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Apple Acquiring Anobit For $400-$500 Million [RUMOR]

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 21:46:19 +0000

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is rumored to be acquiring Anobit, an Israeli fabless semiconductor company that specializes in flash storage for between $400 and $500 million. This would be Tim Cook’s first big acquisition since taking over as CEO. Apple also rarely buys hardware companies as they tend to focus more on software acquisitions.

Anobit provides flash storage solutions for enterprise and mobile companies based on their proprietary Memory Signal Processing technology. Their technology is used for improving speed, endurance, and performance of flash storage systems. Apple currently relies on Anobit’s solutions for the iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Air. South Korean company Hynix uses Anobit’s solutions for a flash memory chip that you can find inside of the iPhone 4S.

Anobit has 21 granted patents and 95 in total. Anobit has raised a total of $76 million from Battery Ventures, Pitango Venture Capital, and Intel Capital. Anobit started in 2006 and is led by co-founder, chairman, and CEO Professor Ehud Weinstein. Before starting Anobit, Weinstein was co-founder and CEO of Libit Signal Processing. Texas Instruments acquired Libit in 1999.

Anobit co-founder and president Ariel Maislos previously co-founded Passave, which was acquired by PMC Sierra in 2006. Anobit currently has about 200 employees.

[TechCrunch]

How Much Groupon Executives and Investors Made From The IPO

Amit Chowdhry — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 20:57:39 +0000

Yesterday Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN) had an initial public offering. The company set their stock price at $20 and yesterday it closed at $26.11. The company was given a valuation of over $17 billion. BusinessInsider.com has compiled a list of how much the executives and investors made from the IPO. Below is the list:

Ted Leonsis – Former AOL Vice Chairman – Made $48.27 million from 1,848,770 shares owned
Brian Totty – Groupon SVP of Engineering – Made $16.31 million from 624,786 shares ownde
Howard Schultz – Starbucks CEO/Groupon board member – Made $49.59 million from 1,899,336 shares owned
Kenneth M. Pelletier – Former Groupon CTO – Made $70.47 million from 2,698,944 shares owned
Robert S. Solomon – Former Groupon President and COO – Made $105.88 million from 4,055,000 shares owned
Andreessen Horowitz – VC Firm – Invested $40 million, Earned $132.2 million, Gain of $92.2 million
Maverick Fund – VC Firm – Invested $50 million, Earned $165.3 million, Gain of $115.3 million
Greylock Partners – VC Firm – Invested $65 million, Earned $214.9 million, Gain of $149.9 million
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers – VC Firm – Invested $65 million, Earned $214.9 million, Gain of $149.9 million
Morgan Stanley – VC Firm – Invested $75 million, Earned $248 million, Gain of $173 million
T Rowe Price – Investment Firm – Invested $100 million, Earned $330.6 million, Gain of $230.6 million
Fidelity Investments – Investment Firm – Invested $100 million, Earned $330.6 million, Gain of $230.6 million
Battery Ventures – VC Firm – Invested $58 million, Earned $417.4 million, Gain of $359.4 million
Technology Crossover Ventures – VC Firm – Invested $150 million, Earned $459.9 million, Gain of $345.9 million
The Growth Fund of America – Fund – Invested $175 million, Earned $578.6 million, Gain of $403.6 million
Accel Partners – Invested $20 million, Earned $866.96 million, Gain of $856.96 million
Digital Sky Technologies – Invested $151 million, Earned $1.11 billion, Gain of $959 million
The European Founders Fund – Earned $1.02 billion based on 6.2% ownership in Groupon
Brad Keywell – Groupon Co-Founder – Earned $1.07 billion based on 6.5% ownership
Andrew Mason – Groupon CEO – Earned $1.2 billion based on 7.3% ownership
New Enterprise Associates – VC Firm – Invested $14.8 million, Earned $2.28 billion, Gain of $2.26 billion
Eric Lefkofsky – Groupon Co-Founder – Gained $1.67 billion based on over 10% ownership of the company
Elizabeth Lefkofsky – Wife of Eric – Gained $1.67 billion based on over 10% ownership of the company

Yahoo’s Chief Cloud Architect Leaves for Battery Ventures

Riley Kennysmith — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 16:56:18 +0000

Todd Papaioannou has left his position as Yahoo’s VP and chief cloud architect, choosing to instead work as the entrepreneur in residence for Battery Ventures. Papaioannou told GigaOM that Yahoo “was a great experience, but I wanted to get back into shipping software and competing in the market against other products.”

Clean Urban Energy Raises $7 Million

Riley Kennysmith — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 17:08:36 +0000

Chicago-based Clean Urban Energy has raised $7 million for their energy-efficient office buildings. CUE claims their technology can lower a building’s energy expenses by 15-30%. The company’s funding for this round comes from Battery Ventures and Rho Ventures. Battery’s Jason Matloft and Rho’s Joshua Ruch are now joining CUE’s board of directors. [TechCrunch]

Zynga Acquires Social Game Studio DNA Games

Amit Chowdhry — Wed, 18 May 2011 21:05:25 +0000

Social gaming company Zynga is acquiring DNA Games. This is Zynga’s 14th acquisition since the last year. Zynga is interested in both the talent and the company. DNA Games developed several hit social games such as Casino City, Slot City, and Bar World. DNA reaches about 2.4 million monthly active users on Facebook. Casino City has about 1.5 million monthly active users, Slot City has about 438,000 actives, and Bar World has about 382,000 actives.

