Qualcomm Inc. launched its second-annual international venture investment competition, which aims to identify and fund promising early-stage technology companies. The Qualcomm Ventures QPrize competition is open to entrepreneurs in North America, Europe, China, South Korea, Israel and India. A total of $750,000 in total seed funding will be awarded. Qualcomm will select up to six finalists, with each finalist receiving $100,000 of convertible note funding. The grand prize winner will receive an additional $150,000 of convertible note funding. The deadline to submit business plans is Dec. 14.
Synchronica plc said it acquired iseemedia, a Canadian developer of mobile e-mail and content delivery platforms. The deal gives Synchronica a strong presence in India and gives it iseemedia’s entry-level messaging services designed for emerging markets.
IBM and Netezza Corp. entered a definitive agreement that calls for IBM to acquire Marlborough, Mass.-based Netezza. The deal is valued at $1.7 billion. IBM said the acquisition will expand its business analytics initiatives. The deal is subject shareholder approvals and regulatory clearances and is expected to close this year.
Texas Instruments‘ board of directors authorized the company to repurchase an additional $7.5 billion worth of its common stock. This builds on an authorization to repurchase $1.3 billion the board approved this summer. In total, the board has authorized $27.5 billion of stock repurchases since September 2004 and reduced its outstanding shares by 533 million. The company also announced it plans to raise its quarterly cash dividend by one penny to 13 cents per common share.
Research In Motion Ltd. said its second-quarter revenues grew 31% to $4.62 billion from $3.53 billion during the same quarter last year. Net income for the quarter was $796.7 million, or $1.46, compared with net income of $786.9 million, or $1.38 per share, during the same period a year ago.
