venture

SAN FRANCISCO -- Instagram is not a photography company.

That message, which might shock some of the 100 million-plus people who have uploaded more than 5 billion photos to Instagram, is what co-founder Kevin Systrom made clear during a discussion tonight among him and co-founder Mike Krieger and Digg founder and Google Ventures partner Kevin Rose.

The discussion, part of the Commonwealth Club's Inforum series, was an opportunity for hundreds of Instagram fans to hear first-hand a bit of the history -- and perhaps some of the future -- of the popular photo-sharing app. Even if that's not … Read more

Salesforce.com and patent aggregator Intellectual Ventures inked a new licensing deal on Friday that gives Salesforce access to some 40,000 of IV's patents.

The deal is the latest by Intellectual Ventures, a Bellevue, Wash.-based company that's made headlines for accumulating a massive trove of software and design patents, along with other intellectual property.

A major part of IV's business includes licensing patents out to other companies, which can use them for legal protection, though it's also made waves for litigating other companies.

Pricing and length of the deal were not disclosed, and a … Read more

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo gave a rundown on life, goals, and business at the social network during an interview Wednesday at the National Venture Capital Association's VentureScape, according to the Mercury News.

Addressing whether Twitter will go public (no), who he admires (Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos), and what annoys him (Silicon Valley snarkiness), Costolo riffed on what it's like steering the helm of one the world's top social networks.

"One of the things I'm always challenging people inside the company is, you have to take more risks," Costolo said, according to the Mercury News. &… Read more

Andreessen Horowitz, one of the most prominent Silicon Valley investors, is leading an investment round in a company that's developing software for the commercial use of drones.

Called Airware, the Newport Beach, Calif., company provides several different platforms and tools for companies that want to invest in unmanned aerial systems (UAS), otherwise known as drones. Andreessen Horowitz led the funding round in the drone company, which raised $10.7 million. Google Ventures also participated in the round, according to All Things Digital, which was first to report on the news.

The key difference between Airware and the drones we … Read more

Google has dropped a significant investment into loan-pairing company Lending Club, the companies announced today.

Lending Club announced today that Google has invested in its operation to take a minority stake in the company. Lending Club didn't say exactly how much Google invested, but did say that it was part of a $125 million round of financing. Google and another investor, Foundation Capital, acquired shares from existing investors.

Since its founding in 2007, Lending Club has been growing significantly. The company facilitates loan transactions between those who need cash and those who are willing to dole it out. Lending … Read more

Patents are either the scourge of technology, or its savior -- depending on who you talk to.

Intellectual Ventures, a company that has quite a bit invested in the business of patents, talked to more than 200 top executives earlier this year, and now says the majority of those individuals are keen on the idea of patents.

The controversial Bellevue, Wash.-based technology company -- which CNET profiled extensively last August -- released the findings of that study, which is its first, on Monday. It partnered with PR firm Waggener Edstrom and research firm Research Now to accumulate the data. … Read more

Investors rarely make or break a startup, but they can make life a hell of a lot easier or harder for an entrepreneur. That's why entrepreneurs need to put some thought into who they want to add to their team, instead of taking the first money that's offered to them.

But how do you choose the right investors for your startup?

There are hundreds of factors to consider, but some stand out more than others. While anybody can give you money, only a few can give you the sage-like advice you need to succeed. And while adding a … Read more

If the first quarter is any gauge for U.S. venture capital funding, there's not a lot to look forward to for the rest of the year.

The number of funds that raised money for venture capital in the first quarter of 2013 was fewer than any other quarter in the last 10 years, according to a new report by Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA).

Thirty-five funds contributed to venture capital fundraising last quarter, which is a 14 percent decrease in the number of funds from the final quarter of 2012. The slowest quarter in … Read more

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's venture-capital firm is opening an office in Silicon Valley.

Vulcan Capital, which has invested in a wide array of companies, including DreamWorks Animation and Redfin, has decided to open an office in Palo Alto, Calif., the company has confirmed to Reuters. The office, which will open at some point in the next few weeks, will focus on technology, Internet, and software companies. It will chiefly invest in middle- and late-stage startups, as well as pre-IPO deals.

"We are going to expand our footprint in broad tech investments, we'd like to get more resources, … Read more