Good Technology buys Intercasting to strengthen mobile email
Good Technology, provider of mobile email services, has bought Intercasting, maker of cell phone software that aggregates and serves social networking data, to strengthen its offerings and challenge Research in Motion, the leader in the space. In particular, the company hopes to become more competitive in the mobile email space.
Good originally broke off from Motorola, and joined forces with similar RIM rival Visto Corp. Together, they have a formidable amount of capital — with Santa… Continue Reading
With Good acquisition, Visto aims at mobile enterprises
Now that mobile email and synchronization company Visto has acquired competitor Good Technologies from Motorola, it plans to compete with BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion to win over large corporations as customers, chief executive Brian Bogosian told me earlier today.
The deal will bring some big changes to the Redwood City, Calif. company, doubling its size to more than 400 workers. The terms weren’t disclosed, but it’s worth noting that Motorola bought Good for more than $400… Continue Reading
Roundup: Stock market drops, Microsoft retreats, and more
Here’s the latest action:
Tech stocks lead market to new lows — The thing about a downturn is it can always get worse. The Dow and S&P both hit 11-year lows on Monday, with the tech-driven NASDAQ’s 3.7 percent decline outpacing 3.4 percent drops in the blue chip averages.
Microsoft retreats on severance repayment demands — The software giant had initially asked laid off workers to return money that was in excess of planned severance payments, but backed off… Continue Reading
Visto provides a new way to track your mobile social networks
Visto, a mobile email company that has met with some skepticism due to raising vast amounts of venture capital followed by repeated unsuccessful attempts at an IPO, has announced plans for the latest version of its mobile platform, called Visto Mobile 6. The new release takes Visto beyond email and tries to connect all your mobile social networks.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to demo the product, but from the slides that Chief Marketing Officer Doug Brackbill… Continue Reading
iPhone sucks oxygen out of room
Updated
Today the arrival of the iPhone will leave time for little else.
Here’s a smattering of companies already exploiting the iPhone’s launch for a little publicity of their own:
Zoho offers iPhone version — The Pleasanton, Calif. online web application company is offering its Zoho office applications for the iPhone, called the iZoho. This allows users to view documents (and edit docs), spreadsheets and presentations. Zoho says it has simplified its interface especially for the iPhone.
Visto Mobile… Continue Reading
Grand Challenge downtown, Sparter frees your game $, Visto revisited…
Latest round-up in the world of tech:
Defense Department’s Grand Challenge moves downtown — The great annual race of robotic cars, until this year held in the desert, is moving downtown. The DARPA-sponsored event awards the winner $2 million. Unmanned vehicles will attempt to avoid people and buildings instead of boulders and sagebrush, with no remote control or other human interference. (See Merc story here.) The goal is to help the Defense Department fulfill a Congressional mandate:… Continue Reading
Visto, Silicon Valley’s most controversial company
The mobile email company, Visto, has become one of the most controversial companies in Silicon Valley.
The Redwood City company has reportedly raised another $35 million in venture backing led by new investor Altitude Capital Partners, adding to the whopping $350 million the company has already raised. It is in the red, after ten years, and hasn’t announced a major customer in several months. Its penchant to file lawsuits is also worrying, and we’ve said before… Continue Reading
Seven Networks ordered to pay Visto $7.7 million, but when will Visto execute?
Visto, the Redwood City wireless messaging company, continues to fight legal battles to protect its patents, but it also continues to lose money, and shows no signs of ever being able to make some.
A Texas court has ordered Seven to pay (see this story for details on Visto’s legal battles) Visto $7.7 million in damages plus attorney fees for infringing on Visto patents. The figure is double the damages set by a jury in… Continue Reading
Motorola buys Good Technology — to compete with Blackberry
(Updated with confirmation that Kleiner and others made money)
Motorola will buy Santa Clara wireless messaging company Good Technology for an undisclosed amount, in an effort to compete for big business clients.
Research In Motion’s Blackberry has dominated the corporate mobile email market, and Motorola’s Q device has failed to make significant traction. Moreover, Motorola’s rival, Nokia, bought mobile email provider Intellisync in February.
The market for wireless email has been brutal, with players like Visto, of Redwood… Continue Reading
Dave Duffield’s return, Mobile YouTube, Visto’s bulldog & more
(Updated) end of week roundup:
Peoplesoft founder Dave Duffield launches new company, Workday — Some details have already leaked out, but the launch announcement coming is Monday. No surprise that it’s related to his former love, Peoplesoft, which got gobbled by nemesis Oracle — something he says he he took pretty hard. Duffield, who always loves to rally the troops, is back at it again: Workday is doing the sort of back-office software stuff that Peoplesoft was… Continue Reading
Updates: Employees paying price of VC; MojoPac’s problems
Turns out, employees are getting the short end of the stick lately at venture-backed companies.
Check out this report from Cooley Godward, a big Silicon Valley law firm, which shows the “rule of three” is being discarded. In former years, venture capitalists got about one-third of the company, the founders held on to a third, and another third was set aside for employee stock options. Today, investors get about 40 percent, founders get about 40… Continue Reading
Visto raises $51 million, as expected — now what?
We reported last week that wireless email company, Visto, looked to be raising $50 million in new financing. Turns out, the amount is $51 million, according to this Dow Jones report. We’ll be talking with the company’s chief financial officer, Stephen Anderson tomorrow morning.
The investment was made mostly by insiders, and suggests the company’s value hasn’t increased that much. As expected, it was led by previous investor Oak Investment Partners, and included existing investors Draper… Continue Reading