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Sequoia Invests In Chinese Online Retailer Milanoo.com
Apr 22, 1:16PM
Sequoia Capital has invested 'multiple millions of dollars' in Milanoo.com, a China-based online retailer and wholesaler with a "passion for fashion". The proceeds of the financing rounds will be used to strengthen Milanoo's product supply system, optimize its online shopping platform, allow it to lower its prices and to hire more people.
How A Tweetdeck, UberMedia Deal Could Cut Down Twitter's Bird
Apr 22, 1:10PM
In the world of Internet startups people can become obsessed with the function of a product or app, often ignoring how a company can change the dynamics of a market just through it's sheer existence. More often than not, it is not just a case of just having a better technolgy than the other guy. Equally it can be about a creating an incursion into a competitors' space which forces them to manoeuvre, destroying value for them, and creating value for yourself. No greater example exists of this today as the dramatic moves being made around the rumoured sale of Tweetdeck. I have been talking to sources well acquainted with the issue and what they have to say suggests a fascinating drama - which we are about to see played out.
83% Of Startups Plan To Hire This Year (Up From 73% Last Year): Survey
Apr 22, 12:45PM
Silicon Valley Bank this morning released Startup Outlook 2011 (PDF), a survey of startup perceptions. The financial institution surveyed 375 U.S.-based, private, VC-backed software, hardware and cleantech companies, and found that startups are generally optimistic about current business opportunities and that they will continue to hire throughout 20111 to support the expected growth.
OpenFlow Startup Big Switch Raises $13.75M From Index, Khosla Ventures
Apr 22, 12:16PM
Exclusive - Big Switch Networks, a fledgling company building a platform for virtualizing enterprise networks based on the OpenFlow standard, has raised $13.75 million in Series A financing in a round led by Index Ventures and Khosla Ventures. The startup also announced that it has joined the newly formed Open Networking Foundation (ONF), a non-profit group on promoting OpenFlow and other Software-Defined Networking (SDN) technologies as a way to speed innovation in the networking industry. 
MapQuest Nabs Former Google Docs Product Manager As Its New VP Of Product
Apr 22, 11:49AM
Online mapping company MapQuest has named Vijay Bangaru VP of Product Management. Bangaru joins the AOL subsidiary from Google, where he was most recently responsible for all aspects of product development of Google Docs and Google Apps. Previously, Bangaru worked as a program manager at Microsoft, where he worked on the WinFS project and strategy for SQL Server. Bangaru will be located at MapQuest's Denver headquarters and will work on the company's mapping and location-based services, which it indicates as an area of growth. In addition, Bangaru will be responsible for the overall user experience on MapQuest consumer products, including its mobile apps, developer tools and services.
A Disaster In The Making? Sony's PlayStation Network Suffers Prolonged Global Outage
Apr 22, 10:33AM
Sony's PlayStation Network, its online service for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable consoles, suffered from a major outage today, which remains ongoing. According to Sony's blog, the interruption in service may last into the long weekend -- for at least another "full day or two". The Sony Network currently has more than 70 million registered users, many of whom have taken to Twitter and other social networks to express their frustration over the prolonged downtime. Millions of unhappy gamers (and Netflix customers) a PlayStation outage makes. Not to mention, the outage comes on the same day that Amazon's cloud-based web services crashed, taking Reddit, Foursquare, and Quora (among others) with them. Unfortunately, it seems that today has become a fairly drastic example of the vulnerability of the cloud and the extent to which these outages can effect business-as-usual on the Web.
With Bridg.me The Conference Calls You
Apr 22, 5:58AM
Yes the headline here is actually this startup's trademarked tagline, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to feature a Yakov Smirnoff reference on TechCrunch (yes, I know, I'm old). In the same conference calling space as Zipdx and Lippt, the idea for Bridg.me was pitched at last week's NYC Startup Weekend by Justin Isaf and created by Justin Heilman and Jagdish Repaswal that day. Basically the gist is that current conference call platforms, with their dial in systems and unwieldy PIN access codes, are way too complicated to be productive. Being able to arrange such a call should be as simple as posting an event in your Google calendar.
