Roundup: Alibaba’s ads, Flying cars don’t fly, Google’s switches, more
updated
Here’s the latest action:
1. Alibaba launches its own ad platform
2. SpiralFrog losing money rapidly
3. Viddler launches way to advertise at “tagged’ points within video
4. Amazon.com’s Kindle e-reader receives mixed reviews
5. Advertising technology startup Clickable raising $3 million more
6. Hope you can afford a helicopter — Flying cars don’t work
7. Automattic’s founders, getting ready for cash out?
8. Google buying switches for network?
9. SuccessFactors has SuccessfulIPO
Alibaba launches its own ad platform — The third-biggest ad platform may soon… Continue Reading
Alibaba is China’s largest Internet IPO yet, continues China’s roar
Alibaba has raised US$1.5 billion in the biggest ever initial public offering by a Chinese Internet company, the Wall Street Journal reports.
It’s the biggest offering in Hong Kong’s IPO history, and drew capital from more capital from Asian investors than from those in Europe and the U.S., according to the report. It continues a remarkable trend of growth in Chinese comapnies. A few days ago, the New York Times’ Floyd Norris pointed out that China… Continue Reading
Roundup: Yahoo’s Chinese stake, AT&T spectrum acquisition, Facebook app fund and more
Plenty of moves by big companies in today’s action:
1) Yahoo expands stake in Chinese search portal
2) AT&T buys up $2.5 billion worth of 700mhz spectrum
3) Facebooks FBfund chucks initial applications
4) Twitter’s first attempts to monetize
5) More details on Google’s plans for Orkut
6) E.ON blows another $1.4 billion into wind power
7) Vlaze may be today’s MTV
Yahoo expands stake in Chinese search portal Alibaba – As China’s Alibaba.com prepares to go public next week, Yahoo has invested… Continue Reading
Alibaba, competitor to eBay, to go public in Hong Kong
Alibaba.com has applied to list shares on the Hong Kong stock exchange, according to the WSJ.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley will be the lead underwriters of an offering that could, according to rumors raise $800 million, and take place in the third quarter.
Alibaba.com spokeswoman Christina Splinder said Alibaba Group Chief Executive and Chairman Jack Ma told employees during a meeting over the weekend that the first steps toward the unit’s IPO had begun…. Continue Reading
China’s large e-commerce company, Alibaba to go public
Alibaba.com, China’s leading e-commerce company, is planning to go public later this year in what could be the biggest initial public offering ever for a Chinese Internet company, according to the New York Times’ Shanghai correspondent, David Barboza.
It could be valued at $4 billion.
His story here.
Alibaba is 40 percent owned by Yahoo. Before Yahoo’s investment in 2005, venture capital investors provided Alibaba with more than $100 million. These include Fidelity Investments, Goldman Sachs, Granite Global… Continue Reading
Qihoo raises $25M for new Web 2.0 search engine
Qihoo, a fast-growing but controversial Chinese search engine for Web 2.0 content, has raised $25 million more in a second round of venture capital from credible U.S investors.
This is significant because Qihoo has launched a new kind of search engine, dedicated to Web 2.0 content — focused on blogs and forums, for example — that has seen its traffic spike in China. Page views have grown from tens of millions of page views a day,… Continue Reading
China Wars: Zhou fights back, says Alibaba’s Ma is desperate
Zhou Hongyi, chairman of Chinese search engine start-up Qihoo, defended himself Sunday against allegations that he may have embezzled from or defrauded Yahoo China before leaving that company last year.
In a phone interview, Zhou (pictured here) responded to VentureBeat’s article on Friday that reported Yahoo China is about to file a lawsuit against him. That article was based on an interview with a source close to Yahoo China familiar with the suit preparations.
Zhou dismissed news… Continue Reading
Yahoo China to file aggressive suit against Qihoo nemesis
Updated
Alibaba, the large Chinese company that owns Yahoo China, is preparing to file another hard-hitting suit against competitor Qihoo and its leader, Zhou Hongyi (pictured above).
Yahoo China has already filed one suit against Qihoo, saying the search engine start-up’s software notifies users that Yahoo’s toolbar is malware and prompts deinstallation, and that it’s hurt Yahoo’s market share.
The coming suit, which VentureBeat learned about early this week, will go much further. It will attempt to take… Continue Reading
Granite Global raises $400M for third fund
Granite Global Ventures, a venture capital firm that has done much better than its relatively low profile would suggest, has raised a $400 million fund to invest fresh companies.
Granite has done well by investing in China early. It has offices in both Silicon Valley (Menlo Park) and Shanghai, and was an early backer of Chinese online trading site, Alibaba. It also invested in gaming company Xfire, sold to Viacom for $102 million in April.
The firm… Continue Reading