As federal agency employees miss their first paychecks today due to the partial government shutdown that began Dec. 22, federal contractors and their workers—including technology professionals—face a loss of income that they may never recover. Big technology companies such as Oracle (NYSE: [[ticker:ORCL]]), Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]), and Amazon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]), as well as smaller tech … Continue reading “Tech Companies Share Shutdown Losses, With Little Chance of Back Pay”
Author: Bernadette Tansey
Bernadette Tansey is a former editor of Xconomy San Francisco. She has covered information technology, biotechnology, business, law, environment, and government as a Bay area journalist. She has written about edtech, mobile apps, social media startups, and life sciences companies for Xconomy, and tracked the adoption of Web tools by small businesses for CNBC. She was a biotechnology reporter for the business section of the San Francisco Chronicle, where she also wrote about software developers and early commercial companies in nanotechnology and synthetic biology.
FAANG, Public Trust, Valuations, in 2019: The Read from Menlo Ventures
The market caps of some of the most successful tech titans reach as high as $1 trillion. Yet in 2018, perceptions about these dominant companies often reflected uneasiness and doubt—and for some, so did their stock performance. Maybe the mood shift has to do with the fact that the public and government leaders no longer … Continue reading “FAANG, Public Trust, Valuations, in 2019: The Read from Menlo Ventures”
The Power Combo of A.I. Devices with Cloudlets Comes with Cyber Risks
When we have a chance to view it from a distance, the year 2018 may be seen as a period when innovations in a number of technological fields came together to transform not only the future of computing, but also the very structure of the Internet. First, entrepreneurs vying to invent self-driving vehicles, virtual assistants, … Continue reading “The Power Combo of A.I. Devices with Cloudlets Comes with Cyber Risks”
Tech Leaders Weigh In on Tim Berners-Lee’s “Contract for the Web”
Looking back over the past two years, it seems that public perceptions of tech companies have shifted, compared with the eager acceptance that often prevailed as innovations from these businesses transformed social interactions, transportation, and other aspects of life. In early 2017, a more critical mood began to take hold as Uber’s allegedly biased employment … Continue reading “Tech Leaders Weigh In on Tim Berners-Lee’s “Contract for the Web””
New Year to Bring New Data Security Threats, Cyber Investor Warns
Bob Ackerman is one of the venture capitalists whose funding has long fed the growth of the burgeoning cybersecurity industry. So, you might imagine that his outlook on data protection for 2019 would be more optimistic than in past years, because businesses now take advantage of a broad choice of security services to protect themselves. … Continue reading “New Year to Bring New Data Security Threats, Cyber Investor Warns”
CFOs: Prepare To Become Your Company’s Data Czar This Year
In mid-2018, Tom Bogan was the leader of business planning software company Adaptive Insights as it planned its own next steps. The Palo Alto, CA-based company was on the point of raising about $115 million in a June IPO that would have set its market value at around $705 million, according to PitchBook. But like … Continue reading “CFOs: Prepare To Become Your Company’s Data Czar This Year”
Graphcore Scores $200M to Scale Up A.I. Chip Production
One of the leading contenders in the A.I. chip race, Graphcore, announced Tuesday it pulled down $200 million in a Series D fundraising round that set its valuation at $1.7 billion. The Bristol, U.K.-based startup, founded in 2016, has now secured a total of more than $300 million in financing from venture capital firms and … Continue reading “Graphcore Scores $200M to Scale Up A.I. Chip Production”
Udacity Achieves 50,000 Nanodegree Grads Amid Company Reorganization
