As social games boom, Spark Capital hires former Zynga exec as first venture partner

Zynga’s rise to a social gaming juggernaut traded on the public markets—which now boasts a market cap roughly equal to long-established companies like Electronic Arts—highlights the rapid transformation of the gaming industry.

Boston’s Spark Capital, eager to tap the next wave of startups in that space, has added Nabeel Hyatt, a general manager who helped founded Zynga Boston, as their first venture partner.

Hyatt has a long history as a tech entrepreneur. He trained as … Continue Reading

Greylock Partners launches $160M fund for European, Israeli startups

Greylock Israel Partners, the affiliate fund of Greylock Partners – well-known for investing in companies like Facebook, Groupon, LinkedIn, and Pandora — is reportedly raising a new venture fund valued at $160 million for startups in Europe and Israel.

The fund is managed by five Greylock partners, including Moshe Mor, Erez Ofer, Yoram Snir, Laurel Bowden and Arnon Dinur.

The firm has invested in over 20 startups in Israel, but the newly raised capital will … Continue Reading

Google Voice co-founder leaves for Google Ventures to do it all again

Craig Walker, a co-founder of Google Voice developer GrandCentral, has left the company to join Google Ventures as entrepreneur-in-residence and begin working on his next company.

The other co-founder of Google Voice, Vincent Paquet, will take the helm and lead the Google Voice project after Walker’s departure, Google Ventures partner David Krane confirmed to VentureBeat.

“We’re thrilled that Craig Walker will be (Google Venture’s) first EiR — he’s precisely the kind of passionate, talented, and … Continue Reading

3Par investor Menlo Ventures looks to raise up to $800 million

The primary investor of 3Par, Menlo Ventures, is looking to raise $600 – $800 million for a new fund that would surpass Battery Ventures‘ and Institutional Venture Partners‘  $750 million funds raised this year, according to a report by Bloomberg News.

Menlo owns 9.37 million shares  of the highly sought-after cloud storage provider 3Par — or 15 percent of the company. Those shares are now valued at $33 each after 3Par accepted a $2.4 billion … Continue Reading