BAY AREA TECH WIRE -- Dec. 18, 2009
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o Mountain View-Based Google in "Advanced" Talks to Acquire Yelp
o San Mateo-Based Tioga Energy Lands $20 Million in Second Round
o Napa-Based Inertia Beverage Group Raises $14 Million in Funding
o Santa Clara-Based Applied Materials Completes Tender Offer for Semitool
o HHS Announces $60M Program to Increase Adoption of Health IT
o Report: Android Quickly Challenging iPhone in Smartphone Market
> Don’t Rock the Boat: How to Break the Silence Barrier
o Briefly Noted: U.S. Venture Partners, Infinera, Conviva
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> Job/Event/Marketplace Classified Listings (Full Listings Below Stories)
--Don’t Rock the Boat: How to Break the Silence Barrier
--Consumer Tech PR Agency Searching for Account Executive
--FedResults Inc. Offer GSA Schedule Services & TeamINFO
--Product Manager – Santa Clara
--Online Advertising Sales Executive
--2009 Clean Energy and Smart Grid Directory
--Advertise on Bay Area Tech Wire and Reach More than 6,000 Subscribers
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o Mountain View-Based Google in "Advanced" Talks to Acquire Yelp
Mountain View, Calif. -- Google is in advanced negotiations to acquire San Francisco-based user-generated reviews service Yelp for at least $500 million, TechCrunch reported, citing multiple unnamed sources. Founded in 2004, Yelp counts around 9 million monthly unique visitors, according to comScore data. The company has to date raised $31 million in venture capital from investors including DAG Ventures, Benchmark Capital and Bessemer Venture Partners. Mountain View-based Google offers its own service that lets users create reviews of local businesses, and both services display star-based ratings in Google search results. The New York Times noted that "the two companies have had conversations for several years, but a more serious round of acquisitions talks began two months ago."
http://www.yelp.com
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/12/17/google-acquire-buy-yelp/
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/google-is-in-talks-to-buy-yelp/
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o San Mateo-Based Tioga Energy Lands $20 Million in Second Round
San Mateo, Calif. -- Tioga Energy, a San Mateo-based provider of renewable energy services, said on Friday that it has raised $20 million in the initial closing of its second round of funding, which the company will use to build and develop solar projects. Investors included MEMC Electronic Materials, NGEN Partners, Nth Power and Draper Fisher Jurvetson. "This financing round will provide the operating capital to rapidly grow our business and accelerate the development of our growing project pipeline," said Paul Detering, the CEO of Tioga Energy. Tioga maintains and operates solar systems on behalf of its customers, allowing them to avoid the up-front costs of buying their own systems.
http://www.tiogaenergy.com
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Tioga-Energy-Completes-20M-bw-2172469176.html?x=0&.v=2
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o Napa-Based Inertia Beverage Group Raises $14 Million in Funding
Napa, Calif. -- Inertia Beverage Group (IBG), a Napa-based provider of direct sales technology and services to the wine industry, said on Friday that it has raised $14 million in a new round of funding. New investor PEI Funds joined previous backers Allegis Capital and Sid R. Bass Associates in the round, which the company will use to bolster its core services of fulfillment, winery-direct ecommerce and compliance. "We now have access to all of the necessary resources to execute our vision," said Ted Jansen, the president and CEO of IBG. The news comes five months after the company acquired the fulfillment assets of New Vine, including a 136,000-square -foot fulfillment center in American Canyon. Also on Friday, IBG named Dave Manougian, the former CEO of The Golf Channel, as its chairman.
http://www.inertiabev.com
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Inertia-Beverage-Group-Raises-bw-256911172.html?x=0&.v=1
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o Santa Clara-Based Applied Materials Completes Tender Offer for Semitool
Santa Clara, Calif. -- A month after first announcing the deal, Santa Clara-based Applied Materials, a developer of equipment, services and software used to make semiconductors, said on Friday that it has completed its tender offer for Montana-based Semitool, a supplier of electrochemical plating and wafer surface preparation equipment used by chip companies. The company said that more than 94% of Semitool's shares have been tendered. Applied Materials, which is paying $11 a share, said that it now plans to complete a second-step merger by Monday. The company said that the acquisition will expand its capability to address opportunities in the wafer packaging market, while also providing complementary systems and technology for advanced semiconductor manufacturing. Semitool will be operated as a part of Applied's Silicon Systems Group.
