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NEWS ABOUT: venture capital

venture capital stories: 43 news summaries

21 - 40 of 43 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 Next >>

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Economy Has Venture-Capital Scene Looking in Mirror

Return on investments sags with stock uncertainty, credit woes—but money still there

May 12, 08 11:56 AM CDT
(Newser) - Economic troubles that have meant fewer IPOs and less-lucrative mergers have the venture-capital industry in upheaval, the San Jose Mercury News reports after last week's Silicon Valley gathering of VC players. Many believe the moneyed backers must treat entrepreneurs better for prospects to remain lively. Yet, though returns have turned... More »

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entrepreneurs • Silicon Valley • recession • venture capital • venture capitalists

Venture Capitalists See
the Eco-Friendly Light

LED and other cleaner, efficient options attracted $100M in first quarter of '08

May 7, 08 8:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - Venture capitalists are swarming around firms developing LED (light-emitting diode) and similar lighting technologies beyond their current applications in calculators and cell phones, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Investors see new sources, using one-sixth of the power of incandescent bulbs, as environmentally friendly replacements for indoor and outdoor lighting. More »

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electricity • venture capital • green technology • LEDs • incandescent bulbs • energy saving • electrical circuits

Startup Flops Leave Little Trace Beyond For-Sale Sign

Execs, pursuing new capital, quick to wipe failures off resumes

Apr 28, 08 2:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - A failed start-up doesn't spell purgatory for entrepreneurs with the right connections, the Boston Globe reports. Take Mort Rosenthal, who struck gold in the 1980s as a software entrepreneur, only to launch two flops—one in alternative medicine, the other in cell-phone retail—with millions in lost venture capital. Now... More »

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Microsoft • venture capital • startup • Steve Ballmer • Mort Rosenthal

Venture-Capital Investments Decline

Amount of money falls 5% vs. last year, but number of deals rises

Apr 19, 08 11:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - Venture capitalists’ investments declined 5% in the first quarter to $7.1 billion, compared with $7.5 billion this time last year, suggesting entrepreneurial concerns over startups in a troubled economy, the AP reports. The change marks the first year-to-year dip since late 2005. Still, the figure was the fifth-largest... More »

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business • IPO • venture capital • investment • credit crisis • economy

 Silicon Valley
 Feels Economic Chill 

Venture capital has dried up, stocks have sagged in tech hot spot

Apr 9, 08 11:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - Venture capital in Silicon Valley is drying up as angel investors, wary of the fickle stock market and tightening credit markets, become more cautious with their cash, the New York Times reports. Their hesitance has slowed the pace of job growth and expansion at tech start-ups, and has dramatically cut... More »

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Google • Silicon Valley • Apple • IPO • venture capital • credit crisis • economy

 China Blacklists Video Sites 

Todou.com is among those warned, 25 sites closed

Mar 20, 08 8:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - China shuttered 25 video-sharing websites today and warned numerous others, as authorities moved to enforce stricter controls on online content announced late last year, Reuters reports. Chinese video heavyweight Tudou.com was among those that received a warning to eliminate pornographic and political material. "We're working hard to upgrade... More »

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China • Internet • censorship • online videos • venture capital • Internet censorship • Tudou.com

Auction-Rate Troubles Hit Silicon Valley Startups

Private companies hurting for cash

Mar 14, 08 10:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - A freeze in the market for a type of securities known as auction-rate securities may cause big cash-flow problems for many Silicon Valley startups. A number of private companies have large chunks of cash tied up in the securities, reports the Wall Street Journal. Now, buyers have dried up... More »

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investing • Silicon Valley • JetBlue • venture capital • securities • startup • private companies • auction-rate securities • cash flow • investment banks

Apple Courts iPhone Developers

Releases inexpensive software development kit

Mar 7, 08 2:00 PM CST
(Newser) - Apple is opening up the iPhone to outside programmers. The company said yesterday it would release a $99 software development kit, and the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins has committed $100 million to invest in developers' work, reports the New York Times. iPhones so far have been limited—at... More »

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iPhone • Apple • venture capital • programming • software developers • software development • Microsoft Exchange • iPhone applications

Web 2.0 Firms Taking
Slower Route to IPOs

The new business model calls for a 'slow and easy' approach to going public

Mar 6, 08 1:19 PM CST
(Newser) - Growing Web 2.0 companies like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Slide are biding their time before going public, making sure to run up their value as much as possible to fetch top dollar with an IPO, reports Business Week. It’s a far different approach than companies took before the dot-com... More »

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social networking • Google • YouTube • MySpace • Facebook • NetSuite • IPO • venture capital • LinkedIn • PayPal • VMWare • Slide • News Corp

Making a Marriage of Convergence

A Hollywood agency, Silicon Valley VCs and AT&T partner to invest in digital media

Mar 3, 08 12:13 PM CST
(Newser) - In an unusual partnership, a Hollywood talent agency is teaming up with two Silicon Valley venture capital firms and AT&T to invest in Southern California digital media startups. The William Morris Agency announced the fund on Monday, in which AT&T is a limited partner. The focus is online... More »

