Silicon Valley

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Chip Maker AMD Gets Emirate Cash
Chip Maker AMD Gets
Emirate Cash
Nov 16, 2007 4:39 PM CST

Chip Maker AMD Gets Emirate Cash

Abu Dhabi buys 8.1% stake in Intel rival for $622 million

(Newser) - The government of Abu Dhabi, through its investment arm, bought an 8.1% stake in Advanced Micro Devices for $622 million. It will receive 49 million newly-issued AMD shares, but won't get any board representation. The computer chip maker desperately needs the cash after a $396 million loss during the...

Inside the 'PayPal Mafia'
 Inside the 'PayPal Mafia'
Nov 15, 2007 4:55 AM CST

Inside the 'PayPal Mafia'

Company's first generation behind $30 billion of cutting edge companies

(Newser) - They may be the most brilliantly successful—or luckiest—or both—small group of entrepreneurs in history: PayPal alumni who, like founders Peter Thiel and Max Levchin, left the company to create $30 billion worth of innovation: YouTube, Facebook, Slide, Yelp, Digg, investment firms, philanthropies, solar-power companies, an electric car...

'4-Hour Workweek' a Silicon Valley Siren Song

Marc Andreessen, others lured by call to ignore influx of email and IMs

(Newser) - Tim Ferriss is an ex-kickboxer and tango champ, but he's ensnared the attention of some in Silicon Valley with a simple message: pull the plug. Techies like Netscape founder Marc Andreessen—ironically, an investor in attention-sapping chat service Twitter—have found solace in “The 4-Hour Workweek,” Ferriss’ tome...

Investor Avoids 'Web 2.0' to Avoid Bust?

VC firm Kleiner looking for 'more fundamental innovations'

(Newser) - Today's launch of Web 2.0 Expo Berlin notwithstanding, there are hints that "second-generation" Web companies are losing appeal in the venture capital community -- or at least with prestigious Silicon Valley firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Digital Daily cites a KPCB partner who recently told a...

Online Boom Won't Result in Dot-Com Bust

Heady '90s excesses are more isolated; domino effect less likely

(Newser) - Today’s Silicon Valley upstarts are enjoying heady times, but without the excess and risk of their late-'90s counterparts, reports the Wall Street Journal. Sophisticated venture capitalists generally bear the risk involved in the next tech crash, and fewer and less volatile IPOs this time around mean small investors are...

CBS Mobile Pioneers Tiny TV Programs

Cell phone content marries Hollywood and Silicon Valley

(Newser) - With such offerings as a twice-daily celeb gossip show and a 24-hour version of "Big Brother," CBS Mobile has taken a lead in the burgeoning made-for-mobile content business. The new field still has plenty of kinks to work out as companies navigate complicated deals between TV networks and...

Will Costly Options Hurt Facebook?
Will Costly Options Hurt Facebook?
Oct 28, 2007 10:16 PM CDT

Will Costly Options Hurt Facebook?

High valuation from MS could slow recruiting in Silicon Valley

(Newser) - Microsoft's recently purchased stake in Facebook may make it harder for the social networking site to hire talented employees, reports the Wall Street Journal. By selling a 1.6% stake for $240 million, Facebook increased its valuation to $15 billion, in turn radically increasing the cost of stock options, which...

Young Tycoons in Endless Pursuit of Next Project

No rest for driven Silicon Valley moguls

(Newser) - Rather than reveling in his $100 million fortune, mogul Max Levchin spent a year feeling "worthless and stupid" after he sold PayPal to eBay at the age of 27. Too young to retire, too restless to become a philanthropist, Max was like many young Silicon Valley tycoons dogged by...

Dot-Com Bubble 2.0 Sparks Fears of Another Bust

Exuberant bidding for startups boosts Silicon Valley bank accounts

(Newser) - Remember the dot-com bubble, when companies' huge price tags were based on buzz instead of revenue? Here we go again. Facebook is a prime example: It's valued at as much as $15 billion—half as much as established Yahoo, though the search giant has 32 times the revenue. “There’...

