Flurry, a San Francisco startup whose software helps mobile developers track app usage, said yesterday that it has collected $15 million in Series C financing. Menlo Ventures led the round, with existing investors Draper Fisher Jurvetson, InterWest, First Round Capital, and Union Square Ventures joining in. Sonja Hoel Perkins, a managing director at Menlo Ventures, will join … Continue reading “$15M Falls on Flurry”
Author: Wade Roush
Between 2007 and 2014, I was a staff editor for Xconomy in Boston and San Francisco.
Since 2008 I've been writing a weekly opinion/review column called VOX: The Voice of Xperience. (From 2008 to 2013 the column was known as World Wide Wade.)
I've been writing about science and technology professionally since 1994. Before joining Xconomy in 2007, I was a staff member at MIT’s Technology Review from 2001 to 2006, serving as senior editor, San Francisco bureau chief, and executive editor of TechnologyReview.com. Before that, I was the Boston bureau reporter for Science, managing editor of supercomputing publications at NASA Ames Research Center, and Web editor at e-book pioneer NuvoMedia.
I have a B.A. in the history of science from Harvard College and a PhD in the history and social study of science and technology from MIT. I've published articles in Science, Technology Review, IEEE Spectrum, Encyclopaedia Brittanica, Technology and Culture, Alaska Airlines Magazine, and World Business, and I've been a guest of NPR, CNN, CNBC, NECN, WGBH and the PBS NewsHour. I'm a frequent conference participant and enjoy opportunities to moderate panel discussions and on-stage chats.
My personal site: waderoush.com
My social media coordinates:
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Peter Thiel Challenges Silicon Valley’s Wealthy to Back “Breakthrough” Philanthropic Causes
Last night Silicon Valley icon Peter Thiel, of PayPal fame, gathered eight of his favorite future-oriented organizations and a couple hundred of his wealthiest friends in an auditorium at San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts and made a magnanimous offer. For every dollar attendees contribute to the organizations before New Year’s Day, Thiel’s foundation announced, … Continue reading “Peter Thiel Challenges Silicon Valley’s Wealthy to Back “Breakthrough” Philanthropic Causes”
At American Eagle, Prysm’s Laser Displays Banish the Bezel; Startup to Present at Tonight’s 5×5 Event
Prysm is trying to reinvent large video displays. American Eagle Outfitters is trying to reinvent the shopping experience in its retail stores. So it makes sense that first place you can see Prysm’s laser phosphor displays (LPDs) in public is the new American Eagle flagship store at Broadway and Houston in New York City’s Soho … Continue reading “At American Eagle, Prysm’s Laser Displays Banish the Bezel; Startup to Present at Tonight’s 5×5 Event”
Waze Raises $25M to Turn Your Smartphone into a Traffic-Avoidance Tool
There are plenty of GPS-based smartphone apps these days that can give you turn-by-turn directions as you commute to work or drive to Grandma’s for the holidays. But there aren’t many that can tell you to get off at the next exit because an app user 10 minutes ahead of you got stuck in a … Continue reading “Waze Raises $25M to Turn Your Smartphone into a Traffic-Avoidance Tool”
Google’s News: E-Books and Android and Chrome, Oh My
Sometimes Google gives the appearance of being a loose confederation rather than a single company, as if its product units are all vying to make news at the same time. That’s definitely the case this week. Monday saw three big developments at the Googleplex in Mountain View. First came the launch of the Google eBookstore, … Continue reading “Google’s News: E-Books and Android and Chrome, Oh My”
Zendesk Snags $19M for Web-based Customer Support That Users Can Grok, and Startups Can Afford
Three-year-old Zendesk has achieved quite a lot on just $6.5 million in venture funding. More than 5,000 companies are using Zendesk’s Web-based customer support software, 50,000 users have downloaded its iPhone app, and it’s got 70 employees—almost too many for its Townsend Street digs in SoMa. So it’s interesting to contemplate what Zendesk might do … Continue reading “Zendesk Snags $19M for Web-based Customer Support That Users Can Grok, and Startups Can Afford”
