investing

Investment in clean-technology companies rose in the U.S. last year, garnering $3.98 billion in venture capital, according to a report released yesterday by the accounting firm Ernst & Young.

The change represents an 8 percent increase in investment overall, but there was also a major shift in when companies received funding.

"The share of investment dollars going to second rounds increased from 18% in 2009 to 26% in 2010. Later stage deals received $2.37 billion or 62% of the money invested in this period," according to the report.

Of that $4 billion, $1.32 billion … Read more

Facebook's recent investment round, led by investment bank Goldman Sachs, has been one of the most-talked-about news events that the social network has gotten itself involved in--and arguably the one about which it's been the most secretive. This afternoon, Facebook broke the silence by issuing a press release in which it confirmed, finally, that it has raised $1.5 billion ($1 billion from Goldman Sachs and $500 million in a round that also includes existing investor Digital Sky Technologies) at a $50 billion valuation.

"DST and Goldman Sachs approached Facebook to express their interest in making an … Read more

There are a lot of rumors and speculation afoot about Facebook's $500 million funding round led by Goldman Sachs and the investment bank's subsequent private offering of Facebook stock to deep-pocketed clients--more speculation, in fact, than there usually is around news pertaining to Facebook.

But one thing stands out as fact: should Facebook hit the threshold of 500 individual shareholders, it will be required to either start trading publicly or at least begin disclosing its financial information, according to rules set by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. At the end of the fiscal year in which … Read more

A new round of funding for Facebook has reportedly given the company a valuation of $50 billion.

The social-networking giant raised $500 million through deals with investor Goldman Sachs and Digital Sky Technologies, a Russian investment firm that has already invested about $500 million in Facebook, according to a New York Times report. The report notes the investments give Facebook a greater value than Web pioneers Yahoo and eBay.

Facebook representatives declined to comment on the report.

The investments come as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has reportedly begun scrutinizing the market for stock in hot, privately held … Read more

Toshiba's building a $1.2 billion LCD plant, but it's reportedly not alone in footing the bill.

Nikkei, a Japanese business news outlet, today reported that Apple will be investing in the factory, which will be cranking out small mobile phone displays for future iPhones, according to Reuters.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The factory is set to be built starting early next year in Ishikawa Prefecture, an area on the west side of the country about 200 miles from Tokyo. The plant will be run by Toshiba Mobile Display, an arm of … Read more

The G-20 nations have the most power and the largest impact on the future of clean energy because together they account for 90 percent of the world's investment in clean energy. In addition, China leads the G-20 and the world in investment and almost every other category when it comes to clean-energy development, and it may do so for the next 10 years.

That's according to a report released today by The Pew Charitable Trusts, in conjunction with Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The report, called "Global clean power: A $2.3 trillion opportunity," offers predictions for … Read more

Deals retailer LivingSocial announced Thursday afternoon a deal which pretty much everyone saw coming: a $175 million investment from e-commerce giant Amazon. The investment comes at a time when LivingSocial's bigger competitor, Groupon, is widely reported to be on the verge of a multibillion-dollar acquisition by Google.

In addition, LivingSocial's new funding round includes an $8 million dollar investment on behalf of Lightspeed Venture Partners. A story Wednesday in the Washington Post said that LivingSocial's paper valuation is now around $1 billion, but that may not be completely precise given the fact that the same story underestimated … Read more

A new $10 million micro-venture fund led by former Yahoo top engineering exec Ash Patel--called Morado Ventures and funded by a group largely made up of ex-Yahoos--is about to launch, according to sources close to the situation.

Expected limited partners in Morado, which means "purple" in Spanish, include former Yahoo CEO Terry Semel, former COO Dan Rosensweig, and former advertising sales head Greg Coleman. Ex-Yahoo President Sue Decker is also considering investing, said sources.

Purple, of course, is Yahoo's color.

Interestingly enough, the fund--which has not officially closed yet--is also likely to include Yahoo's two founders … Read more

It's only been around about 50 years, but information technology has already affected almost the entire landscape of human activity. How science is pursued, how products are designed, how commerce and supply chains work, how businesses are run, how human beings communicate with one another--there's almost no arena in which IT isn't a critical enabler.

Given this, it may sound peevish to say IT has, at the same time, been hide-bound and conventional. But IT has been conventional. Oh, sure. We've had our moments--modernizing supply chains starting in the 1970s, the PC and distributed computing blooms … Read more