Udacity, a pioneer in the online teaching of IT skills, is celebrating a milestone today—50,000 students have now graduated from one of its revenue-generating “Nanodegree” programs. Launched four years ago, the Nanodegree courses allow students worldwide to gain expertise in areas such as data analytics, machine learning, and autonomous flight engineering by completing coursework that … Continue reading “Udacity Achieves 50,000 Nanodegree Grads Amid Company Reorganization”
House Members Grill Google CEO Amid Bipartisan Privacy Concerns
Google CEO Sundar Pichai took his turn in the Congressional hotseat on Tuesday, following similar appearances by the chief executives of Facebook and Twitter earlier this year before lawmakers who are increasingly alert to the vast societal impact of Silicon Valley tech giants. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy opened a hearing before the House Judiciary … Continue reading “House Members Grill Google CEO Amid Bipartisan Privacy Concerns”
IPOs Will Strip Veils From Uber & Lyft’s Financials, Strategies
The IPO of any private company comes as the resolution of a mystery, as closely held details about its financial performance and strategies are revealed. But the suspense is heightened in the case of San Francisco-based companies Uber and Lyft, which pioneered the huge ride-hailing industry but have yet to come close to turning a … Continue reading “IPOs Will Strip Veils From Uber & Lyft’s Financials, Strategies”
Former Biotech VC Steven Burrill Draws 30-Month Prison Term for Fraud
G. Steven Burrill, once a noted biotech investment fund founder, sought-after conference speaker, and life sciences publisher, was sentenced Wednesday to serve 30 months in federal prison for defrauding his investors and evading taxes. Burrill was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 14, 2017. He was accused of diverting more than $18 million … Continue reading “Former Biotech VC Steven Burrill Draws 30-Month Prison Term for Fraud”
Diffbot’s A.I. Engine Draws Global Map of Machine Learning Expertise
A year ago, the leading Chinese Internet company Tencent Holdings pegged the global number of artificial intelligence researchers and professionals at 300,000 or less—just as the unmet demand for such experts was pushing salary offers to as much as $1 million. In February, the Canadian firm Element AI estimated that talent pool at no more than … Continue reading “Diffbot’s A.I. Engine Draws Global Map of Machine Learning Expertise”
15Five Lands $8M to Provide Coaching Software to More Managers
[Updated 12/4/18 9:20 am. See below.] San Francisco-based performance management startup 15Five, whose mission is to torpedo annual performance reviews for workers and replace them with supportive weekly coaching by managers, announced today it raised $8 million in a Series A funding round. 15Five gets its name from the feedback and coaching process that its … Continue reading “15Five Lands $8M to Provide Coaching Software to More Managers”
Volvo Expands In Silicon Valley As Auto Innovation Goes West
As GM announced a wave of auto plant closures in the North American heartland this week at the cost of thousands of jobs, Sweden’s Volvo Cars was expanding its U.S. presence, both in Silicon Valley and at a new South Carolina factory. Like Detroit-based GM (NYSE: [[ticker:GM]]), which is shifting its attention from traditional auto manufacturing … Continue reading “Volvo Expands In Silicon Valley As Auto Innovation Goes West”
Wonolo Scores $32M to Expand Blue-Collar Gig Workers’ Marketplace
Wonolo, which runs a marketplace where companies can find fill-in staffers for jobs like stocking store shelves and warehouse chores, announced Monday that it raised $32 million in a Series C funding round led by Bain Capital Ventures. Bain Capital also invested this year in another tech startup focused on blue collar workers: UpKeep, which … Continue reading “Wonolo Scores $32M to Expand Blue-Collar Gig Workers’ Marketplace”
Esperanto Reaps $58M to Speed Development of Its AI Chip
Esperanto Technologies, a startup AI chip developer that has operated mostly below the radar since its founding in 2014, announced this week that it raised $58 million in a Series B fundraising round. Mountain View, CA-based Esperanto is vying with a host of competitors to create new processors for high-order tasks like machine learning and … Continue reading “Esperanto Reaps $58M to Speed Development of Its AI Chip”
IRobot’s Roombas to Map Households for Google Smart Homes