DNA Games raised $2 million in funding from Battery Ventures and Bain Capital Ventures. The DNA Games team will form a studio that focuses on creating new games. DNA Games founder and CEO Jon Lee will be general manager of the new company.

[TechCrunch]

Hotel Tonight Raises $3.5 Million In First Round Of Funding

Amit Chowdhry — Wed, 11 May 2011 19:35:45 +0000

Hotel Tonight is a mobile hotel booking application that has raised $3.25 million in a first round of funding. This round of funding was led by Battery Ventures. Accel Partners and First Round Capital also participated in this round. Individual investors in this round include Rich Barton, Erik Blachford, Brad Gerstner, and Hugh Crean. [Bizjournals]

Mobile Video Sharing Company Viddy Raises $1.6 Million

Amit Chowdhry — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 16:04:29 +0000

Viddy is a mobile video sharing start-up company that has raised $1.6 million in a first round of funding. Viddy had launched a mobile video creation and sharing application for the iPhone. This round of funding was provided by Battery Ventures, Bessemer Ventures, Qualcomm, Jarl Mohn, and early YouTube employees. Viddy said that they are creating a “Twitter-style feed of videos from friends, family, celebrities.” Viddy was founded by JJ Aguhob and Brett O’Brien. [soCalTech]

CoTweet Parent Company ExactTarget Raises $30 Million

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 05:34:28 +0000

ExactTarget has raised $30 million in a new round of funding to fund acquisitions and to expand operations. ExactTarget is an e-mail marketing company that acquired CoTweet in 2009. ExactTarget raised $70 million in May 2009. ExactTarget’s revenues increased 41% to $134 million in 2010. ExactTarget was initially planning on going IPO in late 2007, but decided to raise funding instead. The latest round of funding was led by Technology Crossover Ventures. Battery Ventures, Scale Venture Partners, and Greenspring Associates also participated in this round. [paidContent]

Mobile Commerce Company Digby Raises $8 Million

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 19:59:43 +0000

Digby is a mobile commerce company that has raised $8 million in Series C funding led by Battery Ventures. RIM’s BlackBerry Partners Fund, S3 Ventures, and Daylight Partners also participated in this round. Based in Austin, Texas, Digby has raised a total of $16 million. Digby’s mobile commerce platform allows retail companies to easily add their inventory for purchase on smartphones. Some of their clients include Costco, Toys “R” Us, and The Home Depot. Digby also has a deal with AT&T their mobile commerce software platform for developers. [RetailCustomerExperience]

Groupon Closes Its $950 Million Series G Round

Amit Chowdhry — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 22:09:53 +0000

Group coupon service Groupon.com has completed its $950 million series G round of funding. The best part is the press release title: “Groupon Raises, Like, A Billion Dollars.” I’ve pasted the press release below. The investors in this round include Andreessen Horowitz, Battery Ventures, Greylock Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Mail.ru Group, Maverick Capital, Silver Lake, and Technology Crossover Ventures. Allen & Company LLC acted as financial advisor. The previous funding rounds was led by New Enterprise Associates, Accel Partners, and Mail.ru Group (formerly DST).

Groupon Raises, Like, A Billion Dollars

Investment to Continue Rapid Growth of Global Social Commerce Platform

CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today Groupon announced that it has completed a $950 million round of financing. Groupon will use the funds to fuel global expansion, invest in technology, and provide liquidity for employees and early investors.

“With their support, we will continue on our mission to change the way people shop locally and serve the world’s local businesses.”
The financing consists of several venture capital firms and late-stage investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Battery Ventures, Greylock Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Mail.ru Group, Maverick Capital, Silver Lake, and Technology Crossover Ventures. Allen & Company LLC acted as financial advisor. Previous funding rounds were led by New Enterprise Associates, Accel Partners, and Mail.ru Group (formerly DST).

In the last year, Groupon has been called “the fastest growing company ever” by Forbes Magazine and “America’s best website” by one of Groupon’s television commercials. In 2010, Groupon:

- Expanded from 1 to 35 countries
- Launched in almost 500 new markets (from 30 markets in 2009)
- Grew subscribers by 2,500% from 2 million to over 50 million
- Saved consumers over $1.5 billion
- Worked with 58,000 local businesses, serving over 100,000 deals worldwide

“We’re thrilled that Groupon has earned the confidence of some of the world’s most respected investment firms,” said Andrew Mason, founder and CEO of Groupon. “With their support, we will continue on our mission to change the way people shop locally and serve the world’s local businesses.”

About Groupon

Groupon, launched in November 2008 in Chicago, features a daily deal on the best stuff to do, eat, see and buy in more than 500 markets around the world. Groupon uses collective buying power to offer unbeatable prices and provide a win-win for businesses and consumers, delivering more than 650 daily deals globally. For more information, visit http://www.groupon.com. To learn more on how to become a featured business on Groupon, visit http://www.grouponworks.com.