This Xoogler Might Be the Next Bill Gates

(NEWSER) - Facebook’s recent deal to let employees sell some of their stock to private investors has sent Silicon Valley scrambling, as workers at other start-ups ask for similar deals, the Wall Street Journal reports. Start-ups rely on the promise of future stock sales to lure and retain talent, but with the market upheaval scaring most companies away from public offerings, employees are getting restless. More»

Marissa Mayer can't be compartmentalized

(NEWSER) - Marissa Mayer is Google’s 20th—or maybe 16th—employee, responsible for such household names as Gmail and Google Maps. But the 34-year-old exec is also addicted to cheese and Oscar de la Renta, and carries an iPhone “to have a non-Google product to better simulate the user,” she says. Mayer, who prizes her Omega De Ville watch and schedules hair appointments two months in advance, talks life and work with Vogue. More»

(NEWSER) - Google’s latest project, a Web-based lightweight OS to rival Windows, sounds pretty cool at first. “But that’s why you should be worried,” writes David Lazarus of the Los Angeles Times. The search giant has simply become too powerful for comfort. “Google accounts for an ungodly share of the money that flows through the Web,” says the antitrust lawyer who spearheaded the case against Microsoft. “That creates a lot of concern.” More»

(NEWSER) - Marc Andreessen, the tech pioneer who co-founded Netscape, launched a boutique venture capital firm today, intent on investing in “anything that involves chips and computers.” Though Andreessen and business partner Ben Horowitz have been dropping angel investments around Silicon Valley for years, they’ll now have much more capital at their disposal, to the tune of an initial capitalization of $300 million, Wired reports. More»

Investments will be in non-Internet fields

(NEWSER) - Google will launch a venture capital fund next year with an initial capitalization of about $100 million, reports the Wall Street Journal. Unlike other corporate funds that back companies in their own industries, Google Ventures will look beyond the Internet to also invest in biotech, health care, and environmental technology. The fund managers say they are looking to “find young companies with truly awesome potential.” More»