VENTURE CAPITAL POST

A year and a half ago, Apple Inc (AAPL.O) had applied for just eight patents related to auto batteries. Recently, it has hired a bevy of engineers, just one of whom had already filed for 17 in his former career, according to a Thomson Reuters analysis.

Technology companies such as Google are unlikely to become mass car manufacturers, even if they have the potential to disrupt an industry increasingly focused on software and automated driving, the head of German carmaker Daimler (DAIGn.DE) said on Friday.

Microblogging site Twitter Inc has reached a deal with Google Inc to make its tweets more searchable online, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Google Inc's (GOOGL.O) (GOOG.O) revenue grew 15 percent in the fourth quarter but fell short of Wall Street's target on declining online ad prices and unfavorable foreign exchange rates.

Most Asian share markets firmed on Tuesday and the euro clung to rare gains, relieved that European equities had weathered Greece's election outcome without too much disruption.

Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), founded by Elon Musk, said it has raised about $1 billion in a financing round with two new investors, Google Inc and Fidelity.

Mark Zuckerberg and Xiaomi Inc CEO Lei Jun discussed a potential investment by Facebook in China's top smartphone maker ahead of its $1.1 billion fundraising last month, but a deal never materialized, several people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

"The Interview," the Sony Pictures film about a fictional plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, opened in more than 300 movie theaters across the United States on Christmas Day, drawing many sell-out audiences and statements by patrons that they were championing freedom of expression.

Google Inc's decision to screen Sony Pictures' film "The Interview" may help legitimize its YouTube platform as a serious rival to paid video streaming services, Netflix and Amazon.com Inc.

This spring, Taser International Inc won a small but high-profile contract to supply body cameras to the London police. But the deal nearly collapsed over one issue: where the video footage would be stored.

BlackBerry Ltd (BB.TO) is working with Boeing Co (BA.N) on Boeing's high-security Android-based smartphone, the Canadian mobile technology company's chief executive said on Friday.

The court order that banned Chinese mobile maker Xiaomi from selling its phones in India has halted its breakneck expansion into the world's fastest growing major smartphone market and could be just the start of a string of patent challenges.

Europe's antitrust chief will meet Google's critics in the coming weeks in an effort to resolve issues in a four-year investigation which has stirred up politicians and lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic.

Amazon.com Inc is considering expanding its same-day delivery program globally, recent job listings show, underlining the importance of fast shipping to its ability to compete with the instant gratification offered by brick-and-mortar stores.

Britain plans to introduce a tax to target multinationals such as Google Inc (GOOGL.O) and Amazon Inc (AMZN.O) accused of using complex accounting schemes to cut their payments on earnings in the country.