Want to Work for A VC Firm after Graduating? Bijan Sabet Offers Advice | Bostinnovation: Boston Innovation, Start-ups and Tech News. Slideshow: UTIMCO’s Top 5 Venture Capital Investments. Chamath Palihapitiya Leaves Facebook To Start Venture Capital Fund. Facebook's Developers Platform The VP in charge of the Facebook Platform since 2007 announced he is leaving the social media giant to start his own venture capital firm. It seems Chamath Palihapitiya will not stray too far from his expertise though, noting that the Facebook Platform will be an underlying influence on a majority of his investment choices.
The platform is Facebook’s developer friendly structure which makes it possible for “anyone to build social apps on Facebook and the web”. It seems natural that Mr. Mr. This is by no means Mr. Denmark’s government wants to recreate Silicon Valley ecosystem with SCALEit - Video. Next week twenty Danish technology startups will travel to Silicon Valley on a new initiative set up by The Innovation Center Denmark called SCALEit. The startups will be exposed to the valley’s unique ecosystem for a week in the hope they will take the skills and information they learn back to Denmark where they will grow their startups and contribute to the Danish economy through revenue and job creation.
Just like many other governments in the world, Denmark too has Silicon Valley Fever, realizing that creating a fertile breading ground for startups is paramount to their position on the world stage as the we move towards a knowledge-based economy where if scaled right, a startup can be a dominant global company in a relatively small amount of time. Skype’s recent sale to Microsoft for $8.5billion is a great example of wealth creation from a company that was just a startup in 2003, not to mention co-founded by Danish entrepreneur Janus Friis. Silicon Valley Bank parent eyes India, China. French biotechs set for fragile recovery.
Serial Entrepreneur Josh Silverman Heads to American Express. Josh Silverman has just been named head of American Express’s U.S. consumer services unit, which manages consumer cards and travel services. A repeat entrepreneur who, at 41, has already made more career moves than most people in their lifetimes, Silverman is joining American Express from Greylock Partners, which brought him on as an entrepreneur-in-residence last October. At the time, Silverman was segueing out of Skype, where he was CEO until its spin-out from eBay by a consortium of investors. Greylock called him a “visionary entrepreneur” and an “effective leader for amazing growth companies.” Before heading up Skype, Silverman had been CEO of Shopping.com, and before that, served in many capacities at eBay, including as the managing director of its Marktplaats.nl unit. (Marktplaats is a classified advertising site based in the Netherlands. Silverman also co-founded and served as the CEO of Evite, the event planning site that’s been owned by InterActive Corp. since 2001.
Stores-stock-new-light-bulbs-switch-wsj: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance. Turns out, changing a light bulb is harder than it seems. New bulbs using halogen, compact-fluorescent and LED technologies have been sprouting up on store shelves recently. The flurry of products is a result of legislation passed in 2007 that requires general-purpose bulbs, starting in January, to be at least 25% more efficient than those using standard incandescent technology invented by Thomas Edison in 1879. As a result, most of today's incandescent bulbs will be phased out (some specialty bulbs are exempt) by 2014 and replaced by more efficient alternatives.
While cheap at 25 to 50 cents a pop, incandescent bulbs waste nearly all their energy in heat output. The light-bulb industry now faces a daunting task of re-educating shoppers who are still in the dark about their choices. [More from WSJ.com: Housing Drama Continues for Orange County 'Housewives'] Most people are accustomed to buying bulbs based on watts, which refers to energy usage. The U.S. Popular Stories on Yahoo!
Hercules Technology Adds Three. Hercules Technology Growth Capital said Friday that it has added Paul Enderle, Chad Norman and Brad Pritchard as managing directors. Enderle joins the technology and lower middle market group in Hercules’ Boston office. Norman joins in Palo Alto, Calif., as a managing director in the life sciences group. Pritchard joins the cleantech group and will also be based in Palo Alto. PRESS RELEASE Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTGC), the leading specialty finance company devoted to addressing the capital needs of venture capital and private equity-backed technology-related companies including clean technology, life sciences, and lower middle market companies at all stages of development, today announced the appointment of Paul Enderle, Chad Norman and Brad Pritchard as managing directors to its Technology, Life Sciences and Cleantech group sectors.
“I am delighted to welcome Paul, Chad and Brad to our team of experienced investment professionals,” said Manuel A. James Huang Joins KPCB in Shanghai. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers has added James Huang as a partner in its Shanghai offices. Huang will advise on life science investments. Huang joins from life science-focused Vivo Ventures, where he was a managing partner. Earlier in his career, Huang was president of Anesiva, a biopharmaceutical company focused on pain management. PRESS RELEASE Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) today announced that James Huang, a ranking executive for several pharmaceutical industry giants over the last 20 years, has joined the firm as a partner in Shanghai, China. Huang will advise on life science investment opportunities in China. “KPCB’s expanding presence in China provides a great vehicle for driving innovation in the region’s growing pharmaceutical markets,” said Huang.
Huang joins KPCB from Vivo Ventures, a venture capital firm specializing in life science investments, where he was a managing partner. Vivo Ventures Promotes Two to MD. Vivo Ventures, a life science focused investment firm, has promoted Dr. Chen Yu and Dr. James Zhao to managing partners with the firm. Yu first joined Vivo in 2004 and has been a Partner since 2007. Zhao began working with the firm in late 2005. With his promotion to Managing Partner, he will now be heading Vivo’s China team.
Palo Alto, Calif. PRESS RELEASE Vivo Ventures, LLC (“Vivo”) announced today the promotions of Dr. Dr. Dr. “We are pleased to recognize the contributions of our new Managing Partners as we continue to strengthen and grow our team in the U.S. and in China,” said Frank Kung, Vivo Ventures co-founder and Senior Managing Partner. About Vivo Ventures Vivo Ventures is a life-sciences focused venture capital firm formed in 1996 with over $750M under management. TinyCo Launches TinyFund.
San Francisco-based mobile game developer TinyCo has launched a $5 million fund, dubbed the TinyFund, to support mobile game developers, providing capital and resources. TinyCo develops games for the iOS and Android platforms and recently closed an $18 million funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz. PRESS RELEASE TinyCo, a leading developer of iOS and Android games, today announced the launch of the TinyFund — a $5 million gaming fund — to provide mobile game developers with capital and resources needed to successfully launch their games.
Developers around the world are invited to submit their proposals for consideration, and games of all stages of development — from early concepts to completed games — will be considered for support. Within a year, TinyCo has launched five top grossing iOS games including hits Tiny Chef, Tiny Zoo and Tap Resort, which have all appeared on the Top 10 free games charts in the App Store. In total, TinyCo’s games have over 20 million downloads. Finnish Gaming Startup Supercell Bags $12M from Accel, Others. Kevin Comolli, Accel (Reuters) – Finnish online startup Supercell, which merges social games with elements from traditional console titles, has raised $12 million from venture capital firm Accel Partners and others. The 11-month old company — which released its first offering, Gunshine.net, to the public this week — builds free games which can be played directly from an internet browser without additional downloads.
“The investment will help Supercell accelerate its growth, expand its team and also release new games and target new platforms,” it said on Wednesday. Founders include Ilkka Paananen, a longtime director at mobile gaming firm Digital Chocolate, and former staff from established gaming companies like Remedy and Sulake. “This is a phenomenal team. We agree with their vision of next-generation gaming,” Accel Partner Kevin Comolli said.
Venture capital and technology companies looking for growth have taken increasing notice of fast-paced growth in online social gaming. The Key Differences In VC Financing Of IT Startups In The U.S., UK, Germany And France.