SixApart Hires Pownce Founders, Closes Service

The team behind microblogging service Pownce announced on the company blog today that it is joining blog software company SixApart and closing Pownce in two weeks. Pownce left private beta with a big launch just 11 months ago but the service never grew beyond a core group of fans.

The Pownce team says it plans to "come back with something much better in 2009." We're excited to see what Pownce co-founders Leah Culver and Mike Malone do at SixApart; it should be a very good environment for them to innovate in.

This is the second move where well known innovators have taken their technology and brains to a bigger company and shuttered their startup that we've reported on in a week. Last week open source star Rael Dornfest sold his personal assistant startup Sandy to Twitter.

Though these startups were inspiring, we also think it quite noteworthy that even at a down time economically there are still jobs for super smart people. We covered the Pownce/SixApart deal in greater depth at our hire-tracking site Jobwire. See that coverage for more details about the technology that Pownce will bring to SixApart.

Resource - Pownce Blog

Acquisition Dance Between Facebook And Twitter Over For Now?

It’s not the first time we’ve heard rumors about Facebook looking to acquire Twitter or about an impending deal breaking down. But this time, Kara Swisher over at BoomTown offers a bit of insight about the actual deal size. According to Kara (and her sources), Facebook was offering $500 million of its stock at the infamous (and ridiculous) $15 billion valuation to acquire Twitter up until 3 weeks ago.

Update: while Twitter CEO Evan Williams declined to comment on the rumors, we’re hearing that 20 percent of the offer that was made was in fact cash (which would mean $100 million in cash and $400 million in stock).

Apparently talks, which were reportedly initiated by privately-held Facebook, broke down because of doubts on behalf of Twitter investors and executives about the stock’s actual worth, the usual concerns that arise when acquisitions are made (like integration, duration, costs, etc.), and a strong belief that Twitter will ultimately be able to weather the economic downturn on its own. Also noted is Facebook’s concern over Twitter’s current burn rate and future revenue potential.

At the recent Web 2.0 Summit, moderator John Battelle asked Mark Zuckerberg on stage if Facebook would be interested in buying Twitter. The young Facebook CEO’s response was: “we’re really impressed by what they’ve done”, and that they have “a very elegant model”.

We’re trying to get more out of the companies and will update this post if there’s anything else to add.

For comparison: Facebook has raised $516 million in funding to date, while Twitter is backed by $20 million in investment. Twitter boasts 6 million active users, while Facebook reports more than 120 million.

Noteworthy caveat: serial entrepreneur and angel investor Marc Andreessen is sitting on both sides of the fence, being both an early investor in Twitter and a member of Facebook’s Board of Directors.

Resource - TechCrunch

SpringSource Acquires G2One Inc.

Java Leaders Bring Spring, Groovy and Grails Together to Provide Highly Productive and Scalable Java Infrastructure

SAN MATEO, Calif.— November 11, 2008—SpringSource, the company behind Spring, the de facto standard in enterprise Java, today announced the acquisition of G2One Inc., the company behind the popular Groovy and Grails technologies. With the acquisition of G2One, SpringSource will now offer global enterprise support offerings for developers and IT operations that utilize Groovy and Grails applications.

The Spring Framework, Groovy and Grails are three of the most popular application infrastructure solutions in the world. Groovy is one of the most popular alternative languages for the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), with more than 30,000 downloads per month. Adoption of Grails has soared, with downloads racing from 7,000 to 70,000 per month in the past year. Both companies discuss the rapid rise and adoption of Spring, Groovy and Grails on their respective blogs, found at http://www.springsource.com/g2one. The financial details of the transaction are not being disclosed.

“Spring has proven to be a valuable part of the Java community, indeed, its helped evolve enterprise Java. Now, Java is becoming more than a language, but a platform for running more than just the Java language in the traditional enterprise context,” said Michael Cote, analyst at Redmonk. "Languages like Groovy and new frameworks like Grails have been part of this change in Java's nature, so it makes sense for a company like SpringSource to acquire G2One and keep pushing, along with others, Java to the next level."

G2One was founded by the Groovy and Grails lead developers, Guillaume Laforge, Graeme Rocher and Alex Tkachman in 2007. Groovy is an open source, dynamic language for the JVM that offers a flexible Java-like syntax all Java developers can learn in a matter of hours. Grails is an open source, advanced and innovative web application framework based on Groovy, and built on proven and high-performance open source solutions such as Spring, the most widely used enterprise Java application platform worldwide.

“Like Spring, Groovy and Grails have become a powerful cornerstone of today’s application infrastructure, driven by mass developer adoption worldwide,” said Rod Johnson, CEO of SpringSource. “The combined forces of Spring and G2One not only accelerate innovation, but also deliver SpringSource’s 24x7 global support network to the growing number of enterprises adopting Groovy and Grails at the heart of their applications.”

