Square, the mobile payments company, announced that they are expanding to Japan. This means that Square is now available in three countries including the U.S. and Canada. Square is being supported by the Sumitomo Mitsui Card Corporation, which is the same company that helped launch Visa in Japan.
The Happy Cloud is a “cloud gaming” infrastructure company that has raised $4.25 million in funding led by Avalon Ventures. Jesselson Capital and Shaman Ventures also participated in this round. The Happy Cloud has been in stealth mode since 2011.
Google has acquired green energy startup company Makani Power. Makani is known for building airborne wind turbines. Google was an investor in Makani before the acquisition took place. The team at Makani will join the Google X team. Google invested $10 million in Makani back in 2006 and another $5 million in 2008. This is the first time that Google has acquired a company specifically for Google X.
Jennifer Lopez has teamed up with Verizon Wireless to launch a new mobile brand, which includes retail stores tailored for the Latino market. Viva Movil is already selling smartphones, tablets, and Verizon wireless plans on their own website. More than a dozen stores in cities with large Latino populations including L.A. and Miami are expected to open in the next few weeks. The first retail store will open in New York on June 15th.
For the last several months, most of Microsoft’s ads were targeted at Google as part of a campaign called “Scroogled.” This was followed up with an ad where Microsoft made fun of Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy fans. Now Microsoft is going after the Apple iPad specifically in a new commercial that promotes a Windows 8 tablet.
Google has announced today that Google Street View will be adding the Galapagos Islands, the volcanic islands made famous by Charles Darwin. The Galapagos Islands has a gorgeous landscape inhabited by some of the world’s largest tortoises and other creatures wandering around. Google sent hikers to the Galapagos with Street View camera gear known as “trekkers.” The camera gear is a 42-pound computer backpack with large cameras mounted on a tower.
Yahoo! has acquired PlayerScale, a company that develops software used for cross-platform gaming. Yahoo! has not disclosed the financial details around the deal.
Lyft is a ride-sharing company that has raised $60 million in Series C funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. Lyft plans on using the funding to accelerate growth and to stay competitive against companies like Sidecar and Uber. Existing investors that participated in this round include Mayfield Fund and Founders Fund. Lyft has raised $83 million in total.