Silicon Valley Goes Green
Silicon Valley Goes Green
Sep 24, 2007 4:08 PM CDT

Silicon Valley Goes Green

Bay Area companies using billions in venture capital to develop alt-energy technologies

(Newser) - Silicon Valley is becoming a center of green technology research, with more than 100 companies focusing on solar power development, according to a report released today by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. Green research companies are enjoying the favor of venture capitalists, who pumped $1.13 billion into the industry...

Silicon Valley Cars Get Their Own Condos

Pricey pads will double as clubs for big-bucks collectors

(Newser) - Silicon Valley millionaires (and billionaires) are gearing up for the latest status symbol in Status Symbol Land—condominiums devoted to storing luxury cars. Condos will start at $250,000, and the sites will also offer "club rooms" where guys can talk about cars. "There are more collectors here...

Net Startups Go Gaga Over Silly Company Names

New web companies follow Google's example and embrace goofy monikers

(Newser) - Following in the Google tradition of using a goofy name to stand out from the Silicon Valley pack, a new generation of internet startups is sporting wacky monikers that may rile investors and confuse consumers. Young companies resort to names like Tagtooga and Qoosa to carve out unique identities and...

Advertisers Will Soon Be Facebooking You, Too

Social-networking site to allow targeted ads based on user profiles

(Newser) - Facebook is at work on a way to sell ads based on information users and their friends post on the site, the Wall Street Journal reports. A basic version of the service could launch this fall, and the social-networking titan eventually might allow marketers to predict products and services users...

US Visa Logjam Triggers Reverse Brain Drain

Thousands of skilled workers wait for documents

(Newser) - Just as the US tightens immigration controls, a huge backlog in processing visas for legal migrants is causing a "reverse brain drain," forcing sought-after scientists, engineers, doctors and entrepreneurs to return to their home countries, according to a report released yesterday. One million would-be immigrants are competing for...

Four Square Gets Serious in Silicon Valley

Playground game is the latest sport adopted by 'rejuveniles'

(Newser) - The latest craze to take root in Silicon Valley doesn’t involve codes or algorithms, just squares. That is, four squares, taped onto a carpet, or painted onto asphalt, for the classic elementary school game of four square. The game requires four players to hit a rubber ball back and...

A Million Here, a Million There ...

... and before long, some Silicon Valley hotshots are feeling pretty average

(Newser) - Millionaires are a dime a dozen in Silicon Valley, where a seven-digit net worth was once a ticket to the good life. Today, lower-level millionaires have to clock 12-hour workdays just to stay afloat. The Times reports on some living embodiments of "be careful what you wish for."

Tech Companies Cool on Indian Outsourcing

Rising labor costs make hiring at home more attractive

(Newser) - India, the destination of choice for American tech companies looking for sophisticated but cheap labor, is beginning to lose its appeal, the Wall Street Journal reports. Rising pay scales are making it  too expensive to justify the complications of globalizing. Now some are outsourcing their outsourcing to slower climes like...

Battle for Tech-Savvy New Grads Heats Up

Geeks are a hot commodity on the job market

(Newser) - Demand for students and recent grads with top-notch tech skills is higher than it's been in over a decade, thanks in part to banks and securities firms waging the recruiting wars alongside Silicon Valley giants such as Google. Bloomberg goes inside the process of wooing the so-called millennials, born between...

The Newest Fundraisers? Social Networkers

(Newser) - Think Iowa Caucus folkways meets Silicon Valley tech savvy: A group of high-tech entrepreneurs are using online and offline social networking to evaluate, pick, and support their presidential candidate. The groups skip traditional intermediaries—namely, political parties—to meet directly with candidates, then use their widespread (and wealthy) social networks...

Techies Click With Obama
Techies Click With Obama
Mar 26, 2007 12:40 PM CDT

Techies Click With Obama

Silicon Valley elite are replacing Clinton with a next-generation model

(Newser) - Silicon Valley techies are forsaking  Hillary for Barack—and among the defectors are some of Bill's biggest fundraisers. Obama's is grabbing particular notice among the young and newly wealthy, with deep pockets and little political experience. "In the lexicon of high tech, Barack Obama is the next-generation solution,"...

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