Groovy provides features that are common in other dynamic languages such as Ruby, Python and Smalltalk. It enables enterprises to leverage and protect their investments in developer skills, tooling and server software while enabling the rapid creation of innovative software. SpringSource will utilize its proven experience working with popular open source projects, like Apache Tomcat, to ensure the continued development of the Groovy language.

Grails simplifies development and enables IT teams to establish fast development cycles through agile methodologies. Through extensive use of Domain Specific Languages, Grails simplifies development by providing an abstraction layer over enterprise Java technology, while still providing the full flexibility of the underlying Spring technologies.

“SpringSource and G2One are a terrific fit. Spring, Groovy and Grails have long shared a common mission of transforming enterprise Java, making it simpler, more practical and more powerful for developers,” said Graeme Rocher, CTO and co-founder of G2One. “Ruby on Rails showed how frameworks based on simple principles can dramatically improve developer productivity, creativity and lower maintenance costs. Grails has significantly improved upon those principles and brought the productivity of Rails to the de-facto enterprise Java stack, which is based on Spring.”

About G2One Inc.
G2One Inc., founded by the Groovy and Grails project leads, Guillaume Laforge and Graeme Rocher, and by Alex Tkachman in 2007, actively develops and improves both Groovy and Grails, and offers its customers its expertise on those technologies through consulting, training, and support services. For more information visit: www.g2one.com.

About SpringSource
SpringSource created Spring, the de facto standard platform to build, run and manage enterprise Java applications. SpringSource is also the leading support provider for Apache Tomcat. SpringSource delivers an end-to-end platform that is designed from the ground up for complete portability and scalability for today’s data center and for next-generation virtualized, grid and cloud deployments. Nearly half of the Global 2000, including many of the world’s largest financial institutions, retailers, manufacturers, healthcare, technology and public sector clients are SpringSource customers. For more information visit: www.springsource.com.

Resource - SpringSource Acquires G2One Inc.

Autodesk Signs Agreement with Avid Technology to Acquire Softimage

Acquisition to Accelerate Autodesk’s Games Strategy; Complements Digital Entertainment and Visual Communications Offering; Lets Artists Choose their Passion

See the interview with Marc Stevens, General Manager of Softimage, and Marc Petit, Senior Vice-President, Autodesk Media & Entertainment.

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Oct. 23, 2008 — Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) and Avid Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVID), announced that they have signed a definitive agreement for Autodesk to acquire substantially all of the assets of Avid’s Softimage business unit for approximately $35 million.

Softimage was founded in 1986 by Daniel Langlois and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada. Softimage develops 3D technology for the film, television and games markets. Its flagship product is SOFTIMAGE|XSI, an extensible 3D animation software solution used by leading media and entertainment companies, including Digital Domain, Ubisoft, SEGA Corporation, CAPCOM, Animal Logic and The Mill. Autodesk Media & Entertainment provides animation, visual effects, editing/finishing and color grading solutions for the 3D market, including entertainment and design industries.

“Softimage has been developing state-of-the-art 3D technology for more than 20 years, and its products are recognized as best-of-breed in the entertainment industry,” said Marc Petit, senior vice president, Autodesk Media & Entertainment. “Upon the completion of this acquisition we will be adding Softimage technology and products to our portfolio, and welcoming one of the most talented teams in the industry to Autodesk Media & Entertainment. Both will help us accelerate the work of our Games Technology Group, as we build the next-generation of real-time, interactive 3D authoring tools for games, film and television.”

Gary Greenfield, CEO and chairman of Avid Technology, added: “We are excited about what this transaction means for customers of Softimage.  The Softimage 3D product line has performed well in the video games market, a sector where Autodesk has a track record of success.  Autodesk will provide a great home for the business.”

Softimage Product Integration

Upon completion of the acquisition, Autodesk intends to continue developing and selling Softimage’s core product line, while integrating certain Softimage technology into future versions of Autodesk solutions and products.  Autodesk plans to acquire and continue developing the following Softimage products:

• SOFTIMAGE|XSI: Including XSI Essentials, XSI Advanced, XSI Academic, XSI Mod Tool and the XSI software development kit. XSI is production-proven 3D animation software for games, film and television. It offers a complete 3D modeling, animation, rendering and development environment for visual effects and custom tools.
• SOFTIMAGE|Face Robot: A complete software solution for easily rigging and animating 3D faces. Face Robot enables studios to create life-like facial animation at incredible speeds.
• SOFTIMAGE|Cat: This advanced character animation system is a plug-in for Autodesk 3ds Max software. It is intended to be integrated into the 3ds Max product line.
• SOFTIMAGE|Crosswalk: This interoperability solution is intended to be integrated with Autodesk’s own interoperability technology.