Kiva Expands Micro-Loans To Green Businesses
Apr 22, 4:29AM
Kiva.org, one of the pioneers in micro-lending to international entrepreneurs, has expanded into a new vertical today— Kiva Green Loans. Green Loans, which can be accessed from a new module on the lend tab, is a new vertical that allows the Kiva community to make loans towards green businesses and individuals who are helping make the transition to cleaner and more efficient sources of energy. Kiva Green Loans include both business and personal loans that contribute towards reducing energy expenditures, minimizing waste and pollution, recycling, or re-purposing used materials. 
YC_Y_U_NO Give Twitter Link Readers Auto-Entry Into YC?
Apr 22, 4:15AM
A couple weeks back, I noticed an amusing Twitter account called YC_Y_U_NO that poked fun at Y Combinator and Silicon Valley in general, sometimes with pretty hilarious results. The account is a riff on the popular Y U NO Twitter presence, which is itself based on the popular Y U NO meme featuring the Y U NO guy. Right. Anyway. As it turns out, YC_Y_U_NO was created by a trio of YC hopefuls — Wesley Zhao, Dan Shipper, and Ajay Mehta — who will be interviewing this weekend for a spot with the selective startup incubator. The startup recently launched a project called Readstream, and, while it's still very early, it's not bad for a few day's work.
Apple Is Tracking You To Build Something Very Valuable: Its Location Database
Apr 22, 1:14AM
Your iPhone tracks you everywhere you go, and so do most phones these days. You knew that already. The reason this is a big story now is because it turns out that for the past 10 months Apple has been keeping your location data on a file in your iPhone itself where someone who knows how to get it, and has possession of your phone, could find it and figure out where you've been. For most people this is never going to be an issue, but for anyone involved in a lawsuit or nasty divorce, it is one more thing lawyers will be getting a subpoena for. It's bad data retention policy and Apple could and should change it with the next update to iOS. But what is Apple doing with your location data anyway? It needs your data to build its own locations database for use with geo-location apps and for diagnostics (it helps analyze where dropped calls happen the most, for instance). Apple already explained all of this back in July, 2010 when general counsel Bruce Sewell responded to questions from Congress about its location-tracking policies (letter embedded below). In that letter, Apple revealed that it had replaced the location databases it was using previously from Google and SkyHook Wireless with its own. Apple noted in the letter:
Japanese Company GREE Buys Mobile Social Gaming Platform OpenFeint For $104 Million In Cash
Apr 22, 1:04AM
Mobile gaming startup OpenFeint, has been acquired by Japanese mobile gaming company GREE for $104 million in cash plus additional capital for growth of the OpenFeint platform. OpenFeint and its team will remain with long-term incentives, including CEO and founder Jason Citron, says the company. OpenFeint provides a comprehensive mobile social gaming platform for the iPhone and Android platforms. OpenFeint's plug and play mobile social platform and application for smartphones includes a set of online game services such as leaderboards, virtual currencies and achievements running in a cloud-based Web environment.
It's Not Just Apple That Is Tracking Our Every Movement (TCTV)
Apr 21, 9:58PM
This story of how the iPhone and iPad are tracking the every movement of their users keeps growing. Now DC Policymakers Ed Markey and Al Franken have gotten into the act, calling on Steve Jobs for an answer to this potentially massively embarrassing story. While I haven't had the opportunity to chat today with Steve about the situation, I did talk earlier to Robert Vamosi, a cybersleuth at Mocana and the author of the excellent new book When Gadgets Betray Us. And what Vamosi told me was pretty scary. According to him, it's not just Apple gadgets that are betraying us.
Formspring Names Ro Choy COO; Has Answered Three Billion Questions To Date
Apr 21, 8:02PM
It's been a big month in the Marino-Choy household. No sooner did Lisa Marino get promoted to CEO of the would-be comeback-kid RockYou, than did her husband Ro Choy get named COO of the surging Q&A site Formspring.
