Cisco has posted an update to its Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast to include numbers from 2011.  Here's a link to the press release:   http://www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/collateral/ns341/ns525/ns537/ns705/ns827/white_paper_c11-520862.html

A few interesting take-aways from the press release headnotes:

• Global mobile data traffic doubled in 2011, for the fourth year in a row.  Cisco estimates that traffic will over double in 2012.
• Global mobile data traffic in 2011 was more than 8 times the entire global internet in 2000.
• The number of mobile-connected devices will exceed the world's population in 2012 (Cisco estimates).
• Global mobile traffic will grow 18-fold between 2011 and 2016, for a compound annual growth rate of 78%.

There is a lot of information here, but the bottom line is that growth in international mobile data is exploding.  Carriers will have huge challenges with dealing with this incredible growth.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has commenced an informal examination into the Private Equity industry, according to a report by the NYTimes.com DealBook entitled "Private Equity Industry Attracts S.E.C. Scrutiny".  Areas of interest include valuation of private holdings and returns.  The SEC has a new asset management unit that is leading the examination of the industry.  Here's a link to the story:   http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/private-equity-industry-attracts-s-e-c-scrutiny/

There's a good posting on TechCrunch discussing the trend that venture capital firms are hiring public relations experts to assist their portfolio companies with their outreach.  The article is called "Why VCs are Getting into PR".  Firms including Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sequoia all have in-house PR teams.  Here's the link:   http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/12/why-vcs-are-getting-into-pr/ 

The NYTimes.com recently published a good overview of Big Data entitled "The Age of Big Data".  The explosive growth of data creates new opportunities to analyze, interpret and use this data to help companies use the data to make better business decisions.  Think "Moneyball" on a massive scale.  This is a growing area of interest for venture capitalists.  The article provides a really good overview of Big Data and the opportunity it provides.  Here's the link:   http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/sunday-review/big-datas-impact-in-the-world.html?pagewanted=all

Reuters reports that Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is considering starting a new fund focused on investments in cloud computing startup companies.  It's unclear from the story whether this would be a new, separate fund raised from investors, or a "fund" which is created by allocating monies from its other funds.  Kleiner has two other funds that are pursuing focused strategies: an iFund which invests in apps and solutions for mobile devices; and a fund that focuses on social startups.  Here's a link to the article:   http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-10/kleiner-perkins-considering-new-fund-for-cloud-computing-services-startups.html

The upcoming issue of Forbes has a profile of Silicon Valley super angel Ron Conway.  It's an interesting article, and well worth a read.  Here's the link:  http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/02/10/ron-conway-sv-angel/

There's an interesting article on Forbes.com by Scott Shane entitled "The Health of the Venture Capital Industry."  This article examines the health of the industry by looking at exits (IPO and M&A) of venture capital-backed companies as a percentage of venture capital investments made five years earlier.  The article is short but interesting and provides some food for thought.  

The reason to measure exits as a percentage of investments five years earlier is that it takes time for a company to progress from investment to exit.  According to Dow Jones VentureSource, in 2011 the median time from initial equity funding to exit by M&A was 5.3 years and 6.5 years for IPOs.  So Mr. Shane's assumption of five years is reasonable.

Here's a link to the article:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottshane/2012/02/09/the-health-of-the-venture-capital-industry/ 

There have been several reports of a target valuation range for Facebook in the $75 to $100 billion range.  However, in a recent posting on the WSJ.com's Venture Capital Dispatch blog, Facebook's valuation is pegged at $69.3 billion, based on secondary trading in the company's shares.  Here's a link to the story:   http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2012/02/07/whats-a-piece-of-facebook-really-worth/

Here are some links to stories pegging Facebook's target IPO valuation at $75 to $100 billion:
WSJ.com:  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204879004577110780078310366.html 
LA Times:http://articles.latimes.com/2012/feb/01/business/la-fiw-facebookipo-web-20120201 

The NYTimes.com recently featured an article "Losing a Goose That Laid the Golden Egg", which discusses the online secondary exchanges that facilitate trading in private companies such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Zynga and Groupon.  These exchanges, which include SecondMarket and SharesPost, facilitate trades by existing investors in these private companies that want liquidity prior to a company's initial public offering.  It is also a way for venture capital firms to obtain positions in high profile companies without participating in a formal financing round.  The article discusses the market for these secondary exchanges and the challenges they face as the recent crop of high profile companies go public and there is no longer need for the secondary exchanges.  Here's the link:   http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/02/02/losing-the-goose-that-laid-the-golden-egg/?scp=4&sq=secondary&st=cse