Autonomous vehicle developers rely heavily on navigational technology that maps the complex terrain of roads, curbs, signs, and people that their cars have to thread through. Google, as it develops its smart home systems, is turning to a company that already knows how to navigate the terrain of a household—corridors, kitchens, cat beds, cast-off shoes, … Continue reading “IRobot’s Roombas to Map Households for Google Smart Homes”
Facebook’s 3Q Growth Suffices to Stave Off Another Stock Dive
Facebook (NASDAQ: [[ticker:FB]]) shares gained nearly 3 percent Tuesday, and ticked up further in after-hours trading following the release of a third quarter earnings report that showed some strengths as well as shortfalls. Investors have been concerned about the social media giant’s slowing growth rate in a year when it has been under scrutiny for … Continue reading “Facebook’s 3Q Growth Suffices to Stave Off Another Stock Dive”
U.K. Slaps Maximum Fine of $645,000 on Facebook for Privacy Violations
The U.K.’s data privacy regulator fined Facebook $645,000 for violations that allowed political marketing firm Cambridge Analytica and other outside companies to extract 87 million Facebook profiles worldwide without adequate user knowledge or consent. The purpose of the U.K.’s enforcement actions is to change the behavior of organizations that mishandle the sensitive private information of … Continue reading “U.K. Slaps Maximum Fine of $645,000 on Facebook for Privacy Violations”
Berkeley’s SkyDeck Offers Chip Design Support Worth Millions to Startups
The current land rush in chip development, spurred as new technologies such as artificial intelligence create new needs, is pitting established semiconductor companies like Intel and Nvidia against tech titans like Facebook that are building their own chips. A wave of next-generation chip companies has also entered the fray. So how much room remains for … Continue reading “Berkeley’s SkyDeck Offers Chip Design Support Worth Millions to Startups”
Tech Industry Lobby Proposes Data Privacy Laws; Critics Call Them Weak
The tech industry, which reaps billions of dollars by harvesting personal data and using it to sell targeted advertising and other services, opened the door to federal data privacy regulations today in a proposal by ITI, a lobbying organization for tech companies. The Information Technology Industry Council, which represents the policy interests of companies including … Continue reading “Tech Industry Lobby Proposes Data Privacy Laws; Critics Call Them Weak”
Google Launching Its Own Computer Science Courses on Campuses
Early next year, twenty students will have the opportunity to study machine learning for 10 weeks with Google engineers, college professors, and coaches—free of charge. Google is picking up the tab for tuition, room, and board for all students accepted into its new machine learning intensives in the inaugural year of the program, which starts … Continue reading “Google Launching Its Own Computer Science Courses on Campuses”
Post-IPO Chat With CEO of Anaplan as Its Trading Price Surge Holds
Enterprise planning software company Anaplan pulled off its IPO in the middle of a broad market slump last week—raising $263.5 million—and its 43 percent share price surge on the first day of trading continues to hold while Nasdaq and the Dow have yet to fully recover their lost value. Anaplan’s (NYSE: [[ticker:PLAN]]) IPO shares, which … Continue reading “Post-IPO Chat With CEO of Anaplan as Its Trading Price Surge Holds”
SoftBank’s Arm to Include Cybereason Security Services in IoT Hub
Security-tech company Cybereason is announcing another boon flowing from close ties with its biggest investor, Japanese telecom and tech giant SoftBank. Boston-based Cybereason has formed a partnership with Arm, the dominant developer of computer chip architecture, which was acquired by SoftBank in 2016. Cybereason’s security services will be incorporated into the Arm Pelion IoT platform, a … Continue reading “SoftBank’s Arm to Include Cybereason Security Services in IoT Hub”
Facebook Bars 800 Fake Accounts and Pages For Using Tactics Like Russia’s