Google Hires A Tech Blogger? Caroline McCarthy Leaves CNET For The Search Giant
Apr 21, 7:43PM
That's right. Even bloggers can get hired at Google. Caroline McCarthy, a social media writer at CNET, announced through her blog today that she will soon be joining the Google ranks in New York as a member of its incipient "Trends and Insights Team". Sounds investigative. McCarthy tells me that the details of her employment are still being worked out, (like what her title will actually be), but she does know that she's going to be doing quite a bit of writing, editing, and data analysis.
Xtify Retain Helps You Keep Your App Users Active
Apr 21, 7:12PM
Xtify, a mobile app platform that provides publishers with custom tools for push notifications (even when the app is closed), is launching its Retain product today. If you're like me you probably have about 20 to 30 apps on your phone you never use. According to Localytics, 55% of new users use an application less than four times, 26% using that application just once. The Xtify Retain platform attempt to solve this problem by giving app developers the ability to create their own retention messaging plan for free, pushing notifications like "We miss you!" based on certain user behaviors like when the app was last installed and opened. 
Move Over iFund: DCM, Tencent, GREE, KDDI Launch $100M A-Fund
Apr 21, 7:10PM
We've all got iPhone mania in the Valley, never mind that Apple tracks our every move and won't explain why or that AT&T users can't actually make calls. But in Asia-- and much of the rest of the developing world-- the anticipated mobile giant is Android. Android phones are just starting to hit Japan and China, and a flood of cheap new models are expected to come on the market within the next year. Expect a flood of new apps to follow that, particularly in China where venture capital is flowing like water. The rise of Android is as close to a no-brainer prediction as you can make with always volatile and uncertain emerging markets. Combine the market size of countries like Japan, China, Indonesia and India with cheap, increasingly-sophisticated devices and a massive base of gamemakers and hackers and someone is going to make a lot of money. 
Groupon Hires Google VP Margo Georgiadis As COO
Apr 21, 5:55PM
Googler and fellow Greek Margo Georgiadis will be leaving her job as Vice President of Global Sales and Planning at Google Chicago to join daily deals site Groupon as Chief Operating Officer, Chicago Business is reporting. She will be replacing former COO Rob Solomon, who left the company in March. At Google Georgiadis led a sales group comprised of over 1600 employees. Prior to Google, Georgiadis was a partner at McKinsey and Company, a CMO at Discover Card and Principal at Synetro Capital.
Google Allows You To Subscribe To Offers In Portland, New York City, San Francisco
Apr 21, 5:44PM
It appears that Google's coupon service Offers, is live, starting in in Portland, Oregon. You also have the ability to subscribe to deals in areas within New York City, Oakland and San Francisco. On the landing page of the Offers site, you are greeted with this "Google Offers BETA is starting in Portland, Oregon. Get 50% off or more at places you'll love." You can then subscribe to the offers with your email. 
London's Dream Of A Tech City Is A Nightmare With BT
Apr 21, 5:02PM
Sometimes being a TechCrunch editor can actually be vaguely useful. Honest. Because we cover European startups from London, I've ended up being invited to join the London Mayor's Digital Advisory Board as well as attending roundtable sessions at Number 10 Downing Street. But it's not just to chat over coffee and biscuits. Both the local London government and the national one is serious about trying to enliven and nurture the growing tech scene here. I wouldn't say they 'get it' all of the time - but they are trying, and I've seen the enthusiasm. While there are sceptics about the whole 'East London Tech City' project, I do know that there is a big appetite to nurture this industry. Nothing happens over night, but at least we've started. However, one thing I have been banging the table about - increasingly angrily as the weeks and months have past - is the provision for broadband to startups in London. 
Playmatics Raises $1 Million To Make Reality-Based, Social Games
Apr 21, 4:24PM
Social and mobile gaming startup Playmatics attained a $1 million investment from several Swiss-based angel investors to develop a "real world game" franchise calledShadow Government the company revealed today. Initially a Facebook platform game, Shadow Government will use economic and sustainability data, and government-modeling software from the Millennium Institute to give players a chance to build and run, or destroy their own virtual countries...
