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• Google accused of breaking antitrust law in Canada

  by Steven Loeb, May 18, 2013

  Google has also been investigated by the EU, the United States and South Korea before

  Google has found itself in a familiar situation: being accused by a federal agency of violating antitrust laws, this time in Canada. Canada's Competition Bureau recently notified Google of its intentions to investigate the company's business practices in Canada, it was reported by the Financial Post on Friday. Google has been informed that a formal inquiry is being opened, but no specific informati

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• Yahoo to hold special event in NYC on Monday

  by Steven Loeb, May 18, 2013

  Details are sketchy, but could the company be announcing the acquisition of either Hulu or Tumblr?

  Yahoo has been in the news a lot lately with its reported interest in acquiring both two big Internet properties: Hulu and Tumblr. Now news has come out that the company is holding a "product-related" special event on Monday. — CNBC (@CNBC) May 17, 2013 "Product-related" would seem to be a pretty broad term, and one that could mean basically anything. Without any further details, though, all

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• Andrew Mason is dropping an album. No srsly.

  by Faith Merino, May 17, 2013

  It's not a joke. Mason has recorded a 7-song album of "motivational business music"

  So…wow. I really can’t find my way out of this lede. Mason posted the news via his blog Friday morning, which was intended more or less to update everyone on his goings-on. After his ouster from Groupon three months ago (which he handled with surprising grace and good humor), Masons says he’s been up to the usual pursuits of the unemployed: traveling, losing weight, reading…and

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• Funding roundup - week ending 05/17/13

  by Steven Loeb, May 17, 2013

  Skift, Marqeta, Jelly, CrowdOptic, Luvocracy, EdgeSpring, Pebble, BitPay, BonitaSoft, AirWatch

  Seed stage Travel news startup Skift raised an additional $1.1 million seed round. The new funding was led by Lerer Ventures and included Ironfire Angel, MESA+, Advancit Capital, Growlab/LX Ventures, who invested together. New angels investing in this round include Jason Calacanis, Michael Cunniff, Duncan Jennings, Sean Keener, Shakil Khan, Martin Nisenholtz, Paul Noglows, and Michael Yavonditte.

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• Yahoo is buying all the things! Maybe even Tumblr...

  by Faith Merino, May 17, 2013

  Rumors abound, but can Yahoo afford the hefty price tag?

  Since Marissa Mayer took the helm at Yahoo, the company has acquired six mobile startups for a grand total of $46 million altogether--with Summly being the priciest at $30 million (this doesn't include Yahoo's most recent acquisitions, Astrid, GoPollGo, Milewise, and Loki. And Ken Goldman even said at the JP Morgan event that future acquisitions would continue to be on the small side. So how likely

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• A list of top LA accelerators and incubators

  Amplify, Launchpad, MuckerLab, Idealab and Science among those churning out new startups

  Part of that has to do with the categories that L.A. specializes in gaining traction, including digital media, gaming and e-commerce. There is also L.A.'s university scene, including UCLA, USC, UC Irvine, ...
  By Steven Loeb
  

• Government wants Google to answer Glass privacy issues

  Congressional Bi-Partisan Privacy Caucus sends a letter to Larry Page demanding clarification

  Whenever new technology comes out, there is always a familiar chorus of people shouting about their privacy being invaded. And, most of the time, I kind of ignore it. For the most part, people can avoid ...
  By Steven Loeb
  

• Marqeta raises $14M to overhaul gift cards and rewards

  The platform powers the Facebook Card and allows users to store multiple balances

  Online-to-offline payments and loyalty programs are becoming an increasingly hot space. Back in January, Facebook unveiled its very own Facebook Card, a reloadable gift card of sorts that can store multiple ...
  By Faith Merino
  

• Biz Stone's Jelly raises money from big name investors

  Al Gore, Bono, Jack Dorsey, Reid Hoffman and Evan Williams all contributed

  Twitter co-founder Biz Stone has been remarkably cagey about what his new startup, called Jelly, is all about. But that has not stopped him from raising money from a pretty remarkable roster of investors. ...
  By Steven Loeb
  

• Amazon Prime adds Hannibal, Smash, and more to lineup

  Amazon Prime selection gets a boost with expanded NBCUniversal agreement

  We all have guilty pleasure shows, like RuPaul’s Drag Race, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, and Swamp People. Such shows are decidedly uncool and a total waste of headspace—but everybody watches ...
  By Faith Merino
  

• Now Time Warner is looking into buying part of Hulu

  Time Warner reportedly considering taking an equity stake in the online-video site

  Hulu is a hot property these days. The company recently revealed that it had set a new record for revenue in the first quarter of the year, that subscribers to Hulu Plus have doubled in a year, hitting ...
  By Steven Loeb
  

• Google to Microsoft: shut down your YouTube app now!

  Google says app violates terms of service by not allowing ads and allowing playback on all platforms

  Earlier this month, the app was redesigned with the ability to pin videos, playlists, channels, and search queries to Start as Live Tiles for fast access; a new playlist design; and the ability to share ...
  By Steven Loeb
  

• Jana Partners buys up loads of Zynga and Groupon shares

  Announcement sent both stocks up, but Groupon still ended down for the day

  Jana Partners purchased 25.5 million shares of Zynga stock and 21.9 millon shares of Groupon.The Zynga investment was valued at around $86 million, and the Groupon investment valued at $134.3 million, ...
  By Steven Loeb
  

• Atlantis Computing raises $20M Series D

  Virtual desktop storage provider has now raised $35 million in funding

  The round was led by new investor Adams Street Partners, with previous investors Cisco Systems, El Dorado Ventures and Partech International also participating in the new financing. With this round, the ...
  By Steven Loeb
  

• Skift raises additional $1.1M seed round

  Travel news startup was founded by paidContent CEO Rafat Ali

  The new funding was led by Lerer Ventures and included Ironfire Angel, MESA+, Advancit Capital, Growlab/LX Ventures, who invested together. New angels investing in this round include Jason Calacanis, Michael ...
  By Steven Loeb
  

• DocuSign acquires real estate services provider Cartavi

  The eSigning company plans to make a one-stop-shop for real estate professionals

  For serious, I don’t know how people bought houses before the Internet. When I bought my house, I filled out so much paperwork that I really wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised if the ...
  By Faith Merino
  

• Google set to enter the music streaming business

  New service said to resemble Spotify, but will not offer free ad-supported version

  The company has already signed licensing deals with several big studios, including Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group. Google will be able to allow its users to have ...
  By Steven Loeb
  

• Car-sharing service RelayRides rolls up Wheelz

  Combined forces will help compete against the likes of Uber, ZimRide, SideCar, Lyft and Hailo

  Ride-sharing is a hot space right now, with companies like Uber, ZimRide, BlablaCar, Lyft, Hailo and SideCar vying for the same market. Now it just became a even more competitive with two ride-sharing ...
  By Steven Loeb
  

• Larry Page reveals full extent of his health problems

  Google CEO has rare condition of two paralyzed vocal cords, affecting his breathing and speaking

  Last summer, Google CEO Larry Page came down with a mystery illness, and was forced to cancel his speaking appearances. It was said that Page had lost his voice but what his actual illness was never revealed. ...
  By Steven Loeb
  

• Consumers are ready for driverless cars

  While 57% would use on themselves, only 46% would let their kids get in one

  A few months ago I wrote about some of the most interesting gadgets to come out of the Internet of Things, a network of devices that are connected via sensors to maximize the potential of each object. ...
  By Steven Loeb
  
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