Piracy gives overseas manufacturers a $2.9B competitive advantage

Microsoft released a new study today that quantifies the unfair advantage that manufacturers in emerging countries get by pirating software. The study says that companies that steal information technology software get a $2.9 billion competitive advantage over companies that pay for their software.

In just four emerging countries — Brazil, Russia, India and China — the competitive advantage is $1.6 billion per year. The number is based on a calculation about the competitive harm that … Continue Reading

Accel Partners announces $155M India fund for mobile, enterprise, and more

Showing that there’s plenty of untapped potential in the Indian startup scene, Silicon Valley venture capital firm Accel Partners announced its $155 million Accel India III fund today for seed and early-stage investments in the country.

Accel, which already has 34 companies in its portfolio in India, said the fund would be focused on hot opportunities like mobile, digital media, enterprise and software-as-a-service companies, and Internet services. The firm already manages $80 million in India … Continue Reading

Hands On: India’s $35 Aakash Android tablet lands in America (exclusive)

The Indian government thinks the $35 Aakash Android tablet has the power to change the world. After testing one out, we’d tend to agree.

An Aakash tablet was brought to the VentureBeat office on Tuesday by Vivek Wadhwa, a visiting professor at the University of California at Berkeley and Duke. Wadhwa, who is researching the Indian education system, and is a columnist with the Washington Post, was given the tablet by Kapil Sibal, the Indian … Continue Reading

$38 Aakash Android tablet launches in India

The Indian government and Canadian company DataWind are launching what might be the world’s cheapest tablet this week with the Aakash, a 7-inch Android tablet.

While the device will not impress Indians with high-end laptops and iPads, the Aakash tablet could be help less affluent Indians connect to the Internet for the first time. At present, just 8 percent of India’s 1.2 billion people have Internet access and one factor preventing it is the availability … Continue Reading

Sequoia Capital bets on analytics with $25M Mu Sigma investment

Mu Sigma on Monday announced it has raised a $25 million third round from Sequoia Capital. Mu Sigma is a provider of data analytics services to more than 50 Fortune 500 companies, including Microsoft and Dell.

Chicago-based Mu Sigma employs more than 1,200 analysts and uses them to crunch numbers and help corporate teams use data in various decision-making processes. The company has its main delivery center in Bangalore, India and describes itself as “arguably … Continue Reading

India's Games2win raises $6M for casual online games

India is growing fast as a modern entertainment market. That has enabled Games2win to raise $6 million in a second round of funding for its casual online game business.

Since being founded in 2007, the Mumbai-based company has built a library of 400 lightweight games that are played by an audience of more than 20 million consumers a month. The funding show that game investors — always searching for the next Zynga or FarmVille — … Continue Reading

The next solar hotspot is … India?

Which country will emerge as the next best market for solar energy? Surprisingly, the answer is India, with its abundant sunlight, exploding demand, and gigantic, mostly off-grid population.

That’s according to a new report by a new report by Lux Research examining emerging markets for solar power.

The current global poster child for solar is Germany, which added 8 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity in 2010 and accounted for half of the global solar market. … Continue Reading

On the GreenBeat: Molycorp stock rises on rare earth scarcity, Verizon launches smart home pilot

Here’s the latest action we’re following on the GreenBeat today:

Warren Buffet’s MidAmerican Energy to install wind power in Iowa — The company, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, plans to install 593 megawatts of wind power in Iowa, enough to power 190,000 homes, CNET reports.. The project will consist of 258 wind turbines supplied by Siemens Energy, to be installed throughout the state by the end of next year.

China defends cutting rare metal exports, … Continue Reading

On the GreenBeat: Indian solar market heats up, OriginOil wraps carbon and algae fuel pilot

Here’s some of the latest action we’re following on the GreenBeat today:

India heats up domestic solar market — The country plans to seek 300 megawatts’ worth of solar project bids in the next month, Dow Jones Newswires reports, and has awarded 184 megawatts in solar projects so far, to be completed by September of next year. India will also hold global bidding in mid-2011 for solar hybrid plants, which are a blend of solar … Continue Reading

On the GreenBeat: GE chooses ZigBee over WiFi, Deepwater proposes massive Atlantic wind farm

Here’s some of the latest action we’re following on the GreenBeat today:

GE likes ZigBee best for smart appliances — GE released a white paper yesterday that declared ZigBee-based communications are best for home area networks. GE has already adopted the technology for its own smart appliances, Greentech Media notes. The paper also evaluated WiFi, Bluetooth and power line carrier-based communications.