Wings, the Facebook Dating App, Pulls an Icarus; Relaunches as DateBuzz.com
It turns out there’s at least one thing that Facebook isn’t good at: helping people find dates. Back in July I took a close look at Wings, a new Facebook dating app created by a Palo Alto, CA startup called Triangulate. At the time Sunil Nagaraj, Triangulate’s co-founder and CEO, called Wings the first example … Continue reading “Wings, the Facebook Dating App, Pulls an Icarus; Relaunches as DateBuzz.com”
Moritz on Stage, A Long Look at Blinkx, Gadgets for the Holidays, and other Bay Area BizTech News
The big event dominating Xconomy San Francisco’s calendar last week was our on-stage conversation with Sequoia Capital partner Michael Moritz, which was enlightening and well-attended, filling San Francisco’s KickLabs to capacity. I’m working on bringing you video highlights from the talk, which ranged from Moritz’s tricks for identifying great entrepreneurs to the funding options for … Continue reading “Moritz on Stage, A Long Look at Blinkx, Gadgets for the Holidays, and other Bay Area BizTech News”
PacketMotion C Round Grows to $8.4M
San Jose, CA-based PacketMotion, which makes employee monitoring software used by large enterprises to guard against compliance violations and “insider threats,” announced on December 2 that its recent Series C funding round has grown by $2.7 million and now totals $8.4 million. Athenian Ventures and Reservoir Venture Partners provided the extra funding. Also participating in … Continue reading “PacketMotion C Round Grows to $8.4M”
Zynga Gets a Newtoy
San Francisco-based social game giant Zynga said today that it has acquired Newtoy, a McKinney, TX, game startup best known for a Scrabble-like multiplayer game for the Apple iPhone called Words With Friends. The company’s first game was a multiplayer version of chess called Chess with Friends. Zynga said in a statement that Newtoy will … Continue reading “Zynga Gets a Newtoy”
Calisolar Pulls In $3M
Sunnyvale, CA-based solar manufacturer Calisolar has raised $3 million out of a potential $5 million in a funding round involving debt, options, and securities, according to a December 2 regulatory filing. Calisolar is a vertically integrated manufacturer that makes raw silicon into solar cells. It’s gone back to the fundraising well frequently in the last three … Continue reading “Calisolar Pulls In $3M”
Taulia Collects $3.2 Million to Ease Payment Delays for Suppliers
Just when you thought there couldn’t possibly be another massive inefficiency in the economy waiting to be fixed by Internet entrepreneurs, along comes Taulia. This San Francisco startup has figured out an easy way for suppliers of goods and services to get paid faster, and for the buyers of their goods and services—at least, those … Continue reading “Taulia Collects $3.2 Million to Ease Payment Delays for Suppliers”
The Xconomy 2010 Gadget Gift Guide
If the people on your holiday gift lists have asked for clothes, sports equipment, beauty products, or fancy food, I can’t help you. But I do know electronics, and this week I want to point you toward a few of the products that I think are among the most enticing on the market this year. … Continue reading “The Xconomy 2010 Gadget Gift Guide”
4Home Destined 4 Motorola
Sunnyvale, CA-based 4Home, a maker of “connected home” software for security, health, energy, and media management, has been acquired by Motorola Mobility, a Libertyville, IL-based subsidiary of Motorola, the companies announced yesterday. “The addition of the 4Home portfolio helps expand our vision of converged experiences in the home and beyond,” Motorola Mobility president Dan Moloney … Continue reading “4Home Destined 4 Motorola”
Rackitivity Raises $8M
Rackitivity, a Belgian startup that just opened its U.S. headquarters in Redwood City, CA, said today that it has raised $8 million in Series B funding. Partech International led the round, which was joined by Big Bang Ventures. Rackitivity makes power distribution units that help manage energy consumption in corporate data centers. It said in … Continue reading “Rackitivity Raises $8M”