Petit commented: “As we have demonstrated since the acquisition of Alias in 2006, we’re committed to giving our customers choice when it comes to their 3D tools. We plan to maintain and grow the Softimage product line, and through Autodesk FBX provide better interoperability between Softimage products, 3ds Max and Autodesk Maya. FBX also provides interoperability between Softimage products and our specialized applications such as Autodesk Mudbox, Autodesk MotionBuilder, Autodesk ImageModeler and Autodesk Stitcher, as well as numerous third-party applications.”

Petit concluded: “At Autodesk, we care deeply about 3D technology; we know users invest a lot of time and energy into mastering their favorite 3D product. To all 3D artists out there, I want to tell you that we understand your passion for the creative tools you use daily, and that with Autodesk, you can choose your passion.”

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding product offerings and the performance of its business. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include the following: difficulties encountered in closing and integrating Softimage’s business; whether certain market segments grow as anticipated; the competitive environment in the software industry and competitive responses to the acquisition; and whether the companies can successfully develop new products or modify existing products and the degree to which these gain market acceptance.

Further information on potential factors that could affect the financial results of Autodesk are included in the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 31, 2008, and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July 31, 2008, which are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

About Softimage

Softimage is a part of Avid Technology, Inc., and develops leading-edge 3D technology used in customer-centric solutions that enable professionals in the games, film and television industry to realize their creative vision. Award-winning feature films, television productions and top-selling video games are made using Softimage software. Its flagship product, SOFTIMAGE|XSI, is an extensible 3D animation software solution built on the most modern architecture in the industry and is used by leading media and entertainment companies such as Digital Domain, Ubisoft, SEGA Corporation, CAPCOM, Animal Logic, and The Mill. Other solutions from Softimage include: SOFTIMAGE|FACE ROBOT, lifelike facial animation software; SOFTIMAGE|CAT, a complete character animation plug-in; and SOFTIMAGE Alienbrain, a digital asset management solution for artists. www.softimage.com.

About Avid Technology

Avid is a worldwide leader in tools for film, video, audio, 3D animation, gaming and broadcast professionals – as well as for home audio and video enthusiasts. Avid professional and consumer brands include Avid, Digidesign, M-Audio, Pinnacle Systems, Sibelius, Softimage and Sundance Digital. The vast majority of primetime television shows, feature films, commercials and chart-topping music hits are made using one or more Avid products. Whether used by seasoned professionals or beginning students, Avid’s products and services enable customers to work more efficiently, productively and creatively. Avid received an Oscar statuette representing the 1998 Scientific and Technical Award for the concept, design, and engineering of the Avid Film Composer system for motion picture editing.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc. is the world leader in 2D and 3D design software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets.  Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk has developed the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art digital prototyping solutions to help customers experience their ideas before they are real.  Fortune 1000 companies rely on Autodesk for the tools to visualize, simulate and analyze real-world performance early in the design process to save time and money, enhance quality and foster innovation. 

Autodesk, AutoCAD, FBX, ImageModeler, Maya, MotionBuilder, Mudbox, Stitcher and 3ds Max are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

Resource -  Autodesk

Panasonic to make Sanyo subsidiary next year

TOKYO, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Top officials of Panasonic Corp. and Sanyo Electric Co. have broadly agreed that Panasonic will make Sanyo a subsidiary next spring, Kyodo News Agency reported Sunday.

Panasonic, which is expected to launch a tender offer for Sanyo shares, will announce its plan to acquire the struggling electric appliance and electronics maker possibly later this week, Kyodo quoted sources familiar with the matter as saying.

Panasonic is reportedly considering buying Sanyo by acquiring some of its preferred shares that three major creditor institutions now hold.

The three -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. of the United States, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Daiwa Securities SMBC Co. -- currently hold 430 million preferred shares, which were issued by Sanyo Electric in 2006.

The stock will represent about 70 percent of Sanyo's outstanding issues in terms of voting rights if converted into common shares.

Industry insiders said Panasonic may also seek to obtain all outstanding Sanyo shares to make it a wholly owned subsidiary.

Kyodo said the two companies have agreed that Sanyo's management independence will be respected and the corporate as well as brand names will be maintained.

Employment of about 100,000 Sanyo workers will also be secured, the sources said.

Panasonic would secure a dominant global market share in the lithium-ion battery business and would obtain the photovoltaic cell business by acquiring Sanyo.

Combined group sales of Panasonic and Sanyo Electric totaled about 11.22 trillion yen in fiscal 2007, surpassing the 10.9 trillion yen industry leader Hitachi Ltd. logged the same fiscal year.

Panasonic changed its corporate name to the current one from Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. in October. The group has been looking for ways to promote merger and acquisition activities in a bid to attain consolidated sales of 10 trillion yen in the 2009 business year.

Sanyo's founder Toshio Iue was a relative of Matsushita founder Konosuke Matsushita and worked for Matsushita before establishing Sanyo in 1947.

Resource - Xinhua