investments

The free iPhone photo sharing app that boasts users such as President Obama, skateboarder Tony Hawk, singer Justin Bieber, actress Zooey Deschanel, and rapper Snoop Dogg might be getting new funding that will value it at $500 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.

One year ago, Instagram was valued at just $25 million. Despite this enormous growth and a base of more than 15 million users, the popular app has struggled to make money since its inception in March 2010.

Unlike other apps and social-networking sites, Instagram isn't well positioned to feature advertising, paid content, or other e-commerce … Read more

Three companies have combined forces to take a look at the state of angel round investing.

The Angel Resource Institute, Silicon Valley Bank, and CB Insights have revealed in their first Halo Report, a study on the current state of early-stage investment across the U.S., that California is, as many might expect, the top destination for entrepreneurs looking to raise cash.

According to the study, 21 percent of all investments were secured last year in California. The Great Lakes region, including Ohio and Wisconsin, among other states, accounted for 15.9 percent of all angel investing in 2011. New … Read more

Social-voting site Votizen has secured $750,000 in new funding. And Sean Parker of Napster and Facebook fame is chief among the company's latest investors.

Speaking to All Things Digital in an interview posted last night, Parker, who is best known for co-founding Napster and playing an integral role in Facebook's growth, said that "politics is one of the few remaining large-scale consumer-facing opportunities on the Internet," and he wants to be a part of the movement with Votizen.

This isn't the first time Parker has given Votizen some cash. According to All Things Digital, … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Talk to just about any entrepreneur in Silicon Valley these days, and there's a better than average chance one name will come up: Ron Conway.

The founder of SV Angel, an investment firm that has its fingers in dozens of the biggest names in technology today, Conway is known by many to be among the savviest investors around. His portfolio is a who's who of the best and brightest in tech--Twitter, Airbnb, Dropbox, Groupon, and dozens of others. He's not only successful, he's also prolific.

In a recent profile in Fortune, Conway explained that he … Read more

One of Silicon Valley's most successful venture capital firms could become quite a bit richer if rumors that its founder is trying raise $1.5 billion are true.

The New York Times reported today that one of tech's most influential investors, Marc Andreessen, is looking to raise $1.5 billion for his Andreessen Horowitz investment firm. According to the Times, if Andreessen comes up with the funds, it could more than double the firm's assets. Right now, Andreessen Horowitz has $1.2 billion distributed between three funds.

Since launching in 2009, Andreessen Horowitz has been one of … Read more

Extended warranty service SquareTrade announced today it has secured a $238 million growth equity investment lead by Bain Capital.

Terms of the private financial transaction were not revealed.

The company, which sells warranties for consumer electronics and appliances directly and via more than 30 retailers and marketplaces, said its sales tripled in 2011 compared with 2010. It also expects to record "triple-digit" revenue growth in 2012, although the privately held company did not provide specific financial details.

"SquareTrade has been profitable and growing rapidly for several years," CEO and co-founder Steve Abernethy said in a statement. &… Read more

Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, through his investment firm Kingdom Holding Co., has dropped $300 million into Twitter.

Alwaleed, an active investor, is one of the world's richest people, with an estimated $19.6 billion fortune, according to Forbes. He's also the nephew of Saudi Arabia King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Alsaud. Over the years, Alwaleed has invested in a host of markets, including banking, real estate, and hotel management.

In the technology market, the prince has given capital to or bought stock from, Hewlett-Packard, Apple, Motorola, and countless others. During the dot-com boom, he was heavily focused on Web companies.… Read more

Tucson, Ariz.--Sean Parker, a big reason for Facebook's success (remember Justin Timberlake) and a now a partner with Founders Fund, thinks Silicon Valley is in big trouble. His beef: Too many angel investors are throwing way too much money--albeit in little drips--at aspiring entrepreneurs who aren't up to the task of building a company.

The subject came up during a panel Parker was on at Techonomy 2011, a conference that took place this week in Tucson, Ariz. It's a hot-button issue -every young coder in the Valley, it seems, is either doing a startup or toying … Read more

General Motors' latest investment will provide tools and equipment to support production of future electric vehicle components. The company announced on Friday that it will invest $325 million in its Warren, Mich., plant and create or retain 418 jobs.

The plant's current 679 employees produce transmissions for the Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia crossovers and the Chevrolet Malibu sedan.

The 2.1-million-square-foot plant, equivalent to the area of 15 city blocks, produced more than 338,000 transmissions in 2010, the company said in a press release.

"This investment in the future recognizes the excellent work force … Read more