News.me's Social News Aggregator For The iPad Now Live On The App Store
Apr 21, 4:05PM
As we reported in February, betaworks and the New York Times are collaborating to launch a socialnews reader for the iPad called News.me. And we heard more details on the app as it readied for launch this week. Today, Betaworks founder and CEO John Borthwick announced that the iPad app is finally live on the App Store for your viewing and browsing pleasure (link). News.me, which has been in development since last August, is a social news reading iPad app that presents the news that the people you follow on Twitter are reading, and filters it based on how many times those stories are shared and clicked on overall.
Bnter Brings Conversation Sharing App To Android Phones, Launches Bookmarklet
Apr 21, 3:17PM
We're big fans of Bnter, an app that allows you to share your conversations with others publicly. The same way you share photos via the web or your mobile phone, Bnter allows you to share snippets of conversations you have with friends on the web. While the startup initially focused on SMS, Bnter recently broadened its scope to allow users to share any sort of conversation, including GChat, in-person chat, email and more. Today, Bnter is launching a free Android app (which joins an existing iPhone app) and is launching a bookmarklet, and in-depth Twitter integration The Android app (which works on OS 2.1 or higher) is similar in functionality to its iPhone cousin and the web app, and allows you to read your feed of conversations and people you are following, comment, search and add conversations. And because it is a mobile app, Bnter for Android can pull your text message stream into the app so posting is fairly easy.
No Coupons Here, Just Cash: Groupon Files For Another $6 Million
Apr 21, 3:00PM
Groupon has a fever, and the only prescription is more funding. According to this SEC form, the daily deal giant has received yet another infusion of capital, this time at just over $6 million. This comes on the heels of Groupon's recent $16.2 million round as well as its unprecedented $950 million round back in January. Groupon has been a very busy company of late. Several days ago, the daily deals site acquired Whrrl creator Pelago, and today it announced the hiring of Google VP Margo Georgiadis and Amazon's Jason Child as CFO in December. The funding, it seems, is directly related to its recent acquisition of Pelago. According to the filing, "This offering is being made in connection with the purchase by a subsidiary of the Issuer of certain assets of Pelago, Inc." 
Google And Facebook Ramp Up Lobbying Spend In Q1 2011
Apr 21, 2:30PM
It's no secret that Facebook is deepening its ties with the Beltway crowd. As we saw yesterday, the company hosted a town hall meeting with President Obama and has steadily ramping up its lobbying efforts in 2010, spending over $350,000 on lobbying efforts last year. But the company recently disclosed its Q1 spend on lobbying and the company shelled out a record $230,000 on lobbying activities in the quarter, which is up by over 400 percent from $41,390 spent in Q1 2010. This data is recorded in the U.S. Senate's lobbying database. Policy areas of focus for Facebook this year include global regulation of software companies and restrictions on internet access by foreign governments; online safety measures, internet privacy regulations, cyber security, and FCC regulations on net neutrality. A new issue that the company spent lobbying resources on is discussing House, Senate, and Government rules to allow more Government and Congressional offices to access social media to engage with citizens. 
Greenpeace Ranks Data Centers, Names Yahoo Cleanest And Apple The Dirtest
Apr 21, 2:30PM
Greenpeace just released its latest snapshot of major corporation's impact on the planet with IT data centers the main target. The 35 page report [PDF link] details just how much energy is required to run the massive centers powering the so-called cloud. It's huge according to Greenpeace, consuming 1.5%-2% of the world's total power consumption and growing at a rate of 12% a year. Somewhat surprisingly Greenpeace sort of applauds the virtues of living in a massive data cloud, pointing to the advent of the smart grid and increased amount telecommuting. Even digital streaming music gets props for having a smaller carbon footprint than physical media. But this is Greenpeace and so there has to be some finger pointing and letter grading. The main purpose of this report is to reveal top company's impact on the environment by mainly examining their dependency on fossil and nuclear fuels rather than using renewable sources. However, even Greenpeace notes that these numbers might not be exact since they were calculated without all the facts. Simply put, these ten companies didn't divulge this info; Greenpeace pieced together their data. It's a bit dirty itself, actually.
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