arrington

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--If you 're an entrepreneur looking for money today on the famous Silicon Valley venture capital row known as Sand Hill Road, yes, that is the sound of crickets you hear.

That's because today is Y Combinator Demo Day, and the lion's share of the biggest tech-oriented VCs in the Valley are packed into one auditorium here, listening to 65 early-stage companies pitch their wares.

The list is a veritable who's who of investors: Ron Conway, Tim Draper, Jeff Clavier, Mike Arrington, Stewart Alsop, and many, many others. And they've got their checkbooks … Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--If there's one thing that late night TV hosts like David Letterman and Jay Leno are said to hate, it's when a star books both their shows back to back.

The tech industry doesn't have its own Letterman and Leno rivalry, but one could say that this week's head-to-head TechCrunch Disrupt and Demo Fall shows are a pretty good analogy.

So it was a bit strange to go to both shows this week and see the same high-profile kick-off speaker at each, LinkedIn founder and Graylock Partners principal Reid Hoffman. And both presentations … Read more

AOL executives have decided to terminate embattled tech blogger Michael Arrington's employment with the company, according to a Fortune report.

Arrington, the founder and co-editor of TechCrunch, ignited a firestorm of debate during the past week after it was announced Thursday that he was forming a venture capital fund to invest in some of the startups he and his bloggers write about. The investors in Arrington's $20 million CrunchFund reportedly include AOL, which bought TechCrunch last year.

AOL and Arrington did not respond to requests for comment.

A journalist writing about companies he or she has a financial … Read more

Michael Arrington, the founder and co-editor of TechCrunch, is forming a venture capital fund to invest in some of the startups his bloggers write about, according to a Fortune report.

The $20 million CrunchFund will reportedly be funded primarily by AOL, which bought TechCrunch last year, as well as venture capital firms such as Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and Greylock Partners.

Arrington and AOL did not respond to requests for comment.

Although the arrangement flies in the face of traditional journalism's principles of avoiding conflicts of interest, Arrington told The New York Times that the fund'… Read more

commentary Is it OK for AOL's TechCrunch editors to invest in companies they write about?

It's a question we once had figured out but a new generation of editors says it's OK. As long as it's disclosed. But is that enough?

Mike Arrington, editor and founder of TechCrunch, an AOL company, yesterday disclosed his investments in some high-profile start-ups.

He said he had refrained from making investments in start-ups since 2009 because of distracting accusations of conflicts of interest, but that he had recently changed that policy (following the sale of TechCrunch to AOL).

PALM DESERT, Calif.--In 2008, when TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington told CNET that the venerable Demo conference "needs to die," he ushered in an era of extreme competitiveness in the tech start-up-oriented conference world.

Arrington issued his sinister words as part of a conversation about why he had scheduled his own conference--the TechCrunch 50--directly against Demo that year, and his general argument was that shows that charged well into five-figures to let start-ups present their wares to investors and press needed to be dispensed with.

Flash forward three years later, and the TechCrunch 50, or TC 50 as … Read more

AOL has added another blog to its stable, snapping up Michael Arrington's TechCrunch for an undisclosed fee today.

Tim Armstrong, AOL's CEO, made the announcement on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2010 along with TechCrunch founder and co-editor Arrington and TechCrunch CEO Heather Harde. They actually signed the deal before the conference audience, although they did not say anything about valuation during a conference focused almost exclusively on start-ups, venture funding, and exit strategies.

TechCrunch will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary and Armstrong promised Arrington that he would have complete editorial freedom over content posted on TechCrunch. AOL operates … Read more

TechCrunch50 has run its course after three years--a mere two years after one of its founders said a rival conference needed to "die."

Michael Arrington and Jason Calacanis, co-founders of the annual tech start-up conference, announced the show's cancellation and the end of their partnership in separate blog posts Tuesday.

"We have parted ways with our long time TechCrunch50 business partner, Mahalo CEO Jason Calacanis," Arrington wrote in a blog post. "Sometimes, having more than one bull in the china shop can get a little messy."

Arrington said he was "pleased to … Read more

TechCrunch filed a lawsuit Thursday against Fusion Garage, the blog's onetime partner on the CrunchPad tablet device, TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington announced Friday.

Arrington wrote that the suit charges Fusion Garage with "Fraud and Deceit, Misappropriation of Business Ideas, Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Unfair Competition, and Violations of the Lanham Act."

The filing of the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California escalates the war of words between TechCrunch and Fusion Garage, in a falling-out that recently became public. Arrington had earlier indicated that he would move toward litigation.

In the … Read more