Irrepressible widget-maker RockYou targets Asia, raises $17M
RockYou, a company that started out two years ago making simple slideshow widgets for MySpace, and, more recently, applications for social networks including Facebook, is now invading Asia.
It has taken on strategic funding and sweet deals from big regional partners: $14 million from Japanese carrier Softbank, which is the largest shareholder in Yahoo Japan, and $3 million from the venture arm of Korean carrier SK Telecom.
Redwood city, Calif.-based RockYou could be setting itself up to… Continue Reading
Virgin Mobile buys (once) high-flying Helio for $50M, as mobile consolidation begins
Virgin Mobile USA has agreed to acquire Helio mobile phone division from SK Telecom and Earthlink for an investment that totals $50 million.
The deal is part of a consolidation trend in mobile. Nokia this week agreed to buy Symbian, the mobile phone software maker, for $329 million. And Microsoft agreed yesterday to buy Portugal’s Mobicomp. Mobicomp is a mobile software company specializing in the storage and backup of data.
The deal ends a high-profile attempt by… Continue Reading
Roundup: Virgin Mobile acquires Helio, Starbucks to stop music sales and more
Here’s the latest action:
New partnership brings Helio to Virgin Mobile — Virgin Mobile USA will acquire the U.S. arm of South korea-based SK Telecom, namely, a mobile operator called Helio, according to the Financial Times. Both mobile operators have been struggling to make money by piggybacking on the infrastructure of existing carriers. This announcement doesn’t offer any sense of how they might bounce back; it just seems loaded with more bad news, like the estimate that… Continue Reading
Fix8, for animated avatars, takes $2M
Fix8, a division of another startup called Mobinex, has taken a $2 million addition to its first round of funding for a total of $5 million.
The company makes interactive, animated avatars that can be used on the Internet or mobile phones, for video, instant messaging or social networking. With the help of a webcam trained on the user’s face, the avatars can mimic the user’s facial expressions in real-time, and also transmit their voices.
SK Telecom,… Continue Reading
Rumor: Helio to announce firings this week
updated
Helio, the mobile phone service provider, is getting ready to announce a new round of firings this week, a source close to the matter tells us. These layoffs are expected to include senior level officials within the company.
[Update: Spokeswoman Brooke Hammerling has responded, saying the rumors are "totally false."]
This rumor follows Earthlink founder Sky Dayton’s resignation as chief executive of Helio, at the end of last month, and continued evidence company is losing money and… Continue Reading