venture capitalists

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Sinema Received $1M Haul, Then Killed Tax Hike on Rich Investors

AP: Ariz. Dem saw big influx of cash over last year from private equity firms, hedge fund managers

(Newser) - Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, the Arizona Democrat who single-handedly thwarted her party's longtime goal of raising taxes on wealthy investors, received nearly $1 million over the past year from private equity professionals, hedge fund managers, and venture capitalists whose taxes would've increased under the plan, per an AP review...

Jawbone Is Latest 'Death by Overfunding'

Too much venture capital may have been responsible for company's demise

(Newser) - With $41 billion pumped into startups by venture capitalists last year alone, some experts argue that big-money failures are "inevitable." But Jawbone's recent collapse is so monumental that only the Solyndra bankruptcy of 2011 tops it, reports Reuters . And some argue that all the money pumped into...

Venture Capitalist Offers Startups ... $37

And competition is fierce, to prove a point

(Newser) - A hot new startup fund is drawing dozens of applications from would-be companies hoping to be the next big thing, reports Wired . And what will the six winning applicants get from the Pinboard Investment Co-Prosperity Fund? All of $37. The idea by former Yahoo engineer Maciej Ceglowski is no joke....

NYC to Rival Silicon Valley as Tech Start-Up Capital?

Venture capitalist thinks it will be the new tech hub

(Newser) - In an interview in GigaOM , veteran NYC-based venture capitalist Fred Wilson is bullish on New York City as the next major center of technological innovation. He says that Internet companies based in the city are being flooded with venture capital at the same magnitude as Silicon Valley start-ups.

7 Dumbest VC Investments Ever
7 Dumbest VC
Investments Ever
Aug 13, 2010 9:29 AM CDT

7 Dumbest VC Investments Ever

(Newser) - So much to choose from; such a short list. Weighing in as the heavyweight champion of all time among venture capitalist bombs—Webvan, the brain-dead effort to use the Internet and a series of high-tech warehouses to deliver low-margin groceries. But at least there was a there there.

Netscape Pioneer Forms Venture Cap Fund

(Newser) - Marc Andreessen, the tech pioneer who co-founded Netscape, launched a boutique venture capital firm today, intent on investing in “anything that involves chips and computers.” Though Andreessen and business partner Ben Horowitz have been dropping angel investments around Silicon Valley for years, they’ll now have much more...

Biotech Boom Finally Fizzles
 Biotech Boom Finally Fizzles 
Glossies
Jan 21, 2009 7:00 AM CST

Biotech Boom Finally Fizzles

Riskiest sector hit by downturn

(Newser) - In the bullish market, biotechnology was flush with investment, even though one drug might take many as 15 years and as much as a billion dollars to produce—but those days are over for the riskiest technology sector. Portfolio reports that 45% of publicly traded biotech companies will run out...

Ex-AOL Chief Seeks Funds to Buy Yahoo

$30B difficult to raise amid recession

(Newser) - After months of advising both Microsoft and Yahoo on a failed deal, former AOL chief Jonathan Miller is trying to put together a bid for Yahoo himself. The venture capitalist is asking private investors to help him amass the $30 billion needed to acquire the struggling, $10-a-share search engine group,...

Startups Seek Ways Around Venture Capital

Twitter, others explore other revenue streams to avoid investors' raised demands

(Newser) - While Wall Street investors have taken advantage of the tanking economy to nab low-priced stocks, Silicon Valley’s venture capitalists have likewise enjoyed a buyer’s market, demanding larger ownership stakes in startup outfits in exchange for their coveted funds. Companies like Twitter—initially funded with $22 million in venture...

This Xoogler Might Be the Next Bill Gates
This Xoogler Might Be the
Next Bill Gates
GLOSSIES
Oct 4, 2008 2:40 AM CDT

This Xoogler Might Be the Next Bill Gates

Former Googlers make ever-widening waves across Silicon Valley

(Newser) - In the past few years, Google has lost some serious firepower to the startup frontier, Luke Dittrich writes in Esquire. With self-styled Xooglers  providing the brain power not only for two dozen or so startups, but for the venture-capital firms that fund them, it’s likely “the next big...

Wall Street Woes Will Wallop Tech Sector
Wall Street Woes Will
Wallop Tech Sector
ANALYSIS
Sep 16, 2008 2:02 AM CDT

Wall Street Woes Will Wallop Tech Sector

Drying up of IPOs expected to hit tech ventures especially hard

(Newser) - Troubles hitting the Wall Street giants promise particularly dark days ahead for the tech business world, analysts tell CNET News. The problems are bound to stifle mergers and acquisitions in the tech industry and further dampen the market for initial public offerings. IPOs have already slowed to a trickle—and...

The World's Greenest Venture Capitalist

Vinod Khosla has spent a fortune financing enviro-startups

(Newser) - Vinod Khosla isn’t just smarter and richer than the average venture capitalist—he’s greener, too. Khosla has sunk $450 million into what he calls “imprudent science experiments" over the past 4 years, financing 45 enviro-tech startups. “We've funded an incredible number of things that would make...

Romney Gains Ground in Veepstakes

Business acumen is the peg

(Newser) - Mitt Romney’s business acumen, national profile, and fundraising chops have put him among the elite of VP hopefuls, Reuters reports. And while he and John McCain exchanged nasty barbs during the primaries, the mutual resentment seems to have subsided, at least on the surface. "Mitt and Ann Romney...

Economy Has Venture-Capital Scene Looking in Mirror

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

(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...

Sinking Market Forces New Venture-Capital Strategies

Analysts don't see money drying up, just more scrutiny on where it's spent

(Newser) - Venture capitalists are watching economic indicators carefully, trying to find safer places to put their mountains of money, CNET reports. The stats on first-quarter VC activity will land soon, and though experts don't expect dollar totals to have waned, players are “under pressure to invest in quality companies that...

You've Got No Mail: DC Techies Ponder Life After AOL

Relocation is struggling sector's latest setback

(Newser) - AOL is moving its HQ to New York, cutting nearly half of its 5,700 DC-area jobs, and leaving serious questions about the Washington, DC area’s tech industry in its wake. AOL’s declining fortunes have already hurt the sector, but local techies and VCs have fought back with...

Venture Capitalists Predict Rebound After 2008

VCs support Clinton over Giuliani

(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...

Real, Fake TV Moguls to Star at Solar Conference

Turner, Hagman will keynote industry event

(Newser) - The 2007 gathering of the solar industry this week in Long Beach, Calif., will feature plenty of new technology demonstrations, hot VC action, and speeches, CNET reports. Hotly anticipated talks include those by media mogul and environmental activist Ted Turner and actor Larry Hagman, famous for his roles in "...

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