Search engine Cuil is valued at absurdly high level of $200M, despite flop

Search engine Cuil is valued at absurdly high level of $200M, despite flop

What were they thinking?

Investors valued the new search engine company Cuil at a stratospheric level of $200 million post-money in December, during the company’s second round of funding before the search engine launched.

The company, which hyped itself leading up to its launch two months ago,… Continue Reading

Cuil might just be cool enough to become the Google-killer in search

Cuil might just be cool enough to become the Google-killer in search

Even though I try to approach every startup with an open mind, there are few companies more likely to provoke knee-jerk skepticism than those claiming to compete head-to-head with Google in Web search. But a new company called Cuil looks like it could actually give… Continue Reading

Search investments don’t cool — Cuill secures $25M

Search investments don’t cool — Cuill secures $25M

Google is dominating the search business. New numbers from Hitwise suggest Google controlled over 67 percent of all U.S. searches in March — its highest number yet. That apparently isn’t stopping some big time investments in field.

Search start-up Cuill (yes, as the title suggests, it’s… Continue Reading

Achates Power, a clean diesel engine startup, funded by Sequoia

Achates Power, a clean diesel engine startup, funded by Sequoia

Investments in clean-burning combustion engines are picking up, as VCs bet that batteries and exotic fuels like hydrogen won’t be the end of the story for powering automobiles.

The latest is Achates Power, a San Diego, Calif. startup working on a clean diesel. Although details are… Continue Reading