Ancestry.com files for a $75 million IPO -- The company, which traces its roots back to Ancestry Magazine and 1983, has collected nearly $400 million to date -- $95 in investment rounds, and another $300 million from the sale of a majority stake to Spectrum Equity Investors in 2007. Now, with a claimed $197.6 million in 2008 revenue, and $8 million in profits on $99 million in revenue for the first half of this year, Ancestry is finally cleared for takeoff. PaidContent.org riffles through the paperwork.
Mobile company acquisitions replace Valley investments -- Silicon Valley companies invested a high of $1.17 billion in mobile companies in 2007, with another $90,000 put into acquisitions. But in 2008, investment dropped to $851 million. Instead, Valley firms put more than $600 million into acquisitions. Mobile Monday Silicon Valley has posted six pages of charts and graphs that summarize investment patterns over the past 10 years.
Congress tries to cap financial execs' pay -- The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Friday that aims to limit executive compensation at large financial institutions with assets over $1 billion. Private equity and venture capital firms will not be affected, reports PEHub.
Photobucket founders leave News Corp. --not even TechCrunch has been able to find out what they're up to next.
Mobile ad network Jumptap claims to be growing faster than everyone else -- The company's claimed 2.3 billion available monthly impressions to 22 million unique users place it behind presumed leader AdMob, which claims 7 billion, but Jumptap is at least in the same ballpark as AdMob now. Jumptap issued a press release today in which it said it expects a 200 percent increase in bookings during Q3 and Q4. Going by a recent Nielsen report, Jumptap reaches 42% of all American mobile Web users.
Verizon drops almost all smartphones to below $99 -- Boy Genius Report sifted through the entire store.
Electric sedan maker Coda Automotive raises $24M -- The all-electric vehicle and battery maker says it will use its new second-round funds to secure a market foothold for its sedan before its release next year, and to advance its battery operations. Based in Santa Monica, the company is backed by private investors, including its founder Miles Rubin and former secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson.