European Tech Wire

Gracenote to Buy Philips's Audio ID, Fingerprinting Assets

Amsterdam -- Gracenote, a U.S.-based provider of digital entertainment
technology and content, announced that it has agreed to acquire the
audio identification and fingerprinting technology of Dutch technology
giant Royal Philips Electronics for an undisclosed sum. Furthermore,
Gracenote has entered into a long-term R&D agreement with Philips
Research. Under the terms of the agreement, Philips will take an equity
position in Gracenote and serve as a strategic technology advisor.
Gracenote said the acquisition would further extend its lead in the
digital entertainment technology market and allow it to expand into
significant new markets, including chip-based recognition, embedded
technologies for devices such as car stereos and music and advertising
monitoring.
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BlueRun Ventures Targets Chinese Start-Ups with New Office

Helsinki -- BlueRun Ventures, formerly known as Nokia Venture
Capital, announced that it is seeking more investment opportunities in
Chinese technology start-ups with the opening of a new office in
Shanghai. The California-based firm also announced that it has
appointed Andrew Chen as investment director for the office. "China
has not only become a dynamic region for innovation, but is also
increasingly the first entry market for technology start-up companies,"
said BlueRun partner Jui Tan. "We hope to expand our investments in
best-of-breed technology companies in China and also help our
portfolio companies in the U.S. and Europe to develop business
partnerships in China." BlueRun, which manages nearly 820 million
euro, focuses on early stage companies in the IT, mobile and consumer
markets.
http://www.brv.com/releases/release083005.html

BMI Acquires Song Identification Technology from Shazam

New York -- BMI, the performing rights organisation representing
300,000 songwriters and 6.5 million works, announced that it has
acquired the technology assets of Shazam Entertainment Ltd., a U.K.-
based developer of mobile music recognition technology. Financial
details were not disclosed. Terms of the deal call for Landmark Digital
Services, a new subsidiary of BMI, to acquire music recognition
technology from Shazam, which will be renamed BlueArrow. Shazam
will receive a worldwide exclusive license from Landmark to continue
offering the music recognition technology to consumers. BMI said it
plans to use the BlueArrow technology to identify members' songs
played on various media -- including radio and TV -- to track and
process royalty payments.
http://www.bmi.com/news/200508/20050830a.asp

Swiss Videogame Maker Funcom Raises 5 Million Euro

Kusnacht, Switzerland -- FunCom, a Switzerland-based developer of
massively multiplayer online video games (MMOGs), announced that it
has received 5 million euro in venture-capital financing. Nordic
Venture Partners led the round. "This is another great recognition of
Funcom as Europe's premier developer of MMOGs, and serves as a
tribute to the company and the quality of our games and technology,"
said FunCom Chairman Torleif Ahlsand. "There is a considerable
market potential for subscription-based online games, and Funcom is a
leader in technology and quality within the segment." FunCom, which
has U.S. offices in North Carolina, has developed titles including
"Anarchy Online" and the upcoming "Age of Conan: Hyborian
Adventures".
http://makeashorterlink.com/?L2DA355BB

U.S.-Based eBay Buys Israeli-American Firm Shopping.com

San Jose, California -- EBay, the U.S.-based online auction giant,
announced that it has completed its 519-million-euro acquisition of
Shopping.com, a provider of online comparison shopping services and
consumer reviews. The deal was first announced on June 1.
Shopping.com, which has dual headquarters in Israel and the U.S.,
operates web sites in the U.S., the U.K. and France and has
approximately 50 million unique visitors a month, according to
comScore Media Metrix. eBay said it agreed to buy Shopping.com to
strengthen its ability to bring consumers online comparison shopping.
The company also said that it expects the acquisition to have no effect
on its full-year 2005 pro forma diluted earnings per share (EPS).
http://investor.ebay.com/releases.cfm

Infineon to Provide Memory, Chips for Microsoft's Xbox 360

Munich -- Infineon Technologies, a Germany-based manufacturer of
semiconductors and storage memory cards, announced that it has been
chosen to provide a removable memory card, advanced security chip
and wireless game controller chip for Microsoft's Xbox 360 video game
console. The chips were developed in Germany, Israel and Italy and
will be manufactured in France for inclusion in the Xbox 360, which
goes on sale in the fall. "Infineon's broad and complementary IP
portfolio, system integration skill, manufacturing expertise and proven
track record were crucial factors in our decision to work with the
company on these components," said Xbox Peripherals Director Marc
Whitten. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/050829/094086.html

NDS Forges Partnership with Frontier Silicon

London -- NDS, a unit of News Corp. that develops pay-TV security
technology, announced that it has partnered with U.K.-based Frontier
Silicon to develop anti-piracy technology for the delivery of mobile
TV. "Our collaboration with NDS is … an exciting prospect as we'll be
working towards developing the industry's most secure mobile TV and
radio solution, combining the advanced security features of the NDS
mVideoGuard technology and our own chipsets for T-DMB, DVB-H
and DAB," said Frontier Silicon CEO Anthony Sethill.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?A28B325BB

Gizmondo Europe Signs Agreement with ALK Technologies

London -- Gizmondo Europe, the distributor of the multi-functional
Gizmondo handheld video game, announced that it has signed an
agreement with U.S.-based ALK Technologies to add satellite
navigation functionality to the Gizmondo. The Gizmondo Navigator
2006 application will allow U.K. and European users to map out
directions and receive turn-by-turn voice instructions. The £99
application will be available on Sept. 30. The company will also sell an
in-car cradle and car charger for £29. The Gizmondo itself sells for
about £139.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?H2BB225BB

Actify Signs Deals with Pro Nordic and Abgam Group

San Francisco -- San Francisco-based Actify, a maker of digital design
communication products, announced that it has signed new reseller
agreements with Systems3 (U.S.), Pro Nordic Technology (Sweden)
and Abgam-Group (Spain). The company said the deals would help it
to accelerate its penetration into new markets and strengthen its
position in existing markets. "These partnerships are demonstrated
proof of our strategic initiative to deliver world class software
solutions, training and technical support to new and growing
geographic markets around the globe," said Actify CEO Randy Ochs.
http://www.actify.com/v2/news/press/pr050830.htm

Blackboard Hires Kingston Consultant Demetra Katsifli

Washington, DC -- Blackboard, a U.S.-based provider of e-learning
software and services for academic institutions, announced that it has
appointed two new members to its consulting group. Demetra Katsifli
joins as principal consultant in the U.K. from Kingston University in
London, while Lynda Masterman joins as a senior project manager in
the Asia Pacific region from HarvestRoad. "With these new additions,
we are demonstrating our commitment to these regions, and will be
better prepared to expand and gain information on the e-Learning needs
specific to these areas," said Blackboard Vice President Christopher
Etesse.
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