VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Because of its worsening economic climate, private equity and venture capital investors have reduced fundraising for Brazil by more than 70% in the past two years, the Financial Times reported.

KKT Interactive owner and Snap-pay.com co-founder Jim Rudnick has introduced a crowdfunding site which intends to help entrepreneurs in Hamilton, Ontario, The Hamilton Spectator reported.

IBM said it can use big data to forecast when mining equipment will fail, an innovation that can potentially save companies billions of dollars annually, VentureBeat reported.

Tencent Holdings Ltd and JD.com Inc are in talks to join forces and consolidate their e-commerce operations, according to two people familiar with the matter interviewed by Bloomberg.

Even if venture capital invested a quarter of a billion euros in Ireland-based firms last year, the Irish fundraising market is already slowing, the Irish Examiner reported.

Google has rolled out its expansion plans for its high speed fiber Internet service called Google Fiber which could possibly be introduced in 34 cities, VentureBeat reported.

PhiSix Fashion Labs, a computer graphics firm in the Bay Area, has been purchased by e-commerce giant eBay to allow online customers to fit clothes virtually before buying them, VentureBeat reported.

Backed with a $20,000 convertible note from Atlanta Capital, Yik Yak is an anonymous messaging app that allows college students to share their gripes to other users within a five-mile radius, TechCrunch reported.

From the viewpoint of venture capital, the real victors of the recently-announced acquisition of WhatsApp by Facebook are Sequoia Capital and Partner Jim Goetz, TechCrunch reported.

Facebook will be buying WhatsApp in a cash and stock deal worth $16 billion. The messaging giant will also be retaining its brand and will function as an independent unit, TechCrunch reported.

China-based Fosun International Ltd is the most likely acquirer of Forbes Media Llc but will be paying less than $250 million for the money management magazine, according to sources interviewed by The Deal Pipeline.

Weight loss app MyFitnessPal has acquired Sessions, a Rock Health-backed startup that has developed an app that connects individuals with fitness experts who encourage accountability in their workouts, VentureBeat reported.

Robocoin will be opening the first Bitcoin ATM in the US at the HandleBar tavern located in Austin, Texas. The machine will be operational starting Thursday, February 20 at 2 PM, TechCrunch reported.

Goodbye SkyDrive, hello OneDrive. Microsoft has officially rebranded its cloud storage service and launched a referral program to get more users to the platform, TechCrunch reported.

K-12 learning analytics company Renaissance Learning secured a $40 million investment from Google Capital, the investment arm of search giant Google that concentrates on late-stage deals, TechCrunch reported.