Video copyright – A recent Update!

Two recent cases in the online video market, “EMI shuns YouTube for Gotuit“, and “Universal Music sues MySpace“, highlight the fact, that online video copyright is still a huge, unsolved issue out there to be tackled.
Gotuit, an Atlas Venture portfolio company, has succeeded to sign up EMI. Although three other major labels have licensed their [...]

Identic Solutions connects with Investors – €10M for Austria-based RFID company

Identec Solutions, a provider of RFID solutions based out of pretty Austria, has announced a financing round of €10M. The company designs and markets intelligent long-range asset management system. Lead investor was SAM Private Equity with participation from Sustainable Performance Group, RFID Invest, gcp gamma capital partners (well done Oliver!) and an undisclosed private investor.
Takeaway: [...]

Another Cleantech IPO in Germany!

Almost unnoted by many here in Germany was the recent IPO by Petrotec, a producer of bio-diesel based on renewable resources (various forms of natural or chemical substances, oil etc.). In 2005, the company delivered revenues of €40.5M and an EBITDA of €8M, and now has a market cap of €180M.

The global market for bio-diesel [...]

Microsoft launches Zune – Initial feedback disappointing

Microsoft today launched its “IPod-Killer” – ZUNE. The initial feedback from US Bloggers and the High-Tech Press is disappointing.
A real-time poll done by readers on SpiegelOnline shows a gloomy pictures for Zune. Asked whether Zune will have a chance against iPod, the majority of readers seems to be very sceptical.

Takeaway: Good try, but still a [...]

Have you tried Photosynth?

Have you tried this cool demo? Photosynth, a new technology from Microsoft Live Labs that takes a large collection of photos of a place or an object, analyzes them for similarities, and displays them in a reconstructed three-dimensional space. The idea is to put “hyperlinks between pictures on the internet”. The images with the same [...]

Mascoma – revolutionizing the Ethanol market!

Mascoma Corporation is a promising start-uptrying to become the first commercial developer of cellulosic ethanol. Atlas Venture joined the recent financingroundtogether with follow investors General Catalyst Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Vantage Point Venture Partners, and Pinnacle Ventures, as well as existinginvestors Khosla Ventures and Flagship Ventures.
Current ethanol demand today is around 4B gallons, [...]

Conergy to invest €250M in PV module plant!

What a surprise! Conergy recently announced the investment of €250M into a PV module manufacturing plant! Conergy, in the past focused on system integration, installation and distribution, now joins the ranks of the cell and module manufacturers.
Laut Unternehmensangaben vom Sonntag entsteht damit die weltweit erste vollintegrierte Massenproduktion, die vom Wafer über die Zelle bis zum [...]

Miasole – Next Generation Photovoltaic Company!

As mentioned previously, cleantech is on the rise! I am happy to announce that Atlas Venture recently completed an investment in a company called Miasolé, an investment I was personally involved with closely.
Miasole is a next-generation photovoltaic company focusing on CIGS based thin-film solar cells and modules and Atlas joins fellow venture capitalist firms such [...]

European Technology Entrepreneur Award

Technopreneurs out there! The European Tech Tour Association (ETT), luxury watchmakerAudemars Piguet & Cie, and Weber Shandwick Worldwide, are inaugurating “The Changing Times Award” to name the European Technology Entrepreneur of the Year in 2006.
The award will be presented to the European Technology Entrepreneur whose private company has had the biggest impact, on the largest [...]

New Energy Forum – Looking for exciting presenters!

If you are into cleantech and as excited about this new emerging sector like myself, there is an interesting event coming up in December. E-Unlimited is organizing the New Energy Forum, taking place on December 5th, as part of the European Venture Summit (includes a Tech and Bio-track for those of you not so much [...]