Brightcove, an online video platform, has set its terms for its initial public offering (IPO).  The company is planning to sell 5 million shares at a price range of $10 to $12 per share.  At the midpoint of the range, Brightcove would raise $55 million in the IPO this implies an IPO valuation of roughly $290 million.  Brightcove initially filed its S-1 registration statement with the SEC in August, and with this amendment, indicates that its IPO will price very soon.  Here's a link to the registration statement on the SEC's website:   http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1313275/000119312512040155/d200370ds1a.htmhttp://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/02/06/brightcove-looks-to-raise-55-million-in-i-p-o/ 
http://gigaom.com/video/brightcove-ip-facts/ 

The venture industry is talking about the Series A funding crunch, but there is another crunch out there: the talent crunch.  Several VCs have discussed the problem, which is particularly acute in Silicon Valley: a dearth of talent.  This means that when start-up companies pitch to VCs, one element that VCs consider is whether the company has the requisite talent (engineering, software developers, etc.) on board; if not, the company may face greater scrutiny by VCs.

A post today by Tom Foremski on his blog Silicon Valley Watcher discusses this issue.  HIs post is entitled "The Dirty Little Secret Of Silicon Valley's Startup Boom..." and is worth a read.  He discusses the talent crunch in the context of entrepreneurs receiving angel funding, building the company quickly and selling to larger companies.  The premise is that the larger companies are in many cases acquiring these small startups for the engineering talent alone.  Here's the link:  http://www.siliconvalleywatcher.com/mt/archives/2012/02/the_dirty_littl_1.php 

Bill Gurley is a General Partner at Benchmark Capital, and formerly was a Wall Street research analyst focusing on personal computer hardware and software.  An earlier post on his abovethecrowd.com blog entitled "All Revenue Is Not Created Equal: The Keys To The 10X Revenue Club" provides an insightful look about using price/revenue multiples for valuation purposes.  This article is very insightful and well worth a read.  Here's the link:   http://abovethecrowd.com/2011/05/24/all-revenue-is-not-created-equal-the-keys-to-the-10x-revenue-club/

Yesterday Bill posted his thoughts on why Facebook belongs in the 10X revenue club.  It applies the factors from his prior post and in Bill's words "Facebook is a shoe-in fort he 10X+ revenue club."  This is an insightful post and a good read.  Here's the link:   http://abovethecrowd.com/2012/02/01/why-facebook-clearly-belongs-in-the-10x-revenue-club/

Facebook has filed its S-1 Registration Statement with the SEC for its initial public offering.  Here's a link to the filing:   http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1326801/000119312512034517/d287954ds1.htm
Note that the SEC website is taking a long time to respond (Facebook overload?).

According to the S-1, the maximum IPO size is planned at $5 billion, and the company and certain selling shareholders (to be disclosed later) will offer shares of Class A common stock in the IPO.  Note that the Class B common stock has super voting rights (10 votes per share) and is held by insiders and certain investors.  Also note that the $5 billion IPO size is disclosed for filing fee purposes; the actual amount may be more (or less).  Reports have the ultimate target at $10 billion.

Morgan Stanley has the coveted "left lead" position and is joined by JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley on the top line, suggesting that they will be co-lead managers or co-bookrunning managers.  Bof A Merrill Lynch, Garclays Capital and Allen & Company are on the second line, suggesting co-manager or co-lead manager positions.  As the IPO grows near, more underwriters may be added to the syndicate.

Facebook had $3.7 billion in revenue in 2011 and net income of $1 billion.  Operating income (EBIT) was $1.756 billion, for a healthy EBIT margin of 47%.Reports have Facebook being valued at between $75 and $100 billion.

Venture capital investors in Facebook include Accel Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Elevation Partners, Founders Fund, Greylock Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Meritech Capital Partners, Millennium Technology Value Partners and Technology Crossover Ventures.  

Here are links to articles discussing the IPO:
WSJ: "Facebook Files for IPO."  Link:  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204879004577110780078310366.html?mod=WSJ_Home_largeHeadline 

WSJ: "Facebook Taps Morgan Stanley, Goldman."  Link:   http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203920204577197443510392180.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories 

CNN:  "Facebook IPO: Morgan Stanley is Big Winner."  Link:  http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/01/markets/facebook_morgan_stanley/ 

Fortune: "OMG! Facebook Files for IPO."  Link:  http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2012/02/01/omg-facebook-files-for-ipo/?iid=SF_F_Lead