venture

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

Intellectual Ventures, the controversial patent and technology firm founded by former Microsoft executive Nathan Myhrvold, has sued Canon and Ricoh over printer technology.

In a pair of complaints, filed in the U.S. District Court of Delaware yesterday, Intellectual Ventures accused Canon of infringing on nine of its patents, and Ricoh of seven patents -- both in various printing products.

According to IV, the company approached both companies to negotiate licensing deals, but was unsuccessful.

"When sophisticated companies turn a blind eye to infringement, we are forced to take action to safeguard the value of our patents and to … Read more

To many investors last year, it must have seemed like an amazing opportunity -- giving financier Craig Berkman thousands in cash in exchange for early dibs at Facebook's highly coveted pre-IPO shares.

Berkman, 71, seemed trustworthy. He was a former gubernatorial candidate for Oregon, the state's Republican chairman between 1989 and 1993, and an ex-investment banker.

Little did they know that Berkman was said to have pocketed that money -- totaling $8 million -- and then allegedly used it to pay off debts and fund personal expenses.

Berkman was arrested in Florida today for allegedly defrauding investors in … Read more

Intellectual Ventures, the controversial patent and technology firm founded by former Microsoft executive Nathan Myhrvold, has sued security company Symantec once again.

In a new complaint (PDF), filed in the U.S. District Court of Delaware, Intellectual Ventures accused Symantec of infringing on three of its patents in some of its products.

The complaint targets Symantec's Replicator, Veritas Volume Replicator, and ApplicationHA products specifically, and claims the company "actively, knowingly, and intentionally" infringed on IV's patents with those products.

"We have been unable to reach an agreement with Symantec, and, in addition to their infringement … Read more