funding

Car service Uber raises $32 million, launches in Paris

PARIS--Uber, a service that lets people use their smartphones to order and pay for car transportation, has raised $32 million in funding and launched its service in Europe.

At the LeWeb conference here, Chief Executive Travis Kalanick announced that Paris is the first city in Europe where the service works. The company plans to extend to two new cities a month now, reaching "around 25 cities in the next 13 to 14 months."

Expansion costs money, and the company just got a lot more: $32 million in a new round of funding led by Menlo Ventures. Also … Read more

Doctor Q&A site raises $11.5M; now it needs more patients

HealthTap now has $11.5 million to expand its social network of 6,000 physicians who answer patient health questions online--money it'll use to try to keep those doctors busy.

That's a lot of cash for a health tech startup to raise in its first formal round of funding. Even more impressive is HealthTap's list of VC investors: Mayfield Fund, Mohr Davidow, and Eric Schmidt's Innovation Endeavors.

"We're very fortunate, and I'm humbled to say that in our case the decision was more about choosing the right people to lead our round, rather … Read more

Intel to help more companies build ultrabooks

Intel will step in to help smaller companies build ultrabooks, as the chipmaker continues its push to make the new supper-skinny laptop category a success, CNET has learned.

With the goal of getting smaller PC makers to supply branded ultrabooks, Intel will hold a meeting Wednesday in Taipei as a "matchmaker" between large device manufacturers--so-called ODMs or original design manufacturers--like Foxconn, Pegatron, Compal, and Quanta and smaller brands, according to an industry source familiar with Intel's plans.

The list of prospective ultrabook brands will include companies like Epson, Onkyo, Viewsonic, Mustek, Motion Computing, WiPro, and Positivo, according … Read more

How Intel helps fund PC makers' marketing: Q&A

In the wake of a report this week that Intel is giving PC makers a $100 subsidy on ultrabooks--which Intel promptly denied--I asked longtime chip guru Nathan Brookwood how Intel's co-marketing works.

Brookwood is the principal analyst at Insight 64. Before becoming an analyst, he held marketing management positions at companies such as Micronics, Intergraph, and Digital Equipment Corporation.

Q: How does Intel's Market Development Fund work? Brookwood: When they do these MDF programs, it's not a cash subsidy. It's usually done in the form of some cooperative advertising and other promotions. It's … Read more

Clearwire in a bind as debt payment looms

Clearwire is considering whether or not to make a major loan payment as the cash-strapped wireless provider looks for financing options.

The company is supposed to make a $237 million payment on December 1. With $698 million in cash and short-term investments as of September 30, it can certainly meet the obligation, but at the cost of a significant chunk of its remaining war chest. As a result, the company is debating whether to skip the payment, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Clearwire, which operates a 4G WiMax network used by Sprint Nextel and other wireless resellers, is at … Read more

Sean Parker thinks Silicon Valley is in trouble

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

Marketing-automation company Marketo secures $50 million

Marketo, a marketing automation and customer relationship management (CRM) company, has raised $50 million in a new round of funding, the company said today.

Marketo provides several marketing-automation services designed for businesses of all sizes. One of the key facets of the company's services is to facilitate interactions between its customers and their own clients through its CRM solutions.

The financing round was led by Battery Ventures. The company's existing investors--Institutional Venture Partners, InterWest Partners, Mayfield Fund, and Storm Ventures--also participated in the round. The cash infusion has brought Marketo's total funding to $107 million since the … Read more

Otellini: Windows 8, touch-based ultrabooks a pair

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif.--Intel CEO Paul Otellini said today at an Intel conference that touch-based ultrathin notebooks running Windows 8 will be a big focus for the company in the coming 12 months.

Otellini said that to lure mainstream laptop buyers, Intel and its partners need to get the cost of touch technology under control. "To hit the volume price points, we need to span $699 and up, and that's the goal for next year," he said, speaking at the Intel Capital Global Summit in Huntington Beach, Calif.

"To do that, we have to get touch … Read more

Peter Thiel's Founders Fund reportedly raising $600 million fund

Founders Fund, the venture firm started by Peter Thiel that has backed such companies as Facebook and Spotify, is raising up to $600 million for its fourth fund, according to Bloomberg, which is citing anonymous sources.

Bloomberg says that the San Francisco firm is raising the money to invest in both early stage and more established startups. Founders Fund plans to close the fund this month. It comes after the slowest quarter for venture capital in eight years.

This fund would dwarf the previous Founders Fund, which closed in July and raised $250 million to invest in Internet and engineering … Read more