See You at Tonight’s Michael Moritz Chat
The big day is here—it’s Xconomy’s first event in San Francisco, and we couldn’t ask for a better headliner than Sequoia Capital partner Michael Moritz, who’s been called the most powerful venture capitalist in Silicon Valley. The fun starts at 5:00 pm with an hour of networking at Kicklabs at 250 Brannan Street in San Francisco’s … Continue reading “See You at Tonight’s Michael Moritz Chat”
Yammer Collects $25M
Yammer, the San Francisco-based maker of a Twitter-like messaging and microblogging service for enterprises, announced today that it has closed a $25 million Series C financing round. U.S. Venture Partners was in the lead, and existing investors Emergence Capital, Charles River Ventures, and Founders Fund also participated. Mamoon Hamid, a partner at U.S. Venture Partners, … Continue reading “Yammer Collects $25M”
$6M for Payvment
San Francisco-based Payvment, whose software allows companies to open e-commerce storefronts within Facebook, said today it has raised $6 million in new funding in a Series B round led by Sierra Ventures. Existing investor Blue Run Ventures returned for the round. Sierra partner Vispi Daver has joined Payvment’s board of directors. Payvment raised $1.15 million … Continue reading “$6M for Payvment”
Red Hat Dons Makara
Red Hat (NYSE: [[ticker:RHT]]), the Raleigh, NC-based provider of open source software support, said today that it has acquired Makara, a Redwood City, CA-based startup that specializes in software for managing cloud-based applications. Red Hat said the acquisition would “accelerate the development of Red Hat’s comprehensive Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solution as part of its Cloud Foundations … Continue reading “Red Hat Dons Makara”
With a Lifeline to London, Blinkx Builds the World’s Largest Video Search Index
Celebrity obsession isn’t limited to Hollywood. Here in Silicon Valley, we’ve got our own versions of Brangelina and Justin Timberlake—they just go by names like Google, Apple, Facebook, and Twitter. Part of Xconomy’s mission, though, is to look beyond the headlines for firms that are innovating in unusual ways. So it’s been a pleasure to … Continue reading “With a Lifeline to London, Blinkx Builds the World’s Largest Video Search Index”
Hope to See You Tomorrow at Xconomy’s Michael Moritz Chat—Only a Handful of Seats Left
We’re nearly out of tickets to “Michael Moritz Unplugged,” our exclusive on-stage conversation Tuesday night with the famed Sequoia Capital partner. Register today if you plan to attend, as we can’t guarantee we’ll have any room for walk-ins at the event, which will be held from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at San Francisco’s Kicklabs … Continue reading “Hope to See You Tomorrow at Xconomy’s Michael Moritz Chat—Only a Handful of Seats Left”
Ruckus Solves 3G Headaches, StumbleUpon Vies with Facebook, Woz Misspeaks, & More Bay Area Biztech News
The long Thanksgiving weekend put an early punctuation mark on last week’s technology and business news in the Bay Area. Here’s a glance back: —StumbleUpon, the San Francisco “discovery engine” company founded in 2002, now rivals Facebook in the amount of social-media traffic it sends to websites. I profiled the company, which has had a … Continue reading “Ruckus Solves 3G Headaches, StumbleUpon Vies with Facebook, Woz Misspeaks, & More Bay Area Biztech News”
Meeker Moves to Kleiner Perkins
Longtime Morgan Stanley analyst Mary Meeker, an early proponent of the Internet economy, has taken a new job as a partner with legendary Menlo Park, CA-based venture firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. KPCB reported the news in a press release this morning. As the firm’s newest partner, Meeker will be based in Silicon Valley … Continue reading “Meeker Moves to Kleiner Perkins”
Join the Conversation with Michael Moritz Next Tuesday
I’m getting really excited (and a little nervous, to tell you the truth) about Xconomy’s first big event in San Francisco—my on-stage talk with Michael Moritz, the legendary venture capitalist who led Sequoia Capital’s investments in Google, Yahoo, Flextronics, PayPal, YouTube, Zappos, Kayak, Pure Digital, Green Dot, and many other high-profile technology companies. If you … Continue reading “Join the Conversation with Michael Moritz Next Tuesday”
