kongregate mobile arcade match — and hopefully there will be less drama this time around.

Flash game portal Kongregate has released a new version of its mobile arcade application on the Android Marketplace after its first application was abruptly pulled, in a move more characteristic of Apple, for violating the terms of service.

The latest version of the application explicitly uses the web browser to run each game … Continue Reading

Did Facebook just hint at its answer to Groupon?

Facebook just revealed that it’s testing a new feature called “Buy with Friends” for its site, which will allow users to share their deals on virtual goods — and I’m starting to wonder whether Facebook could bring something similar to non-virtual deals.

Commerce product marketing manager Deb Liu described the feature on-stage today at the Inside Social Apps InFocus conference in San Francisco. (I’m at the conference, but I was busy writing about other news, … Continue Reading

Can there be a tech bubble without an IPO frenzy? (video)

Since 2008, the initial public offering market for tech startups in the U.S. has been pretty dead. In 2010, 42 tech companies went public, compared to 17 the year before. But that pace is slow compared to past boom years.

Many of the IPOs are Chinese or Indian tech companies coming into the U.S. stock market. Of the tech companies that have gone public, only six U.S. firms are in the category of digital media … Continue Reading

My favorite flight search site Hipmunk is raising $5.9M

Updated

Hipmunk, the recently-launched travel startup that I now use to book most of my flights, is raising a $5.9 million round of funding, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The site was launched by cofounders Adam Goldstein and Steve Huffman in August. (Huffman previously cofounded social news site Reddit.) They seemed to be directly addressing many of the complaints that I have about most other online ticketing options.

Instead of … Continue Reading

Is Yahoo still relevant? Search portal expects another weak first quarter

Search provider Yahoo’s revenue slipped slightly, with revenue from search results falling 27 percent, its U.S. operations continuing to falter and minor growth in Asia keeping the company from posting significant losses.

Yahoo’s net revenue was down 12 percent from $1.7 billion to $1.53 billion in the fourth quarter last year when compared to 2009. Income was up 85 percent to $220 million, up from $119 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. But that’s … Continue Reading

As social games cause disruption, Disney lays off hundreds of game studio employees

Mickey Mouse may not be destined for video game heroism after all. Walt Disney has confirmed that it has laid off hundreds of people in its game development studios as it moves from console games to casual titles.

The news is the latest sign that games are undergoing a transformation, with a lot of revenue and attention shifting from traditional console games to the new markets of Facebook and iPhone games, where the content is … Continue Reading

Can new startup resu.me succeed in being the "LinkedIn killer?"

New career network resu.me launched today, saying it aims to be the “LinkedIn killer” for Generation Z users looking to find their dream job faster and easier, founder Karthik Manimaran told VentureBeat exclusively.

Resu.me uses machine learning to match candidates and jobs the way a  human recruiter might: By Googling a person to try to find out what they read, what they write about, what they seem to be passionate about — as well as … Continue Reading

You know what’s cool? 8 Oscar nominations for The Social Network

“The Social Network” snagged eight Oscar nominations this morning, including the coveted Best Picture Award and the Best Actor award for Jesse Eisenberg’s portrayal of Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

That the film was well-received by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences comes as no surprise — The Social Network was a critical darling, and it also walked away with four Golden Globe awards, including Best Picture. (Check out my podcast review … Continue Reading

Facebook CTO: 2011 is all about mobile and HTML5

Facebook may be the most-downloaded free application on the iPhone, but today the company’s chief technology officer Bret Taylor seemed more excited about the opportunities offered by the mobile Web and HTML5.

Taylor was speaking today at the Inside Social Apps InFocus conference in San Francisco (he’s pictured above at Facebook’s f8 conference last year), where he said that mobile will be the “primary focus” of the Facebook platform team this year. Facebook has said … Continue Reading

With Amazon Tote, Amazon.com wants to set a weekly shopping date

Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon.com, goes on and on about how much he loves his customers. But he’d like you to up your commitment level.

That’s the rationale behind the apparently planned expansion of AmazonTote, a weekly free delivery service, as reported in the Financial Times and elsewhere. Even today, the bulk of Amazon’s customers turn to Amazon.com for holiday gift-giving and purchases of physical media, as its financials show. Amazon.com wants to expand … Continue Reading

On the GreenBeat: Zero builds electric motorcycle plant, SmartSynch debuts prepaid electricity

Here’s the latest action we’re following this morning on the GreenBeat:

Ice Energy teams with Carrier –  Energy-efficient air conditioning systems maker Ice Energy is partnering with HVAC company Carrier to integrate their offerings. The result will be a hybrid cooling solution that will use Ice’s energy storage technology to lighten energy use during the day.

Zero Motorcycles builds plant — The electric motorcycle company is building a new manufacturing facility in Santa Cruz, Calif. … Continue Reading

Barnes & Noble to discontinue Nook 3G?

Barnes and Noble will discontinue the Nook 3G, according to “hard evidence from within B&N” collected by Engadget. Stores have been told to refrain from filling bulk orders, the site reports.

Cnet’s David Carnoy is skeptical of the story, labeling it a “rumor,” which, with “hard evidence” being the only source cited, it is. But further, Carnoy writes, “Amazon offers both a 3G/Wi-Fi Kindle and Wi-Fi-only Kindle, and Barnes & Noble would most likely continue … Continue Reading

Google snags Twitter movie recommender Fflick for $10M

Search behemoth Google is back on the prowl again, today snapping up microblogging Twitter recommendation service Fflick for around $10 million, the companies confirmed this morning, one being an unnamed source at Google.

An official Google spokeswoman refused to comment, saying, “We don’t comment on speculation, as you know.”

Fflick uses Twitter to show you what movies the people you follow are recommending as well as what movies they’ve commented on positively or negatively. It … Continue Reading

Verizon temporarily offering $30 unlimited iPhone data plan

Verizon will officially offer buyers of its iPhone a $30 unlimited data plan when it goes on sale next month, Verizon COO Lowell McAdam told the Wall Street Journal.

But during Verizon’s investor call today, McAdam also clarified that the offer would only be temporary. The carrier plans to move to a tiered pricing model later this year, similar to AT&T’s shift last year.

“I’m not going to shoot myself in the foot,” he said. … Continue Reading

Solar Universe nabs $7M to install your panels, poaches SolarCity exec

Solar financing and installation startup Solar Universe has raised $7 million in a second round of funding, led by RockPort Capital.

The news comes as other companies in the rooftop solar service field are maturing and looking to expand, fueled by successes and a popular panel-leasing model. SolarCity announced yesterday it has acquired a solar installer and will expand to the East Coast next month, and Sungevity recently raised $15 million in a third round … Continue Reading

Apple to follow Google with mobile payment technology in iPhone 5, iPad 2

It looks like 2011 will finally be the year in which near-field communication (NFC), a short-range communication technology used for mobile payments and information transfer, will finally make a splash.

Apple is apparently integrating the technology in the iPhone 5 and iPad 2, following Google’s release of the Nexus S with NFC built-in, Bloomberg reports.

The news, which has been rumored for months, comes from analyst Richard Doherty, director of consulting firm Envisioneering Group, who … Continue Reading

Jason Calacanis: Sometimes you have to redefine your business to survive

Entrepreneur, blogger Jason Calacanis says entrepreneurs have to learn to pivot from one business to another when one plan isn’t working. Speaking at the Digital Life Design conference in Muich today, Calacanis said that he had to do just that with his current company, Mahalo.

Calacanis got the idea a few years ago to beat Google at the search game by coming up with human editors to edit search engine results — called human-powered search. … Continue Reading