In another wave of account shutdowns, Facebook announced Thursday that it disabled more than 800 pages and accounts to prevent groups that disguised their identities from flooding its network with inauthentic content—some of it hyper-partisan political messages. Facebook (NASDAQ: [[ticker:FB]]) has been under pressure to cleanse its pages of fake news since the discovery that … Continue reading “Facebook Bars 800 Fake Accounts and Pages For Using Tactics Like Russia’s”
Anaplan Ups Estimate For Its IPO Haul; Allogene IPO Raises $288M
San Francisco-based Anaplan, one of five companies planning to close initial public offerings this week, raised the expected price range for its shares in an SEC filing Wednesday, signaling an IPO that could be richer than it had anticipated. Enterprise planning software company Anaplan, which is privately valued at more than $1.4 billion, had originally … Continue reading “Anaplan Ups Estimate For Its IPO Haul; Allogene IPO Raises $288M”
With a $10.2M Boost, YourMechanic Aims at Mobility Fleet Market
Every month, there’s news of another partnership among carmakers like GM and tech companies such as Uber, as they vie for dominant roles in a transportation future where individual car ownership may largely give way to rides-on-demand from fleets of autonomous and tech-enabled vehicles. But whether Uber, Toyota, GM, Honda, or Google end up at … Continue reading “With a $10.2M Boost, YourMechanic Aims at Mobility Fleet Market”
Cloudera, Hortonworks Plan to Merge as $5.2B Cloud Data Platform
Cloudera and Hortonworks, two large, publicly traded companies that compete to offer Web-based data storage and analytics, announced plans today to merge into a combined entity they value at $5.2 billion. Share prices for the two Silicon Valley companies spiked in after-hours trading following the announcement Wednesday that both their boards approved the all-stock deal. Palo … Continue reading “Cloudera, Hortonworks Plan to Merge as $5.2B Cloud Data Platform”
Girls In Tech Showcases Women Founders In SF Pitch Competition
Kristina Tsvetanova says she found the motivation for her startup Blitab in 2014, when a blind colleague’s struggle to communicate via the Internet made her conscious of the barriers facing visually impaired people in a digital world. Her search for solutions spurred her to move from her native Bulgaria to find greater resources in Vienna, … Continue reading “Girls In Tech Showcases Women Founders In SF Pitch Competition”
Findera Tries a Pivot Amid a Whirlwind Over Data Privacy Rules
Early last year, the San Francisco startup Yozio decided it would have to scuttle its core mission, despite having attracted marquee customers including Pinterest and Airbnb within only a few years. The problem was, there turned out to be too few such websites with the size and sophistication to use Yozio’s app-optimization tools to advantage, … Continue reading “Findera Tries a Pivot Amid a Whirlwind Over Data Privacy Rules”
Convoy Reloads With $185M For Its Freight Shipment Marketplace
Convoy, an online marketplace that connects shippers with freight truck fleets and independent drivers, announced today it raised $185 million in a Series C fundraising round led by CapitalG, the growth equity investment fund of Alphabet, Google’s parent company. With its new funding, Seattle-based Convoy plans to continue expanding its network of customers and truckers … Continue reading “Convoy Reloads With $185M For Its Freight Shipment Marketplace”
UiPath Snags $225M To Expand Robotic Workforce for Businesses
Top venture capital firms continue to pour money into software robotics companies that promise to automate monotonous business operations, like processing mortgage applications, that are often performed by humans. New York-based UiPath is the latest such company to score a haul, announcing Tuesday it raised $225 million in a Series C funding round co-led by … Continue reading “UiPath Snags $225M To Expand Robotic Workforce for Businesses”
Living on the Edge: Amazon, AT&T, Packet Pursue “Cloudlet” Computing
The word “cloud”—as in cloud computing, and cloud storage—has served as a handy shorthand term, but it has always been inherently vague and a little misleading. When businesses and consumers use a cloud service provider like Amazon Web Services or Apple’s iCloud, their data, photos, and music don’t get processed in the misty skies above … Continue reading “Living on the Edge: Amazon, AT&T, Packet Pursue “Cloudlet” Computing”