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/appliedmaterials/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20091218005132&newsLang=en
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o HHS Announces $60M Program to Increase Adoption of Health IT
Washington, DC -- The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Friday unveiled a new $60 million program aimed at increasing the adoption of health IT. The funding, authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will be used to support projects focused on improving the security of health IT, making the technology more patient-friendly, developing new architectures to handle the exchange of health information and finding ways to use that information to improve the overall quality of health care. Applications for funding are due on Jan. 25, with awards expected to be announced in March. David Blumenthal, the national coordinator for health IT at HHS, said that the program -- known as Strategic Health IT Advanced Research Projects (SHARP) -- "will bring together some of the best and brightest minds in the nation" to "increase the meaningful use of health IT."
http://www.hhs.gov
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20091218005539/en
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o Report: Android Quickly Challenging iPhone in Smartphone Market
Reston, Va. -- Though only a few months old, Google's Android smartphone operating system already is making a significant impact on the U.S. mobile market, according to a new report from Reston-based comScore. Among American consumers in the market for a smartphone, 17% now say they are considering buying an Android-supported device in next three months, compared with 20% who plan to purchase an iPhone. The firm said that consumer awareness of Android is growing rapidly, due in large part to Verizon's Droid ad campaign. "With handsets on multiple carriers, from multiple manufacturers, and numerous Android device models expected to be in the U.S. market by January, the Android platform is rapidly shaking up the smartphone market," said Mark Donovan, comScore's senior vice president of mobile. "While iPhone continues to set the bar with its App Store and passionate user base, and RIM [Blackberry] remains the leader among the business set, Android is clearly gaining momentum among developers and consumers."
http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2009/12/Android_Crashing_
the_Smartphone_Party
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Don’t Rock the Boat: How to Break the Silence Barrier
With the national unemployment rate reaching double-digit levels, you may notice your employees are less likely to offer their opinions and ideas in meetings, or maybe they are extremely hesitant when asked for feedback. Even the most secure company can have employees who fear losing their jobs and then contribute less at work. This is known as the “don’t rock the boat” mentality, and experienced leaders realize this impairs the effectiveness of a company that relies on employees to come up with new business ideas. How can you get your employees talking, and keep them talking? Chris Penttila of Entrepreneur.com offers five ways to break the silence barrier at http://www.fairfaxcountyeda.org/bay-area-tech-wire
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o Briefly Noted:
(Menlo Park, Calif.) Menlo Park-based venture capital firm U.S. Venture
Partners has named Faye Pairman, the former president and CEO of
3ware, as an executive-in-residence. Pairman most recently served as
the senior vice president and general manager of storage at Applied Micro
Circuits, after that company acquired 3ware.
http://www.usvp.com/usvp/news/releases/20091216.pdf (PDF)
(Sunnyvale, Calif.) Sunnyvale-based Infinera, a provider of digital
optical networking systems to telecommunications carriers, has named
Kambiz Hooshmand to its board of directors. Hooshmand, most recently the
president and CEO of Applied Micro Circuits, succeeds Alexandre
Balkanski, who is stepping down from the board after serving since 2001.
http://www.infinera.com
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Kambiz-Hooshmand-Joins-iw-1348076336.html?x=0&.v=1
(San Mateo, Calif.) San Mateo-based Conviva, developer of an
intelligent online video platform, on Friday named Darren Feher as
its president and CEO. Most recently, Feher served as the executive vice
president and CTO at NBC Universal, He succeeds company co-founder
Hui Zhang, who will assume the role of chief scientist.
