BEST OF THE WEB: The 15 tech start-ups worth $100 million each

The tech industry has been one of the fastest-growing industries over the past few years and despite fears of the bubble bursting many companies have sustained their valuations for quite a while, even after going public.

But it’s hard to blame the analysts who believe the bubble is about to pop. 

This new piece on The Atlantic examines 15 companies – some barely a year old – that have valuations of $100 million.

They include social media iPad app Flipboard, iOS camera app Instagram and music streaming service Spotify, which has been around since 2006 but only started in the US this year.

Whether the tech industry is suffering a bubble or not right now, there is definitely no shortage of funding.

Hacking – the next big opportunity

The next big opportunity in tech is hacking. Never before has it been under the spotlight for so long and it’s continuing to increase.

As hackers become more sophisticated and target businesses, governments and critical data centres the worry over international hacking continues to grow.

But as this piece in the New York Times points out, many tech companies see an opportunity as hackers increasingly target internet-connected smart phones that contain crucial information, including bank account numbers and passwords.

A start-up called Lookout raised $US40 million to create an app that scans apps users download to their phones and it is a clear trend.

Lookout co-founder John Hering found that out a few years ago when, standing with a backpack near the Academy awards, he found up to 100 celebrities were carrying phones he could hack into.

“It’s very James Bond-type stuff,” he says, adding that the company plans to sell its services to businesses.

University of California researcher Giovanni Vigna told the publication mobile security will soon become second nature to desktop security.

“The moment malware starts using text messages and expensive minutes people have to pay for things will move a lot faster,” he said.

Amazon moves into the publishing

The tech industry is buzzing ahead of a busy week as it analyses yesterday’s Amazon press conference and prepares for next week’s iPhone announcement.

But there’s one aspect of the Amazon announcement that many are overlooking – that as well as seeking to control the eReader segment Amazon wants to move into publishing.

This piece in Fortune examines how exactly the company is working with publishers to give content directly to readers and while some writers praise the move others say they are being locked out of their own industry.

“Amazon is holding the entire book industry hostage,” says American Booksellers Association chief executive Oren Teicher, “First they disintermediated retailers and now it’s publishers and authors.”

The piece is a good example of how Amazon wants to offer content through its devices rather than just offering hardware.

“As more customers adopt Kindles, iPads and other devices that make e-books more attractive the print-to-digital shift will start snowballing,” it says.

“By expanding its own publishing arm Amazon accelerates the rate at which traditional publishers could find themselves entirely cut out of the supply chain.”

Challenging times for Groupon

Groupon was in the spotlight again this week after its chief operating officer quit and headed back to Google after only five months in the job.

It also amended its S-1 filing to reflect a change in the way it calculates its revenue, nearly having the total amount.

The change is only the latest in the long road to Groupon’s IPO, which reportedly had been delayed due to market volatility – it seems the company can’t catch a break.

This piece In All Things Digital by Kara Swisher gives a good outline of the entire situation and why Groupon is having so much trouble, but more importantly it examines the ultimate question of how the company gets past all this, even as it remains determined to go public.

“The aggressive accounting, quick change from using those controversial financial metrics and chaotic breakneck growth that makes the company look like a house on fire certainly creates a picture of drama at a time when calm is probably the image they would like to portray,” Swisher writes.

“While sources inside the company spin this as no big deal and can roll out plausible excuses for the COO departures — which mostly centre around the execs being a “bad fit” — such movements always create worry.”

It remains to be seen whether Groupon will continue to list before the end of the year and whether it will perform as well as many thought it would earlier in the year remains the more important question.