Daily Tech Snippet: Friday, May 27

• Google Prevails as Jury Rebuffs Oracle in Code Copyright Case: A jury ruled in favor of Google on Thursday in a long legal dispute withOracle over software used to power most of the world’s smartphones. Oracle contended that Google used copyrighted material in 11,000 of its 13 million lines of software code in Android, its mobile phone operating system. Oracle asked for $9 billion from Google. Google said it made fair use of that code and owed nothing. The victory for Google cheered other software developers, who operate much the way Google did when it comes to so-called open-source software. Unlike traditional software created by corporations and tightly held, open-source products are released, often with some restrictions, for anyone to use and modify. “Great news for progress and innovation,” Chris Dixon, a technology investor with Andreessen Horowitz, the venture capital firm, posted on Twitter after the verdict. Android relies in part on Java, an open-source software language that Oracle acquired when it bought Sun Microsystems for $7.4 billion in 2010. Oracle argued that Google executives violated Oracle’s copyright by using aspects of Java without permission. The courtroom fight was something of a watershed for technology and could offer clarity on legal rules surrounding open-source technology, which is used in everything from smartphones and digital recording devices to the software that runs many of the world’s biggest data centers. People who work with open-source technology worried that a victory for Oracle would have led other companies to make similar demands of open-source products. “It does give a lot of breathing room to other companies and individuals trying to do a lot of innovative activity,” said Parker Higgins, director of copyright activism at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights advocacy group.

• Bessemer-Backed Twilio Files for Initial Public Offering: Twilio Inc., the San Francisco-based company that helps clients including Uber Technologies Inc. build web and mobile applications, filed for an initial public offering. The software developer, backed by Bessemer Venture Partners, filed with an initial offering size of $100 million, a placeholder amount used to calculate fees that will probably change. Twilio had more than 28,000 active customers at the end of March, according to the prospectus filed Thursday. They include enterprise-software company Box Inc., department-store chain Nordstrom Inc. and rideshare company Uber. Twilio said in the filing its communications software is embedded in Uber’s mobile app, helping it update riders in real-time about their ride requests as well as helping the company scale its business. Bessemer holds a stake of 28.5 percent in Twilio, according to the prospectus. Union Square Ventures holds 13.6 percent and Fidelity owns 6.1 percent. Twilio has yet to make a profit. It posted a net loss of about $36 million in 2015, on sales of $167 million, even as revenue grew 88 percent that year after a 78 percent bump in 2014. The company said that it expects its growth rate to decline over time. WhatsApp Inc. contributed a significant chunk of that revenue. The messaging tool owned by Facebook Inc. uses Twilio’s technology in its applications to verify new and existing users. WhatsApp accounted for 17 percent of Twilio’s sales last year and 15 percent in the first three months of 2016.

• Snapchat raises $1.81 billion in new funding round: Messaging app Snapchat has raised $1.81 billion in funding, the company reported in a U.S. regulatory filing on Thursday, a sign that investor interest is strong despite concerns among some venture capitalists that the platform is struggling to attract advertisers. Venture capital database PitchBook estimated the company's valuation after the financing at $17.81 billion, up from $16 billion at it most recent financing in February.Snapchat, headquartered in Venice, California, has faced concerns from big investors familiar with the company that its estimated valuation is not justified because of an uneven revenue stream. Its advertising business, which began last October, is the company's only significant revenue source. But, with a strong user base of 13- to 24-year-olds, the app provides an attractive platform to reach millennials and hook young consumers on brands. The company has more than 100 million active users, about 60 percent of whom are 13- to 24-year-olds. Snapchat early this year raised $175 million from Fidelity Investments in a "flat round" of financing that did not adjust the company's valuation. The mutual fund bought shares at $30.72 each. Fidelity has repeatedly adjusted the estimated valuation of its stake in the company, slashing it by at least 25 percent last year only to boost it by more than 60 percent in February. Investors in this latest round include General Atlantic, Sequoia Capital, T. Rowe Price and Lone Pine, among others, tech blog TechCrunch reported on Thursday. TechCrunch also reported that Snapchat's revenues in 2015 were $59 million, according to a presentation to investors that was seen by the news site. That's up from $3.1 million for the first 11 months of 2014, sources told Reuters last year.
• InMobi grapples with senior, mid-level attrition amid concerns about future: Online advertising startup InMobi , one of India's early 'unicorns,' is struggling to retain senior executives amid questions about whether new strategic initiatives are working as well as worries about the future of the company. InMobi, which was founded by Naveen Tewari in 2007 and was the first startup in which Japan's SoftBank invested, now has some 1,500 employees compared to twice that number at its peak. The Japanese conglomerate, which has since backed Snapdeal and Ola, poured $200 million into InMobi in 2011 but wrote down most of that amount in 2014. The exits also come during a time when InMobi is struggling to raise funds and chart out a sustainable business model that can adapt to the massive changes that are taking place in the online and mobile advertising space, according to both current and former executives at the company. According to these executives, InMobi, which was estimated to be valued at $1 billion, now generates between around $300 million in annual revenue. InMobi has not registered profits since its founding in 2007. InMobi's challenges have been compounded by the fact that its flagship product Miip -- that targeted global retailers like Walmart -- hasn't taken off. Miip also took much longer than expected to scale and customers found the product underwhelming, according to at least two customers who have used the product.