As 3G Networks Buckle, Ruckus Wireless Sends Smart Wi-Fi to the Rescue
Wi-Fi: it’s the new utility, as crucial to many consumers and businesspeople as electricity and telephones. Wi-Fi chips are built into 800 million new laptops, mobile phones, tablet PCs, printers, video game controllers, and TV set-top boxes every year, and Wi-Fi networks blanket virtually every office, library, airport, hotel, café, and campus. If only Wi-Fi … Continue reading “As 3G Networks Buckle, Ruckus Wireless Sends Smart Wi-Fi to the Rescue”
Wozniak Sets Blogs Atwitter with Apple-Nuance Remark
[Updated, see below] Proving that he has the power to move markets with an odd aside, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak sparked rumors this week that Apple is buying Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NUAN]]), the giant Burlington, MA-based maker of speech recognition software. The source of the speculation is a passing remark in a video interview about … Continue reading “Wozniak Sets Blogs Atwitter with Apple-Nuance Remark”
Foursquare Expands in SF
New York-based Foursquare, maker of mobile apps that enable location-based check-ins and merchant promotions, posted word in its blog yesterday that it’s about to hire a “full team of West Coast engineers,” who will work in a Mission office shared with mobile credit-card processing startup Square, the creation of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey. The 35-employee startup’s … Continue reading “Foursquare Expands in SF”
$5M for Yardsellr
Yardsellr, a Palo Alto startup that helps Web users buy and sell things through social-media channels such as Twitter and Facebook, said this week that it has raised $5 million in new capital from Accel Partners and existing investor Harrison Metal Capital. Yardsellr is the creation of serial Web entrepreneur Danny Leffel, who—like Harrison Metal … Continue reading “$5M for Yardsellr”
Xconomy Adds Marginize Widget for Social Conversations; Check In for a Chance to Win a Free Event Ticket
There’s a new way to share and discuss your favorite Xconomy articles with your friends on a variety of social-media channels: Marginize. If you’re reading this article on the Xconomy website, you’ll see the new Marginize tab on the far right edge of your browser window. Click on this tab and the Marginize bar will … Continue reading “Xconomy Adds Marginize Widget for Social Conversations; Check In for a Chance to Win a Free Event Ticket”
Path Debuts, Stipple and PayNearMe Tank Up, Facebook Sends a Message, & More Bay-Area BizTech News
There was way too much news from the Bay-area infotech industry last week for one correspondent to keep up with, so I focused in on just a few key developments, with some help from my colleagues around the Xconomy network. —Path, a San Francisco company co-founded by ex-Facebooker Dave Morin, launched a new photo sharing … Continue reading “Path Debuts, Stipple and PayNearMe Tank Up, Facebook Sends a Message, & More Bay-Area BizTech News”
SolFocus Raises $20M
Mountain View, CA-based SolFocus, a maker of optical concentrators that focus sunlight on arrays of small photovoltaic devices, has raised $20 million out of a potential $50 million in equity-based financing from unnamed backers, according to a regulatory filing. SolFocus previously raised $77 million in a 2009 Series C round and recently signed a contract … Continue reading “SolFocus Raises $20M”
Reports: Sequoia Leads Tumblr Round
Details continue to emerge about Tumblr‘s reported venture fundraising round. GigaOm first reported on October 27 that the New York-based blogging platform startup was raising money. BusinessInsider reported November 12 that Menlo Park, CA-based Sequoia Capital was leading the round and that Sequoia partner Roelof Botha would join Tumblr’s board, and on November 19 Fortune … Continue reading “Reports: Sequoia Leads Tumblr Round”
StumbleUpon Revs Forward After Exiting eBay; Rivals Facebook As Social Discovery Engine
