Cisco buys tech IPO candidate AppDynamics for $3.7 billionSo much for the first tech IPO of the year. Cisco just snapped up AppDynamics for $3.7 billion, one day before the software developer was scheduled to sell shares to the public at a valuation of less than $2 billion. AppDynamics develops software to help companies ranging from Capital One Financial to Expedia monitor their mobile apps and websites for bugs and fix them before customers drop off. Founded in 2008, the company generated revenue of $158.4 million in the first nine months of 2016, up 54 percent from the prior year. Prominent Silicon Valley lawyer Ted Wang is joining Cowboy Ventures as a partnerTed Wang, a high-profile Silicon Valley lawyer to some of tech’s most prominent companies, is leaving his legal briefs behind and joining seed-stage-focused investment firm Cowboy Ventures. Wang has spent the last decade at Fenwick & West, where clients included Facebook, Path, Square, StumbleUpon, Twitter, Sonos and Dropbox. He becomes the first general partner at Cowboy, founded by longtime VC Aileen Lee (also known as “she who invented the term ‘unicorn’” for hot startups). With two funds raised, totaling $100 million, it has invested in the early stages of companies such as Dollar Shave Club, Brit + Co, Soma, Product Hunt and Memebox. The small firm has only two other employees — a talent partner and an associate — both of whom happen to be women. [ Re/code ] America's Modern Immigrants Compete for a Different Set of JobsNewcomers have become more often Asian and educated. Immigrants entering the U.S. after 2010 look a lot different than their predecessors, based on a new analysis by Indeed Chief Economist Jed Kolko. Starting with origins, there's been a major shift away from Hispanic immigration. Looking at all immigrants in the U.S., half were born in Latin America, with 27 percent from Mexico. By contrast, only one-third of recent immigrants were born in Latin America, and 12 percent came from Mexico. These days, 45 percent are Asian. [ Bloomberg ] Exclusive : Magic Leap Stock Takes a TumbleInvestors have slashed the price they’re willing to pay for Magic Leap stock in the secondary market by about 20% in recent weeks, say stockbrokers, a turnabout for one of last year’s most coveted private tech stocks. The stock slump follows a critical report in The Information in early December that called into question the mixed reality startup’s prospects. The report, which was widely picked up by other media, said that Magic Leap’s forthcoming product won’t include the technology that has dazzled people in private demonstrations. It suggested Magic Leap was already well behind Microsoft, whose competing HoloLens product is already available. [ The Information ] Axios aims to speak the language of the swampCROWDED AROUND THREE TABLES, about 15 journalists clack away on laptops. A web of power cords crisscrosses the floor, balled-up fast food wrappers overflow from waste baskets, and a side-table displays what seems like every flavor of Doritos imaginable. It’s early afternoon on Wednesday, and the Axios website launched just hours earlier. “Most of these people didn’t go to bed last night,” says Jim VandeHei, describing the “orderly insanity” in the nascent company’s makeshift newsroom. [ Columbia Journalism Review ] The Startup Idea MatrixI meet a lot of people who are interested in starting a company, but haven’t found an idea they are excited to work on for the next 5 to 10 years. I generally think it is smart to have patience in finding an idea that pulls you in: a market or opportunity you can’t imagine not pursuing. Patience in the near-term will save you a lot of time in the long-term. New American shoe and bag companies are making classic Italian craftsmanship accessible to the masses via direct-to-consumer business models. As Trump Inspires More Women to Run, This Mayor Explains How She ‘Googled’ Her Way Into OfficeWhy I’ve Had Trouble Writing About Politics Since The Election And How I’m Solving ItHunter Walk
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