Weekly Digest
Weekly Digest Issue No. 548
13-01-2011
by Deirdre McArdle
Murex, ClearStream announce 100 new jobs | Groupon hits jackpot with huge cash injection
Young Scientist event signals hope for the future
The annual BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition kicked off this week, with over 346 schools participating in the event this year. This is the 47th Young Scientist event, making it one of the largest and longest-running science fairs of its kind in the world.
President Mary McAleese officially opened the event on Wednesday, calling it "a brilliant landmark event" where the ingenuity and inventiveness of Ireland's youth could express itself. She said the event helped deliver hope and confidence in the future: "We do not have oil wells or gold mines but what we have is the youth of Ireland and their restless curiosity."
In all, over 500 projects from 1,138 students (207 schools) will have their projects evaluated before the overall winner is announced at a gala ceremony on Friday. The top four projects including the top two individual and top two group projects will be recognised. Projects are interesting and varied and include a system to solve the problem of drivers using a mobile phone while driving, an app for teens to measure their carbon footprint and the development of an odourless fake tan.
The event proves popular each year, but a BT spokesperson said the use of social media like Facebook and Twitter to spread the word has seen visitor figures increase. Over the four days of the event more than 35,000 visitors are expected to descend on the event in the RDS.
Murex, ClearStream announce 100 new jobs
Two companies announced new jobs this week, providing renewed hope for the continuing development of Ireland's tech sector. French financial software firm Murex said it planned to create 30 new jobs in Dublin within the next three years. The positions will be in software development, business development and consulting, and the firm is looking for applicants with a combination of degree and masters qualifications in maths, engineering and computer science. Murex set up its software centre in Dublin 11 years ago, and currently employs 60 people there.
Also in Leinster, this time in Wexford, Irish-owned medical devices firm ClearStream Technologies announced the creation of 70 new jobs. The positions will be in product engineering, research and development, manufacturing, and sales and marketing. Enniscorthy-based ClearStream Technologies designs and manufactures medical devices such as catheters and stents, and currently employs 230 workers. The firm said it plans to "seek out new technologies and invest in further research and development for the future".
In other news of jobs, web start-up Caped Koala Studios has said it plans on creating up to 26 new jobs at its locations in both Cork and London. The Cork-headquartered company has developed an online virtual world for kids called Pora Ora that combines education, games and social networking.
Groupon hits jackpot with massive cash injection
Since walking away from a multi-billion-dollar acquisition by Google in December 2010, online discount site Groupon has gone from strength to strength. On Monday news broke that Groupon had completed a USD950 million funding round, the most money ever raised by a start-up, according to the New York Times. Investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Digital Sky Technologies.
Groupon, which claims to have over 50 million subscribers, said it will use the funds to expand globally and invest in technology. Employees and early investors will also take some of the cash. This latest funding round gives Groupon a multi-billion-dollar valuation and sets the stage for a likely IPO this year.
The online coupon firm was set up just two years ago in Chicago. Last year Forbes magazine called it the "fastest growing company ever". Certainly its growth and potential have impressed both commentators and investors alike. Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, told the New York Times he considered Groupon, Facebook, Skype and Zynga to be the four most promising companies in this era of web start-ups.
Following its high-profile investment, Groupon wasn't hanging around. It snapped up three online discount sites in India (SoSasta), Israel (Grouper) and South Africa (Twangoo) on Tuesday. The firm didn't reveal the terms of any of the deals, but said that the three sites will transition to the Groupon brand name and site design in the coming months.
Nvidia shares soar on Intel deal, Tegra 2 launch
Graphics chip firm Nvidia enjoyed a positive week, with the news on Monday that Intel would pay the firm a USD1.5 billion licensing fee, payable in five annual instalments. The six-year cross-licensing agreement settles a long-running dispute between the pair, which began in 2009 when Intel sued the smaller firm over chipsets and Nvidia counter-sued the chip giant.
The deal was an out-of-court settlement between the two companies and is similar to one reached between Intel and AMD in November 2009. Jen-Hsun Huang, Nvidia's president and CEO, said the deal "signals a new era for Nvidia". While commentators had expected a settlement, the final amount came as a surprise to investors and saw Nvidia shares jump 4.45 percent in after-hours trading on Monday, according to Reuters.
This good news for Nvidia follows a successful Consumer Electronics Show for the chip firm, which impressed investors and industry watchers with its new Tegra 2 mobile chip. Investors' confidence that the Tegra 2 chip would make an impact on the tablet and smartphone market caused the firm's shares to soar 15 percent on Wednesday. Tablets launched at CES which feature the Tegra 2 chipset include Motorola's Xoom, LG's G-Slate and Dell's Streak.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 