Wireless Internet Firms Take On Big Telecoms in Cities and Suburbs
If you’re a city dweller, and unhappy with the big company that provides your Internet connection, chances are good there’s a scrappy little outfit that thinks it can do better for you. Metropolitan areas have become target territories for the wireless Internet service providers, or WISPs, that for a long time have been the only … Continue reading “Wireless Internet Firms Take On Big Telecoms in Cities and Suburbs”
Rivaling Google, Web-Mining Diffbot Opens Its Knowledge Graph to All
Diffbot, a tech startup that continuously scours the Web to assemble a “knowledge graph” of billions of facts in context, announced today that it’s opening up the searchable resource to the public—with starter rates as low as a cable TV bill. Mountain View, CA-based Diffbot gleans unstructured data scattered across websites, ads, blog posts, videos, … Continue reading “Rivaling Google, Web-Mining Diffbot Opens Its Knowledge Graph to All”
Puls Snags $50M to Grow On-Call Repair Service for Smartphones, IoT
Puls Technologies, whose on-demand technicians repair broken smartphones and install connected home devices, announced today it has raised $50 million to expand its reach as a unified source of device maintenance and consumer support. San Francisco-based Puls, founded in 2015, offers to dispatch technicians quickly to a customer’s home or office to replace malfunctioning parts, … Continue reading “Puls Snags $50M to Grow On-Call Repair Service for Smartphones, IoT”
Would Uber’s IPO Be a Revival or a Reckoning?
In its early years, Uber was a headstrong force knocking down preconceived ideas about transportation and, along with Lyft, sparking the imaginations of countless entrepreneurs who are now building a new industry called “mobility.” As it closes in on its first decade, Uber is a conundrum: A Silicon Valley unicorn with $7.3 billion in cash, … Continue reading “Would Uber’s IPO Be a Revival or a Reckoning?”
Exabeam Raises $50M, Says It’s Gaining On Big Rival Splunk
Exabeam, a cybersecurity company that analyzes activity logs and other data generated by computers and devices as it scans for potential threats, announced today that it raised $50 million in a Series D funding round. San Mateo, CA-based Exabeam is one of the newer companies carving out a niche in a cybersecurity sector called SIEM, … Continue reading “Exabeam Raises $50M, Says It’s Gaining On Big Rival Splunk”
Ford’s Autonomic Pairs With Alibaba Cloud On Mobility Hub for China
Ford—one of the automakers competing in China’s huge car market—is now making a bid to provide China’s leading software infrastructure hub dedicated to streamlining transportation by connecting cars and riders with mobility services. Ford’s recently acquired unit Autonomic, which co-created the automaker’s Transportation Mobility Cloud (TMC), inked a deal Tuesday to partner with Alibaba Cloud, … Continue reading “Ford’s Autonomic Pairs With Alibaba Cloud On Mobility Hub for China”
Domino Data Lab Raises $40M To Manage Clients’ Predictive Models
[Updated 8/8/18, 4:40 pm. See below.] Domino Data Lab, which provides a test bed to aid in the development of predictive models, as well as tools to monitor models in use, announced today it has raised $40 million to grow its data science services and build partnerships. San Francisco-based Domino is an evangelist for the use … Continue reading “Domino Data Lab Raises $40M To Manage Clients’ Predictive Models”
The Technology Behind Fighting California’s Fires & Other Disasters
As wildfires continued to burn across the length of California this month, Gov. Jerry Brown urged residents to stay on the alert and warned that the cost of fighting the climate-driven blazes will continue to strain future state budgets. Residents of the three Northern California counties hardest hit by wildfires last year have already learned … Continue reading “The Technology Behind Fighting California’s Fires & Other Disasters”
Arm Snaps Up Treasure Data To Complete IoT Device-To-Data Platform