http://www.conviva.com/news/article/conviva_appoints_darren_feher_to_president_an
d_ceo_to_help_raise_the_b/
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> Don’t Rock the Boat: How to Break the Silence
Barrier
With the national unemployment rate reaching double-digit levels, you may
notice your employees are less likely to offer their opinions and ideas in
meetings, or maybe they are extremely hesitant when asked for feedback. Even
the most secure company can have employees who fear losing their jobs and
then contribute less at work. This is known as the “don’t rock the boat”
mentality, and experienced leaders realize this impairs the effectiveness of
a company that relies on employees to come up with new business ideas. How
can you get your employees talking, and keep them talking? Chris Penttila of
Entrepreneur.com offers five ways to break the silence barrier at
http://www.fairfaxcountyeda.org/bay-area-tech-wire
_____________________________________________
> Consumer Tech PR Agency Searching for Account
Executive
Founded in 2005, Cutline Communications is a fast-paced consumer tech PR
agency based in San Francisco. We are growing and searching for people who
thrive in a dynamic, challenging and fun environment. We are currently
looking for a rock star Account Executive to join our team. Account
Executives at Cutline are self-starters who take initiative and work best in
a collaborative environment. Candidates should have two to four years of
experience (some agency experience preferred), strong writing and media
relations skills, and excellent verbal and written communications skills.
Ideally candidates will have some experience working directly with clients.
A background in consumer technology is desired. Responsibilities include,
but are not limited to: Writing solid first drafts of plans, releases, blog
posts, and other materials. Developing strong relationships with the press
and effectively pitching news as well as proactive story ideas. Contributing
to strategy sessions and brainstorms. Cutline offers excellent compensation,
great benefits (including a fabulous PTO policy), and professional
development opportunities in a fun team-oriented environment. If you're
interested in joining the Cutline team, please send your resume with cover
letter to jobs@cutline.com
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> FedResults Inc. Offer GSA Schedule Services &
TeamINFO
Investigating doing business with the federal government and thinking of
obtaining a U.S. General Services Administration(GSA)Schedule? FedResults
provides GSA schedule contract services with over twenty years of experience
and hundreds of GSA schedules successfully completed. TeamINFO delivers
company specific tailored research and information on federal opportunities.
TeamINFO provides customized knowledge of the government marketplace.
Information is provided using a collaborative environment.
www.fedresults.com Send inquiries to
info@fedresults.com
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> Product Manager – Santa Clara
The Product Manager will develop product plans for multiple products through
market research, competitive analysis, customer engagement, and close
cooperation with engineering teams. BLADE Network Technologies provides
unique product benefits to our customers at the interface between servers
and their networks. Experienced with enterprise data center architectures.
Strong knowledge of Ethernet networking products and protocols, including
switching (L2), routing (L3) and management. Familiarity with server
networking – including NICs and drivers, in-band remote server management,
and server management tools. Hands-on experience with network equipment,
including testing, configuration and installation of switches/routers and
similar products. Qualifications: 3-5 years product management experience in
the networking market. Strong interpersonal and communication skills
(verbal, written and presentation). Possess positive attitude with an
ability to quickly learn new technologies. Creative problem solving skills.
Customer satisfaction mindset. Flexible and able to make decisions and
operate within fast-moving, startup-style environment. Able to manage
parallel projects and activities. Must be able to work autonomously and
possess ability to coordinate the needs of others against requirements of
schedule, quality and cost. Experience working closely in cross-functional
teams with sales, R&D, finance and operations. 10-20% travel (some
international). Undergraduate degree or equivalent. Cisco certification (CCIE,
CCNP, or CCNA) – a plus. MBA – a plus. Please send resumes to
jobs@bladenetwork.net to express
your interest. Blade is pleased to be an equal opportunity employer.
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> Online Advertising Sales Executive
We are look for an Online Advertising Sales Executive who will be
responsible for developing and executing business strategy to grow
advertising revenues for industry leading provider of private label web
portal sites for multiple broadband ISP partners. Advertising revenues
include paid search, banner, video, and shopping promotions. BA required,
MBA preferred, 5+ years of advertising experience in sales/operations is
required; this experience must be in online advertising. To apply please
visit our website;
www.synacor.com/jobs
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> 2009 Clean Energy and Smart Grid Directory
The 2009 Clean Energy and Smart Grid Directory is the ideal tool for
sourcing industry contacts, identifying key decision makers and building
networks in the clean energy and smart grid fields. Included in the listings
is contact info for over 3,500 individual business executives and managers,
as well as for key officials at the U.S. Department of Energy and relevant
energy agencies in all 50 states. For sample pages and screen shots of the
database, go to:
www.smartenergygroup.org To reserve your copy of the 2009 Clean Energy
and Smart Grid Directory, please visit our website at
www.smartenergygroup.org
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