Tech Moves: Amazon vet jumps to Apple; RealNetworks taps InfoSpace lawyer; F5′s new director; etc.

Bill Stasior

Apple and Amazon.com are becoming pretty intense rivals. And that rivalry is now spilling over into the war for talent. Kara Swisher at All Things D reports that Amazon.com executive William Stasior, who led the online retailer’s A9 search unit, has been hired by Apple to run the Siri voice recognition unit. Swisher notes that… Read More…

InfoSpace changes name to Blucora

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One of Seattle’s longest-running Internet brands is being swept into the dust bin of history — and some may say it is about time. InfoSpace, the dot-com survivor founded by Internet entrepreneur Naveen Jain in 1996, today announced that it is changing its name to Blucora Inc. As part of the move, the Bellevue company… Read More…

InfoSpace shares soar after big revenue boost from new TaxAct unit

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Investors are liking the new face of InfoSpace. The Bellevue company, a dot-com darling and survivor, transformed itself yet again with the $287 million purchase of online tax preparation company TaxAct earlier this year. And the addition of that unit is already adding a nice boost to InfoSpace, which Wednesday reported that revenues jumped 124… Read More…

This ‘big data’ startup is already generating revenue after 3 weeks in business

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Versium Analytics, a new startup led by former InfoSpace executives Chris Matty and Kevin Marcus, is just three weeks old. But the Redmond company has already locked up one customer — and is in discussions with a handful of others — as it rolls out new methods for making sense out of massive amounts of… Read More…

InfoSpace CTO to resign next month

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InfoSpace has been going through a number of transformations lately, namely the company’s $287 million acquisition of TaxACT. Now, here’s another big change. Travis McElfresh, who joined the Bellevue Internet search company as chief technology officer in 2010, plans to step down effective March 23. No reason was given for the departure, which was disclosed… Read More…

Why this tech company is using potty humor for its 30-second Super Bowl ad

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Ok, I’ll admit it, I am a bit of a sucker for the Super Bowl ads. And each year before the big game, I am especially interested to see which tech companies feel compelled to toss down $3.5 million for a 30-second spot. This year, there’s a new entrant in the field: InfoSpace. Well, not… Read More…

Q&A: Here’s why InfoSpace just paid $287M to compete with TurboTax

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It’s no secret that InfoSpace has wanted to expand through acquisitions. The cash-rich Internet search company spelled out its strategy on nearly every quarterly earnings call last year, and over the past few months CEO Bill Ruckelshaus has looked at about 100 different companies. But on Monday InfoSpace finally pulled the trigger, agreeing to buy Cedar… Read More…

InfoSpace’s unusual evolution continues with $287 million purchase of TaxACT

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InfoSpace, the dot-com survivor that has pivoted multiple times throughout its 16-year history, is embarking on yet another voyage. The Bellevue company today announced the acquisition of TaxACT, the number two player in online tax preparation software. InfoSpace is paying $287.5 million for TaxACT, with plans to keep the company as a subsidiary operating out of… Read More…

Yahoo acquisition targets may include TripAdvisor, WebMD, InfoSpace and others

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Yahoo has been discussed as possible acquisition bait for some of the bigger media and technology companies on the planet. But the Silicon Valley stalwart may go on a buying spree of its own if it unloads its Asian assets, including a 40 percent stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. Yahoo recently said that its… Read More…

Nasdaq closes with a loss for 2011: A look back at the top and bottom performers

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It was a tough year for most of the publicly-traded tech companies in Washington state, with just a handful posting positive overall stock performance. Even tech titans like Amazon.com, Microsoft and F5 Networks shed value in 2011, marking an overall negative year on the Nasdaq. In fact, the tech-heavy Nasdaq  dropped 1.8 percent during 2011,… Read More…

Tech Moves: Microsoft vet joins EnergySavvy; InfoSpace names CFO; and more

Charlie Ellis

Charlie Ellis, an 11-year veteran of Microsoft who worked on the Excel and SharePoint teams, has joined three-year-old Seattle startup EnergySavvy. Ellis tells GeekWire that he was ready to leave his job at Microsoft, which he said had become more about dealing “with organizational complexity.” “At EnergySavvy, I found a great combination of an awesome and dynamic… Read More…

Tech Moves: Symform taps Dawson; changes at InfoSpace; etc.

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Symform, the Seattle cloud storage startup which scored $1 million in financing in September, has named Margaret Dawson to the position of vice president of marketing. Dawson previously worked at Hubspan, Microsoft, Amazon.com and Aventail. “Margaret knows how to take a brand and product to market leadership and has the proven experience and passion to… Read More…

InfoSpace looks to put its cash hoard to work, names M&A wizard to board

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InfoSpace has hinted at plans to go on a buying spree. And with $263 million in cash and cash equivalents on the books, the Bellevue Internet search company is poised to branch out in some interesting directions. Today, InfoSpace named Andy Snyder — an M&A expert and CEO of Cambridge Information Group — to the… Read More…

InfoSpace posts revenue of $54M, continues to eye acquisitions

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InfoSpace today reported a net loss of $3.9 million on revenue of $54.3 million. The Bellevue Internet search company posted earnings per share of 10 cents, which was in line with analysts’ expectations. The net loss included a $7.7 million charge related to the sale of the company’s e-commerce business, Mercantila. InfoSpace, whose CFO David… Read More…

Tech Moves: Avvo gets a new VP

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We’ve been tracking some departures, appointments and even new office space in the Pacific Northwest tech industry in recent days. Here are a few notable Tech Moves: Avvo, the online directory of lawyers and doctors, not only has a new VP of marketing but also new office space. The company, which has moved into the… Read More…

InfoSpace CFO David Binder to leave for new gig at Blue Nile

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David Binder, who has served as chief financial officer at InfoSpace since January 2008, plans to step down from the job in mid-August to take a new position as chief financial officer of Blue Nile. He first joined InfoSpace in 2004, joining the Internet search company from drugstore.com. “I am thrilled to be joining a… Read More…

InfoSpace introduces Content Experience Platform

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We’ve been wondering how InfoSpace plans to pivot, especially after news Monday that the company had entered into a deal to sell off its Mercantila e-commerce business after just 13 months. Well, the Bellevue company is showing off one direction today at the NCTA Cable Show in Chicago. InfoSpace plans to host a demonstration of… Read More…

InfoSpace sells Mercantila at a loss, e-commerce business no longer ‘fits’

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Just 13 months ago, InfoSpace gobbled up the assets of Mercantila for $8 million in cash and the assumption of $5.9 million in debt. Now, InfoSpace says that the operator of online specialty stores is no longer a fit for its business. The Bellevue company said that it has entered into an agreement to sell… Read More…

InfoSpace boosts profits, names Bill Ruckelshaus CEO

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InfoSpace has had more lives than a cat. But the Bellevue Internet search company appears to be reinventing itself pretty well. The company today posted net income of $2.1 million, or six cents per share, on relatively flat revenue of $61.6 million. It also elevated interim CEO Bill Ruckelshaus to the top executive post at… Read More…

Ignition Partners’ Steve Hooper joins board of InfoSpace

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Steve Hooper, one of the founding members of Ignition Partners and the former CEO of AT&T Wireless, has joined the board of InfoSpace. It is a little unusual to see a venture capitalist take a board seat at a publicly-traded company, especially with one with as much history at InfoSpace. But the Bellevue company is… Read More…