[Corrected 8/3/18, 5:22 pm. See below.] Leading chipmaker and designer Arm announced today it is acquiring Silicon Valley data management company Treasure Data to complete a comprehensive platform to help customers efficiently extract and analyze data from Internet of Things devices. Cambridge, UK-based Arm, which was acquired by SoftBank for $32 billion in 2016, unveiled its … Continue reading “Arm Snaps Up Treasure Data To Complete IoT Device-To-Data Platform”
With $76M Second Fund, Root Ventures Investing in Hardware, Automation
Startups often struggle to attract their first funding from venture capital firms. But some of those VC firms are startups themselves, hoping to draw investors willing to trust their judgment so they can back young companies that take off. Avidan Ross, a former industrial robot designer and financial firm CTO, was the solo founder of … Continue reading “With $76M Second Fund, Root Ventures Investing in Hardware, Automation”
Alector Snags $133M to Activate Immune Cells Against Neurodegeneration
Pharmaceutical companies have been working for years to find a drug that could break up the toxic clusters of proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Many of those companies have suffered disappointing failures by targeting those clusters head-on. Now a Bay Area biotechnology company, Alector, is ready to try tackling the problem … Continue reading “Alector Snags $133M to Activate Immune Cells Against Neurodegeneration”
E.U. Slaps $5B Antitrust Fine on Google; Trump Blasts Back With Tweet
[Updated 7/19/18, 9:59 am. See below.] If top European leaders faced a testy President Donald Trump in a series of meetings this summer, imagine the mood when the president of the European Commission arrives at the White House next Wednesday. President Trump and the European Union’s top executive officer, Jean-Claude Juncker, are slated to discuss … Continue reading “E.U. Slaps $5B Antitrust Fine on Google; Trump Blasts Back With Tweet”
Edge Computing Software Startup Swim.ai Scores $10M from VCs, Arm
Swim.ai, a startup developing advanced analytics software that can process data in devices at the edge of a network—such as industrial turbines or self-driving cars—announced today it raised $10 million in a Series B funding round. The San Jose, CA-based company is part of the emerging movement toward “edge computing,” or adapting devices to handle … Continue reading “Edge Computing Software Startup Swim.ai Scores $10M from VCs, Arm”
New Ethics Code Urges Tech Firms and Coders To Avoid Harming Society
Selling a new Web-connected thermostat or other wired gizmo to consumers without a plan to deliver the necessary security patches is not only bad business—it’s unethical. So is failing to challenge a law or tech company rule that governs work on technology products, if that rule causes unjustifiable harms to people or the environment. Those … Continue reading “New Ethics Code Urges Tech Firms and Coders To Avoid Harming Society”
Penrose Studios Raises $10M To Elevate AR/VR Storytelling
Penrose Studios, which has been scoring film festival awards for its early productions in virtual reality and augmented reality, announced today it raised $10 million in a Series A fundraising round. Among the new investors backing the San Francisco studio are Salesforce founder and CEO Marc Benioff and technology advocate will.i.am, a Grammy award winner … Continue reading “Penrose Studios Raises $10M To Elevate AR/VR Storytelling”
Scale Venture Partners Closes $400M Fund to Invest in Tech for the Enterprise
Scale Venture Partners announced today it has closed its sixth fund, gaining $400 million in new capital to invest in companies capable of transforming business operations through advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics. Foster City, CA-based ScaleVP focuses on startups developing Web-based software sold as a subscription to businesses. The VC firm enjoyed … Continue reading “Scale Venture Partners Closes $400M Fund to Invest in Tech for the Enterprise”
Automation Anywhere Scores $250M to Globalize Bot Workforce
Automation Anywhere, which supplies customers with armies of software robots to take over manual tasks such as insurance claims processing, announced today it raised $250 million in a first funding round that set its post-money valuation at $1.8 billion. The San Jose, CA-based company, begun in 2003 by four co-founders who bootstrapped its funding, has … Continue reading “Automation Anywhere Scores $250M to Globalize Bot Workforce”