Tech news from around the web:
MasterCard is to invest in mFoundry, a company that provides mobile banking solutions for more than 500 US banks, TechCrunch reports. As part of the deal, mFoundry will offer MasterCard’s PayPass Near Field Communication technology to the banks and credit unions it works with.
Facebook may IPO in Q2. Or then again, it may not…
Until now, it has been advisable to take rumours of an imminent Facebook IPO with a large pinch of salt.
Yet according to one person familiar with the company’s planning, all the pieces are now in place for a Wall Street debut that could come in the second quarter of next year – even if that timing has yet to be finalised.
Tech news from around the web:
Black Friday – the day after Thanksgiving – saw $816m spent online sales, according to research and monitoring group Comscore, making it the heaviest online spending day so far in 2011 and representing a 26% increase against Black Friday 2010. Thanksgiving Day, achieved a 18% increase to $479m, Comscore reports.
Three and a half years after its unsolicited takeover bid for Yahoo collapsed in shambles, Microsoft has edged back for a second look.
The software company’s revived interest in the fate of one of the internet’s best-known brands marks the beginning of what all sides expect will be an intense few weeks of negotiations, as Yahoo races to come up with a deal that will appease unhappy shareholders before a potential fight for boardroom control breaks out early in the new year.
Tech news from around the web:
Malware targeted towards phones running on the Android operating system continues to be on the rise, TechCrunch reports. According to McAfee’s security report for the third quarter, the amount of malware targeted at Android devices jumped nearly 37 per cent since last quarter. This follows a 76 percent rise in Android malware in the second quarter.
Tech news from around the web:
Amazon has increased the order numbers for its Kindle Fire tablet computer from manufacturers to 5m units by the end of the year, according to TechCrunch. The tablet is available in the US from next Tuesday.
Yahoo welcomes another big investor into the tent
Yahoo just moved another step forward in its bid to control the end-game that has been taking shape around its future.
Silver Lake has agreed to enter into confidential discussions with the US internet company, making it the latest private equity firm to go this route – and potentially robbing Alibaba and Softbank of an ally as they consider making a play for Yahoo themselves. But it’s still far too early to call it “game over”.
Tech news from around the web:
British billionaire Sir Richard Branson has made a ‘multimillion-dollar’ investment in mobile payment start-up company Square, a spokesperson for the company has told Reuters. The move follows a $100m investment led by venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and an injection by credit card company Visa.
Adobe Systems is said to be scrapping its move to bring its Flash Player software to smartphones and tablets, CNET reports. The Flash browser plug-in is widely used on personal computers but has so far only reached a fraction of the mobile phone market.
Index Ventures doubles down on Europe with huge new growth fund
When two key partners at Index Ventures, Danny Rimer and Mike Volpi, moved from London to open the tech investor’s first Silicon Valley office, many European entrepreneurs saw it as a loss for the region.
But as it raises a huge new €500m ($700m) late-stage fund, Index insists that it’s just as focused on Europe – and London – as it’s ever been.
Tech news from around the web:
Downloads of Android’s apps overtook those of Apple’s iOS apps in the second quarter of 2001, Business Insider reports. According to figures from ABI Research, the market shares of Android and iOS were 44% and 31% respectively. However, Apple still gets more downloads per user than Android.
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