clean tech

Video: Om Talks About $6 Million Giga-Funding

Kara Swisher in Media on May 26, 2011 at 1:14 pm PT

Yesterday, I slogged through the rain to the downtown San Francisco HQ of the GigaOM Network to visit with tech blogging pioneer Om Malik and talk about the latest $6 million in funding for the tech news and analysis site.

Should the Next Commerce Secretary Be a Tech Exec (or Would It Cause a Schmidtstorm?)

Kara Swisher in News on March 8, 2011 at 6:30 am PT

Yesterday, the Obama administration dribbled out the news that it was going to nominate current Commerce Secretary Gary Locke as the next ambassador to China. The move leaves open a post that could get a true turbocharge if it were filled by an exec from the fast-growing and innovative digital arena. Here are BoomTown’s nominations.

The Top 10 Clean-Tech Companies

Colleen Debaise, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on March 3, 2011 at 5:00 am PT

Companies that make everything from solar panels to renewable-crude oil continue to be big draws for funding from the venture-capital community. But a company that rewards consumers for recycling led The Wall Street Journal’s second-annual ranking of venture-backed clean-tech companies.

Silicon Valley 3.0: Tech's New Wave

Pui-Wing Tam and Cari Tuna, Reporters, The Wall Street Journal in News on October 22, 2010 at 5:00 am PT

Edenvale Technology Park gives a glimpse of the new Silicon Valley. The long recession only tiptoed through the 2,300-acre office park, with many start-ups here expanding their operations over the past 18 months. One prominent tenant, solar company Nanosolar Inc., began producing solar panels in March and plans to add space and more employees to its 350-person work force.

BoomTown Heads to TED (And Promises No Pretentious Tweets!)

Kara Swisher in News on February 10, 2010 at 12:09 am PT

What is it about TED, the iconic conference founded an astonishing 25 years ago, that gets so many people who don’t go in a lather? Nonetheless, the gathering still represents one of the best venues for deep and varied thinking on a wide range of important issues, even if there are moments that might seem twee and elitist to some. TED2010 officially opens tomorrow morning in Long Beach, Calif., although events at the conference actually began last night. Speakers run the gamut and will talk on a wide range of topics, from poverty to clean tech to global warming to ukulele playing.

Announcing the Silicon Valley Venture Capital Trepidation Index

John Paczkowski in News on January 22, 2010 at 9:50 am PT

Venture capitalists, your calls for smaller funds and for more of an old-school approach to investing have been answered. VC investments last year were the lowest since 1997, according to a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association released on Friday.

Khosla Ventures's Take on Tech

Pui-Wing Tam, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on September 2, 2009 at 5:28 pm PT

Venture-capital firm Khosla Ventures announced Tuesday that it had raised more than $1 billion in two new funds–the first time the firm has raised funds from outside investors instead of just investing the money of its founder, Vinod Khosla, a longtime venture capitalist and a founder of Sun Microsystems. Khosla Ventures is putting two thirds of the money towards clean technology investments. But what about tech?

Google's Mission: To Organize the World's Start-Ups and Make Them Universally Acquirable

John Paczkowski in News on March 31, 2009 at 10:10 am PT

Sequoia Capital partner Michael Moritz often says that the best time to invest is when people are cowering under their desks. Google appears to have taken that message to heart because it’s launching a new venture fund at a time when the VC industry is busy practicing its duck-for-cover exercises.

Google’s Mission: To Organize the World’s Start-Ups and Make Them Universally Acquirable

John Paczkowski in News on March 31, 2009 at 10:10 am PT

Sequoia Capital partner Michael Moritz often says that the best time to invest is when people are cowering under their desks. Google appears to have taken that message to heart because it’s launching a new venture fund at a time when the VC industry is busy practicing its duck-for-cover exercises.

Huffington Post Nabs $25 Million in Funding–Here's a BoomTown Interview With Oak Investment's Fred Harman

Kara Swisher in News on December 1, 2008 at 3:53 am PT

The Huffington Post, co-founded by Arianna Huffington, will announce this morning that it has raised $25 million, in a single investment from Oak Investment Partners. The large round, which was led by Palo Alto, Calif.-based venture capitalist Fred Harman, will give the popular online news and blogging site a valuation of “just south of $100 million,” a source said. The new funding, the Huffington Post’s third, will be used for expansion of its offerings and the hiring of editorial and business talent. “I think the post-election perception of the Huffington Post has changed in the eyes of advertisers to being a key mainstream news site,” said Harman in an interview with BoomTown last night.