The GitHub secret is out. Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz has invested $100 million into the site, used by hackers to collaborate and store their coding projects. It's Andreessen Horowitz's largest-ever investment, and it values the start-up at $750 million.
GitHub, while not well-known outside of tech circles, is popular with software developers and engineers who use it to work on open-source and other side projects. The company has attracted 1.7 million developers to its site and savvy hiring managers cruise the site looking for talented developers too busy hacking to make it to networking events. Buddy Media, the social media advertising platform bought by Salesforce.com for $745 million, told FINS last August that it loves to hire engineers with four or five side projects on GitHub.
Until now, GitHub has steadfastly refused to take venture capital financing, arguing that it's been profitable since its first year and saw no need to give away equity, Bloomberg reports. Apparently, GitHub's change of heart came from its push into attracting business customers. The site is free for individual developers, though they can pay $25 a month to keep their code private, The Wall Street Journal reports. Its business product goes for $250 a year, per user. The attraction for companies is that they can have a virtual record kept of who did what on which project, enabling them to more quickly fix bugs or crashes.
GitHub has 100 employees and says it plans to hire more people quickly, WSJ reports. (WSJ)
Settle Up (WSJ)
Google is close to paying the Federal Trade Commission a $22.5 million fine to settle allegations that it secretly bypassed privacy settings on Apple's Safari Web browser. That's about how much Google makes every five hours.
Contingency Plans (Bloomberg)
Research In Motion executives say the company is in fine health, but after losing 70% of its value over the last year, some high-profile customers are preparing for the once-unthinkable: a world without the BlackBerry. Companies like GoDaddy are preparing to switch to Android or iPhone devices within hours should the RIM platform go down or out of business.
Foreign Investment (WSJ)
Intel will invest $4.1 billion into ASML Holdings NV, a Dutch maker of semiconductor machinery. The investment will give Intel a 15% stake in the 8,000-person company and, it hopes, give it a leg up in speeding up the processing power of its computer chips.
Moment of Decision (AllThingsD)
A judge will hear arguments today on whether Kleiner Perkins can force partner Ellen Pao to settle her gender discrimination claims through an arbitration hearing. Signs point toward a court battle, raising the question of whether the VC heavyweight will settle with Pao out of court despite vigorously denying her allegations.
Coffee Talk (NYT)
It's been six months since Hollywood and Silicon Valley faced off over the antipiracy legislation called SOPA. The tech industry won that battle, but this week in Sun Valley new and old media moguls are likely to rekindle the debate.
Back in the Game (WSJ)
Palo Alto Networks, the network security company, and travel bookings site Kayak.com, are set to test the IPO market this week and raise $229 million and $87.5 million, respectively.
Next Step (WSJ)
Sony, maker of the hit videogame console PlayStation, is betting the future lies in Internet-fueled games streamed straight to your Web browser. The technical barriers, though, are large in transferring the high-definition, high-action gameplay of console games through the Web.
Reality Valley (NYT)
Bravo is filming its forthcoming reality TV show "Silicon Valley" as we speak. Technologists and entrepreneurs are fuming, saying that the debauchery and glamour it depicts doesn't resemble the real Silicon Valley.
Buzz Around the Office
Zuckerberg Owes Fan a Beer (Yahoo Sports)
An inattentive San Diego Padres fan was forced to ice down with a beer last week after being drilled in the chest with a foul ball. His excuse? He was updating his Facebook status.
List of the Day: Be Honest
Here's how to tell someone something they don't want to hear.
1. Give it to them straight. Don't sugarcoat.
2. Make sure you're getting it right. It looks bad to recant.
3. Refer to anonymous sources to make your point.
(Source: MoneyWatch)
