Mu Sigma raises $108M to grow its big data services

Big data startup Mu Sigma has raised a new $108 million round of funding, the company announced today.

Mu Sigma helps big companies across several industries — including many Fortune 500 companies — manage massive amounts of online data by …

Gameloft slashes all app titles to $0.99 for a limited time

Gameloft has announced an upcoming sale for all of its premium game titles on the Android Market. This includes N.O.V.A. 2 HD, Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus, and Asphalt 6: Adrenaline, each of which usually retail for $6.99.

The holiday …

2012 predictions: It’s doom & gloom for Amazon, RIM and Zynga

The predictions I made for 2011 turned out pretty well, since I framed things like any good fortune teller or horoscope would have done. I was vague enough to allow flexibility but detailed enough to sound spot on. I would …

Watch out Qualcomm, DoCoMo taps Samsung, Fujitsu, others for LTE chip venture

Qualcomm’s mobile chipset dominance may be threatened by a new joint venture spearheaded by Japan’s NTT DoCoMo, focusing on next-generation LTE products.

DoCoMo is investing $5.8 million in a wholly owned subsidiary, dubbed Communication Platform Planning Co. (creative, no?), which …

Samsung & Sony split up their LCD joint venture with a $934M buyout

Samsung and Sony are splitting up their LCD panel joint venture, the companies announced.

Samsung will be buying all of Sony’s shares of the venture, S-LCD Corporation, for KRW 1.08 trillion, roughly $934 million.

Pending regulatory approval, the deal is …

Out of Asia: Yahoo may let go of its Alibaba & SoftBank shares

Oh, how the mighty have fallen: Yahoo is selling back most of its shares in Asian powerhouses Alibaba and SoftBank. It’s even losing Yahoo Japan.

According to reports various publications, including the Wall Street Journal, the Yahoo board has decided …

Gogo IPO: Raising $100M for airplane Wi-Fi service

Airplane Wi-Fi service provider Gogo has filled an initial public offering today that will raise an estimated $100 million for the company, according to SEC documents.

Gogo offers an in-flight Wi-Fi service on nine major airlines in North America, including …

Workday gears up for IPO, plans to raise up to $500M

Following in the footsteps of Jive Software’s successful IPO, Workday, a company that provides cloud software for business operations, is said to be planning for its own public offering next year.

The company hopes to raise up to $500 million …

FCC gives the nod to AT&T’s $1.9B Qualcomm spectrum deal

Sure, AT&T’s grand plan to take over T-Mobile has fallen on its face, but at least the company now has more spectrum available for its budding 4G LTE network, thanks to government approval for a deal announced last year.

The …

Akamai is acquiring Cotendo for $286M

App delivery company Akamai is acquiring app delivery network Contendo, the companies jointly announced today.

Akamai will purchase all of Cotendo’s outstanding equity for a net cash payment of $268 million.

Pending regulatory approval and other typical acquisition conditions, the …

Cloudability raises $1M, helps keep your cloud spending in check

Cloudability, a company that helps people manage cloud services spending, has secured $1 million in its latest investment round. This seed investment round was led by Trinity Ventures and Walden Venture Capital, including $250,000 in funding from Portland-based angel investors.…

Ingk Labs rescues technology behind SwapThing to build the next eBay (exclusive)

Proving that one man’s trash is another’s treasure, New York-based incubator Ingk Labs has salvaged an e-commerce patent gem from a defunct startup. It hopes to use that second-hand technology to corner the online-bartering market and take on eBay and …

Cyber-Ark gets $40M in funding to protect sensitive corporate data

Cyber-Ark, a security services company that manages and protects highly sensitive information, announced Wednesday that it has received a new $40 million round of funding. The round was led by Goldman Sachs and Jerusalem Venture Partners.

Cyber-Ark protects important and …

Yahoo considers selling Asian assets, continues fickle CEO search

Yahoo’s board is considering selling its holdings of Alibaba Group and its Japanese affiliate back to the majority owners, a move that would score the company around $17 billion as it tries to find solid footing in troublesome year.

Yahoo …

GMZ Energy turns heat into electricity, secures $14M in funding

Energy company GMZ Energy has received $14 million in its third round of funding, the company announced Wednesday. Mitsui Venture led the series C round, which included I2BF Global Ventures, Energy Technology Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and BP …

Nielsen and comScore reach settlement over online measurement patents

Nielsen and comScore, two of the largest research/ratings firms, have settled a dispute over measurement patents, the companies announced today in a joint statement.

Nielsen is best known for its television program ratings, which measure the size and demographic of …

StyleCaster to challenge Condé Nast with ‘Style as a Service’ ads (exclusive)

Fashion-focused media company StyleCaster will launch a proprietary ad platform in mid-January that will challenge Condé Nast, Glam Media and third-party ad networks, the company revealed today.

The new ad platform, dubbed Style as a Service, is a joint venture …

Keas wants to keep your employees healthy with games and social media

Keas, a social game that promotes health and wellness within companies, received $6.5 million in funding on Tuesday. The second fundraising round was led by Atlas Venture and Ignition Partners.

Keas was developed by former Google Health leader Adam Bosworth …

DOJ launches probe into Verizon’s spectrum deal with big cable

Perhaps Verizon was a bit hasty in its decision to stop growing its FiOS TV and broadband Internet business in favor of wireless partnerships with big cable companies. U.S. regulators have launched a probe into Verizon’s recent wireless spectrum agreements,which …

Oracle stock drops 9% after weaker-than-expected earnings

Software titan Oracle reported underwhelming quarterly results this afternoon, leading the company’s stock to drop more than 9 percent in after-hours trading.

Oracle provides enterprises and governments with software and data-center hardware. Sales for the company’s fiscal second quarter disappointed …