Deepwater Wind proposes 1,000-megawatt wind farm — The ambitious project would cover 270 square … Continue Reading

Notion Ink's Adam Android tablet: Pre-orders start in December, may land by Christmas

Indian startup Notion Ink plans to start taking pre-orders for its Adam Android tablet in December, and it may even be able to ship the device by Christmas, according to a blog post by the company’s CEO Rohan Shravan.

Shravan reports that the Adam is currently up for FCC approval, and if it’s not approved in time for Christmas, the company will aim for a release by New Years or CES (the Consumer Electronics Show … Continue Reading

Europe and China see lowest venture deal counts on record

Cleantech isn’t the only investment area that’s bleeding green. According to the Dow Jones VentureSource, venture capitalists put $1.2 billion (€916 million) into 198 European companies in the third quarter of 2010. This is the lowest quarterly deal count for Europe since the company began tracking the region 10 years ago and represents a 25 percent drop from the third quarter of 2009.

Most of these deals were later stage investments (median deal size was … Continue Reading

United Arab Emirates halts ban on BlackBerry service

The United Arab Emirates has called off a ban on Research in Motion’s BlackBerry service that would have left nearly a half-million users without the service just days from now, it announced today.

The UAE is the first of a number of countries to directly resolve its dispute with Research in Motion. India gave the BlackBerry creator two months to provide the country with some way to tap into corporate email accounts before it executes … Continue Reading

Can clean energy companies close India's energy gap?

A new report from the World Resources Institute and partners claims that the market for clean energy products among India’s rural poor is potentially worth $2.11 billion per year. $2.04 billion of this market is for decentralized renewable energy such as that produced by biomass kilns or small-scale hydro-electricity plants. The clean energy enterprises surveyed in the report have also seen annual gross revenue grow by an average of 36 percent per year since 2004.… Continue Reading

On the GreenBeat: A123 opens battery plant, Siemens targets India

A123 opens largest lithium-ion battery plant in the U.S. The Livonia, Mich. plant will expand the company’s manufacturing capabilities by up to 600 megawatt-hours per year, with the goal of ramping up to a total 760M megawatt-hours by next year’s end. The announcement comes one year after A123 was awarded a $249 million grant as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. As GigaOm notes, A123’s IPO last year opened at $17 per share … Continue Reading

BlackBerry has 60 days to prove itself before India enforces ban

Research in Motion avoided a ban today on its BlackBerry services in India by beginning a 60-day security test to see whether Indian officials can tap its BlackBerry Messenger and enterprise email services.

Indian BlackBerry users make up about 2 percent of the company’s 46 million users, according to the Bloomberg report, so a ban in India might not place that large of a monetary dent in the company that raked in $768 million in … Continue Reading

Report: Facebook to add 500 employees in new India office

Facebook is set to launch its first large Asian office in Indian tech hub Hyderabad within two months, and plans to add 500 employees in the region, according to the Economic Times, an Indian newspaper.

[Update: The social network said the 500-employee number was "speculation."

"We have announced we will open an office in Hyderabad (online sales and user support) and will grow this office in line with the business needs," said spokesperson Debbie … Continue Reading

Google to offer stripped-down Nexus One phone in India?

Facebook is set to launch its first large Asian office in Indian tech hub Hyderabad within two months, and plans to add 500 employees in the region, according to the Economic Times, an Indian newspaper.

[Update: The social network said the 500-employee number was "speculation."

"We have announced we will open an office in Hyderabad (online sales and user support) and will grow this office in line with the business needs," said spokesperson Debbie … Continue Reading

India turns to subsidies, shines with ambitious solar plan

Facebook is set to launch its first large Asian office in Indian tech hub Hyderabad within two months, and plans to add 500 employees in the region, according to the Economic Times, an Indian newspaper.

[Update: The social network said the 500-employee number was "speculation."

"We have announced we will open an office in Hyderabad (online sales and user support) and will grow this office in line with the business needs," said spokesperson Debbie … Continue Reading