For a company that’s all about helping people wander the Web and make serendipitous discoveries, San Francisco-based StumbleUpon has been on a remarkably straight path since 2002. That’s not to say the venture-backed company hasn’t gone through big changes. It has: from tiny Firefox add-on maker in Calgary, Alberta, to angel-funded SoMa startup, to eBay … Continue reading “StumbleUpon Revs Forward After Exiting eBay; Rivals Facebook As Social Discovery Engine”
Shawn Broderick Departing TechStars Boston for Social Games Startup
[Updated, see below] Shawn Broderick, managing director of the TechStars Boston startup incubator program since it came to the Hub in early 2009, is stepping down. Broderick announced the move publicly in a blog post Friday evening. The news comes in the middle of the TechStars Annual Summit in New York—where founders of 50 of … Continue reading “Shawn Broderick Departing TechStars Boston for Social Games Startup”
Hipmunk Strikes a Deal with ITA, Vudu Hits the PlayStation3, Android Creeps Up on iOS: A Friday News Roundup
It’s been such an action-packed week in the technology world that I ran out of time to tell you about a few interesting local news items. —Cambridge, MA-based ITA Software and Hipmunk, the Y Combinator-backed startup based in San Francisco and founded by Reddit co-founder Steve Huffman and computer-book author Adam Goldstein, announced that they … Continue reading “Hipmunk Strikes a Deal with ITA, Vudu Hits the PlayStation3, Android Creeps Up on iOS: A Friday News Roundup”
Tesla Confirms $30M Investment
Panasonic’s $30 million investment in Palo Alto, CA-based Tesla Motors, announced by the company on November 3, has been confirmed in a regulatory document filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing reveals that the equity sale took place on November 2, just one day before the public announcement.
Apple TV vs. Roku: Battle of the Set-Top Boxes
Hi, my name is Wade, and it’s been 20 months since I paid for premium cable TV. As longtime Xconomy readers know, I canceled all but my basic cable channels in March 2009. Back then, it was a fairly radical thing to do, but nowadays I run into people all the time who’ve realized that … Continue reading “Apple TV vs. Roku: Battle of the Set-Top Boxes”
Meebo Mops Up $25M More
Mountain View, CA-based Meebo has raised $25 million in a Series D venture round first revealed this week in a report from AllThingsD. The company makes instant messaging and content-sharing tools for the desktop and mobile Web, including a new browser extension called the Meebo MiniBar that lets users check in and chat directly from … Continue reading “Meebo Mops Up $25M More”
$19M for Altius Education
Waltham, MA-based Charles River Ventures and Boston-based Spark Capital are the lead investors in an $18.6 million Series B venture financing round announced today by San Francisco-based online education provider Altius Education. The company’s premier project is Ivy Bridge College, a collaboration with Tiffin, OH-based Tiffin University. Spark and Seattle-based Maveron coinvested in Altius’s $8 million … Continue reading “$19M for Altius Education”
Marketo Pulls In $25M
Marketo, a San Mateo, CA-based maker of software that helps companies automate the management of e-mail marketing campaigns and other forms of lead generation, said this week it has raised $25 million in Series D funding. Institutional Venture Partners led the round, which was joined by existing investors InterWest Partners, Storm Ventures, and Mayfield Fund. … Continue reading “Marketo Pulls In $25M”
Stipple Gets $2 Million to Help Web Publishers Bring Images Alive
A San Francisco startup called Stipple has raised $2 million from big-name investors to help make images on the Web more interactive. Specifically, the company wants to help publishers who puts lots of photos online to turn them into gateways to various kinds of interactions, including online purchases. When you think about it, images on … Continue reading “Stipple Gets $2 Million to Help Web Publishers Bring Images Alive”
The Real Choices Facing Startups: Talking with Michael Moritz On Stage November 30 in San Francisco
