It's been more than a week since Facebook's blockbuster acquisition of Instagram, and many people are still confused about the deal. It's understandable -- the $1 billion acquisition happened in the span of 48 hours between two CEOs rather than over the course of weeks between two armies of lawyers.

Facebook and Instagram consistently defy convention though, and that's one of many things you need to understand about both companies -- they are anomalies rather than the norm, even in the fast-paced world of tech startups.

I've seen countless reporters and bloggers question the valuation (… Read more

When Facebook made the purchase last week, it said it was paying $1 billion in cash and stock. What it didn't say was how much was cash and how much is stock.

The New York Times, citing people briefed on the terms, is reporting that the deal is is roughly 30 percent cash and 70 percent stock, which would value Facebook at more than $75 billion.

But that's just a starting point, according to the … Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Is 3D where photography is going? Two companies at the Demo conference here today are betting on it.

ArqBall makes a mobile app that creates 3D images, or "spins," of physical objects. Designed for commerce initially, it lets you quickly create a 3D spinning model of an object for sale and embed it in a sales page. The demo made the creating app look very easy to use: You put your object on a turntable or lazy Susan, put your iPhone in a stand facing it, and run the app. The software creates the … Read more

The idea of helping businesses raise money through crowdfunding didn't start when the JOBS Act began to get traction. Over at CircleUp, which is launching today, the thinking is that the JOBS Act changes things, but "not as much as a lot of people think." At least according to CEO Ryan Caldbeck.

But then CircleUp isn't a crowdfunding site for everyone. Instead, it's a service to help accredited investors -- people with incomes more than $200,000 a year or a net worth of more than $1 million -- find nonpublic companies to invest in. … Read more

There's a little battle forming up in a new mobile app segment: the graffiti app. The idea with these apps, of which Catarina Fake's Pinwheel is one, is that when you go to a location, you mark that you've been there and then maybe leave a note or a photo. Later, when your friends (or maybe not your friends) show up at the location or nearby it, they can see what you said and add their own comments.

The highest concept of these new companies is Wallit, which makes an augmented reality tagging app. You hold your … Read more

People looking for signs of a slowdown in tech funding could find ample evidence in the data for the first quarter. CB Insights, which tracks investments of venture capital firms and some big angel investors, reports that VCs plowed $5.9 billion into startups in Q1 -- a 22 percent drop from the last quarter of 2011 and the lowest amount since the second quarter of 2010.

But not so fast. That's not the sound of a bubble popping. Deal volume was huge in the first quarter, and lack of any mega-deals dampened the sheer dollar amount. (Yammer, the … Read more

The hot mobile startup Path said today it raised more than $30 million from a roster of well-known investors, including Richard Branson, Facebook backer Yuri Milner, and Zynga founder and CEO Mark Pincus. The round was led by venture firm Redpoint Ventures.

It's a lot of money for the mobile social network, although earlier reports put the amount raised at $40 million.

Dave Morin, who co-created the Facebook Platform, said in a statement that Path would use the money to help with "international growth and expansion as well as user adoption." Currently, Path claims 2 million users. … Read more

Now we know why Facebook didn't build a good mobile app. It didn't have to. It could afford to pay $1 billion for a 14-person company, Instagram, that managed to figure out the secret sauce for winning over smartphone picture-takers. So, clearly, Path is next, right?

Not exactly. Path has a lot going for it, but it's lacking some key elements. It's a valuable company, but arguably over-valued given its recent funding news: A $40 million funding round from Redpoint Ventures (source: AllThingsD). Update 5:24 p.m.: Path said it has raised $30 million in … Read more

Path, the popular photo-sharing social network, is about to announce it has closed a $40 million round of funding that values the San Francisco startup at $250 million, according to sources who spoke to All Things D. Update 5:24 p.m.: Path said it has raised $30 million in a funding round.

The report, which came out late last night, said that the new round was led by Redpoint Ventures and could be announced as early as today.

The company, which was founded by Dave Morin, who co-created the Facebook Platform, and Shawn Fanning, the co-founder of Napster, has … Read more