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Hollywood • Silicon Valley • cell phones • venture capital • AT&T • Accel Partners • Venrock

Startups in Silicon Valley Tighten Belts

Many girding themselves against possible recession

Feb 15, 08 10:16 AM CST
(Newser) - Companies in Silicon Valley are slowing spending and stockpiling funds to prepare for a possible recession, with many startups raising safety-net cash from investors. Venture capitalists, who raised more funds last year than any year since 2001, continue investing, reports the Wall Street Journal, despite a recent survey that... More »

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Silicon Valley • recession • venture capital • startup • budget cuts • Internet advertising

Move Over, Silicon Valley

Seattle's start-up
culture takes off as entrepreneurs, VCs flood Emerald City

Feb 8, 08 4:40 PM CST
(Newser) - Baby Bills, Jeffs, and Sergeys—start-ups founded by veterans of Microsoft, Amazon, and Google and nicknamed for their founders—are sprouting up around Seattle as the city becomes the next hot technology incubator, the New York Times reports. With the University of Washington playing the role Stanford does in Silicon... More »

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technology • Silicon Valley • venture capital • Seattle • startup

Tech Pioneers Try Parallel Startups

Some entrepreneurs place multiple bets, launching 2 companies at once

Jan 29, 08 4:06 PM CST
(Newser) - With the cost of startups falling, more and more entrepreneurs are hedging their bets by developing two or more projects at once. Joshua Rosen, who is planning to launch two different companies at technology conference DEMO tomorrow, lets MarketWatch take a look. “We see a lot of serial entrepreneurs,... More »

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Silicon Valley • venture capital • startup • Josh Rosen • Notebookz.com • Cozimo

Google Mafia Aims to
Take Over Silicon Valley

Stock option millionaires turn investors

Dec 28, 07 4:42 PM CST
(Newser) - Stock options have turned a growing number of Google employees into millionaires, and they’re not sitting on the money. Google alumni are becoming a force in Silicon Valley venture capitalism, pumping money into likely-looking startups. Now, they’re hoping to organize, the New York Times reports. “We... More »

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Google • venture capital • startup • PayPal Mafia

Venture Capitalists Predict Rebound After 2008

VCs support Clinton over Giuliani

Dec 28, 07 2:49 PM CST
(Newser) - After gazing into its crystal ball this month, the National Venture Capital Association has come up with a picture of a bullish post-2008, post-election future. In the prediction, the new President Clinton manages a still-reeling economy as the number of VC firms wanes and the size of the funds they... More »

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investing • Hillary Clinton • venture capital • US economy • venture capitalists • weak dollar • Election 2008

Gay Plays
Well for Maverick VC

So says Valleywag about contrarian
PayPal founder Thiel

Dec 20, 07 12:18 PM CST
(Newser) - In Silicon Valley, where "like funds like," Valleywag thinks it's important to note that Peter Thiel, "the smartest VC in the world, is gay." Why mention it? Thiel's Founders Fund, which just raised a $220 million financing round, could reinvent the way entrepreneurs get paid, and... More »

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Facebook • investments • venture capital • PayPal • Peter Thiel

Green Tech Boosts Heartland

Advances no longer limited to America's coastal cities

Dec 13, 07 8:10 PM CST
(Newser) - Green-tech venture capital is still concentrated in coastal urban centers, but middle America is catching up. Silicon Valley, Massachusetts, and Washington state are among the top five hotspots, but so is Texas and the nation's agricultural heartland, reports CNET, which tracked the money fueling startups and university research. More »

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Silicon Valley • ethanol • MIT • biodiesel • venture capital • green technology • heartland

New VC Fund Wants
Only Facebook Apps

Investor puts exclusive attention on site he thinks is worth $100B

Nov 14, 07 12:26 PM CST
(Newser) - Venture capitalist Lee Lorenzen is so enamored of Facebook that he started an investment fund just to finance developers creating applications for the social network site. Not only is Lorenzen investing in a month-and-a-half-old industry, last month at a conference he said Facebook might be worth $100 billion, more than... More »

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social networking • Microsoft • Facebook • venture capital • software developers • Lee Lorenzen

Gore Joins VC to Invest in Green

Ex-VP will work with Kleiner Perkins to invest in clean technology

Nov 12, 07 3:23 PM CST
(Newser) - Al Gore is joining Silicon Valley's leading venture capital firm in an initiative to invest in green technology. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, traditionally focused on IT, recently moved into the area of environmentally friendly businesses. Gore will be an active partner with the firm, which has already invested $270... More »

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environment • Al Gore • investment firm • green energy • venture capital • green technology • Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers • Generation Investment Management • John Doerr

Investor Avoids 'Web 2.0' to Avoid Bust?

VC firm Kleiner looking for 'more fundamental innovations'

Nov 5, 07 2:55 PM CST
(Newser) - Today's launch of Web 2.0 Expo Berlin notwithstanding, there are hints that "second-generation" Web companies are losing appeal in the venture capital community -- or at least with prestigious Silicon Valley firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Digital Daily cites a KPCB partner who recently told a... More »

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Internet • Silicon Valley • Web 2.0 • venture capital • Internet startups

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