Roundup: Cloud computing stays free, big wind in SoCal, open source business and more
Dell doesn’t get cloud computing — A bid by computer maker Dell to trademark the term “cloud computing”, a broad term generally used to describe services and software that live on the Internet, has been preliminarily rejected by the US Patent Office.
SoCal Edison signs for 900MW of wind — Following close on the heels of PG&E’s announcement of an enormous 800 megawatt solar power plant, Southern California Edison, which serves the other half of the state, has… Continue Reading
SpikeSource launches software platform, gets $10M from Intel
SpikeSource, a startup that helps companies build, test and integrate software, is partnering with Intel to launch the SpikeSource Solutions Factory Platform. For SpikeSource, it’s a big strategy change — instead of partnering with independent software vendors, the startup will now provide its technology to major players like Intel so they can certify products in their ISV networks.
The new platform could catapult SpikeSource into the big leagues. When SpikeSource launches a new product, it normally… Continue Reading
UPDATE: Intel confirms investments in Socialtext, SpikeSource, Six Apart, Simplefeed, Newsgator & Topio
See our stories here (scroll down) and here (on Topio). Total amounts of Intel investments are undisclosed.
(Update: To clarify, Intel has made equity investments in Six Apart and SpikeSource, but has only signed warranty deals with the other companies, essentially giving Intel the right to purchase equity once the companies meet certain peformance criteria).
Web 2.0 investment booms (data on big players & note on Intel)
Updated
Web 2.0 start-up activity is hot, and here’s the latest data.
Venture capitalists invested $455.5 million into Web 2.0 companies in the first three quarters of the year, more than twice the amount invested over the same period last year.
This comes from the latest survey by Dow Jones VentureOne, which continues to do the best research on the Web 2.0 area. It gets help from accounting firm Ernst & Young.
Overall, more than $1.63 billion has been… Continue Reading
SkyRider gets $12M more for aggressive P2P search engine
Updated
SkyRider, the Mountain View start-up developing an aggressive search engine for peer-to-peer traffic, has raised another $12 million in venture capital.
The round, led by ComVentures, comes just two months after it raised $8 million (see our earlier story here)
The company also showed its hand on strategy for the first time (it had been mum on specifics). It will essentially hijack the user software accessing the peer-to-peer networks, and force its own ads very high… Continue Reading
Open source integrator Spikesource gets $4M more, led by NEC
We mentioned that SpikeSource, a Redwood City start-up that helps companies integrate their open source applications, had raised $21 million in a second round of funding. Now, it has raised $4 million more, and at least part of that comes from NEC.
NEC is a large Japanese company that makes server and desktop computing systems, and the deal includes a relationship whereby NEC distributes software that has been tested and updated by SpikeSource.