Time for a reality check. Is it really easier to start a tech company these days? That’s certainly the conventional wisdom in Silicon Valley—but Michael Moritz begs to differ. I’ll be chatting with the legendary Sequoia Capital partner at San Francisco’s Kicklabs on November 30 (register here), and the top item on the agenda will … Continue reading “The Real Choices Facing Startups: Talking with Michael Moritz On Stage November 30 in San Francisco”
Dave Morin Says Path Photo App is About “Making the World a Happier Place”
On Sunday, San Francisco startup Path launched its photo-sharing app for the iPhone, and by Tuesday night it had already climbed to the number 5 spot in the Lifestyle section of the iTunes App Store. iPhone users seem to appreciate the new app, which is designed to let users share candid photos and a few … Continue reading “Dave Morin Says Path Photo App is About “Making the World a Happier Place””
Intel Capital Reveals 18 New Investments Totaling $77 Million
Most of the time, we find out about companies that have collected venture investments one at a time, via announcements or regulatory filings from the companies themselves. Today Santa Clara, CA-based Intel Capital shook things up a bit, unveiling a big bundle of investments all at once. The venture wing of the giant chipmaker said … Continue reading “Intel Capital Reveals 18 New Investments Totaling $77 Million”
PayNearMe Unveils Mobile Payment Network, Collects $16 Million
There’s an industry term for the one-quarter of American households where, through choice or necessity, members don’t have bank accounts or credit or debit cards: the “unbanked.” But just because these consumers don’t have formal relationships with financial institutions doesn’t mean they don’t pay a lot for financial services. Every time they cash a payday … Continue reading “PayNearMe Unveils Mobile Payment Network, Collects $16 Million”
$1.2M for Optimizely
Optimizely, a San Francisco startup specializing in automated A/B testing of websites, has collected a $1.2 million seed round from a group of prominent individual investors, according to report today in Venture Wire. Investors include Paul Buchheit, Steve Chen, Ron Conway, Chris Dixon, Mitch Kapor, Ashton Kutcher, Deep Nishar, Naval Ravikant, Chris Sacca, Joshua Schachter, … Continue reading “$1.2M for Optimizely”
Coraid Raises $25M
Redwood City, CA-based Coraid, which makes scalable storage devices for businesses, said today that it has closed a $25 million round of Series C venture funding. Menlo Ventures was in the lead, and all of the company’s existing investors, including Allegis Capital and Azure Capital Partners, also participated. Menlo Ventures managing director John Jarve has … Continue reading “Coraid Raises $25M”
“Changing the Way We Start Companies”: Q&A with AngelPad’s Thomas Korte
Last week I reported on the inaugural demo day presentations from startups at San Francisco-based AngelPad, the newest of the Y Combinator-style tech incubators springing up around the country. After the presentations I had a chance to speak with Thomas Korte, one of the founders of AngelPad, about the vision behind the program, and I’ve … Continue reading ““Changing the Way We Start Companies”: Q&A with AngelPad’s Thomas Korte”
RockMelt’s New Browser, AngelPad’s 8 New Web Startups, Flowtown’s New Twitter Services, & More Bay Area BizTech News
Companies offering new takes on social media and collaboration dominated the local business and technology news last week, as they seem to be doing an increasing amount of the time. —After two years in stealth, a Mountain View, CA, startup called RockMelt began distributing a new Windows and Mac browser by the same name. In … Continue reading “RockMelt’s New Browser, AngelPad’s 8 New Web Startups, Flowtown’s New Twitter Services, & More Bay Area BizTech News”
TokBox Raises $12M Series C
TokBox, a San Francisco startup specializing in Web-based software for multi-party video calls, announced today that it has collected $12 million in a Series C funding round led by DAG Ventures. Existing investors Bain Capital Group and Sequoia Capital also participated. At the same time, the company introduced OpenTok, a new service that lets Web … Continue reading “TokBox Raises $12M Series C”