LinkedIn is buying up personalization technology startup mSpoke in what is its first acquisition ever. MSpoke’s customers include publishers who use its technology to recommend content for visitors to read.

In an interview with Mike Cassidy, Google s new director of product management, USA Today calls the entrepreneur The Start-Up King of Silicon Valley.

VigLink, a Google-backed startup that helps publishers monetize the traffic they send to e-commerce sites, is buying more established rival DrivingRevenue. Like VigLink, which launched its service earlier this year, DrivingRevenue provides customers with a few lines of code which they embed on their sites in order to automaticalaly enroll in thousands of affiliate marketing programs; they get a commission whenever visitors click on a link to a third party site and make a purchase.

VigLink, a Google-backed startup that helps publishers monetize the traffic they send to e-commerce sites, is buying more established rival DrivingRevenue. Like VigLink, which launched its service earlier this year, DrivingRevenue provides customers with a few lines of code which they embed on their sites in order to automaticalaly enroll in thousands of affiliate marketing programs; they get a commission whenever visitors click on a link to a third party site and make a purchase.

A $5.5 million gift by Venture Philanthropy Partners will fund the Washington, D.C. Knowledge Is Power Program schools. According to The Washington Post, the grant is to be announced Monday and will dramatically help expand the network of high-performing charter schools in the city.

The Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group planned to buy BNP Paribas s stake in a Chinese fund venture for $50 million, giving Japan s biggest bank access to China s $300 billion mutual funds market, Reuters reported, citing two sources with direct knowledge of the deal.

AdMeld, one of several startups promising to help online publishers optimize their advertising, has attracted new backing from both the venture and media world. It just raised a $15 million third round led by Norwest Venture Partners, with contributions from Time Warner Investments.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group plans to buy BNP Paribas stake in a Chinese fund venture for $50 million, giving Japan s biggest bank access to China s $300 billion mutual funds market, two sources with direct knowledge of the deal said on Monday.

Foursquare Raises New Funds Foursquare, a location-based social networking startup, raised $20 million from a group of venture capitalists to help fuel its expansion. WalkAbout: Foursquare Co-Founder in the East Village

Warner Chilcott , a specialty pharmaceutical company, shot into the green nearly 6% Friday after it announced a recapitalization plan where it intends to incur $2.25 billion of new debt to fund a special dividend to its shareholders before the end of the third quarter.

There was a great conversation Thursday at Y Combinator s AngelConf in Silicon Valley. Anthony Ha of Venturebeat had a couple posts on it that I just read, one on Paul Graham s comments, and another on Ron Conway and Mike Arrington s comments.

The Hawaii Venture Capital Association is endorsing Democrat Neil Abercrombie in his run for governor. The business group representing the interests of the state s $3.5 billion technology industry said Thursday that the former congressman would help Hawaii diversify its economy.

Confidence among venture capitalists in Silicon Valley weakened in the second quarter, according to a new industry report, as concerns over financing, the economy and new regulations added to an already tough working environment.

Applied Signal Technology Inc., a maker of intelligence and surveillance products, said Thursday that it signed a defense and security strategic partnership deal with Harris Corp.

EWise, an online payments and financial management solutions company, has secured $12.1 million in funding, the start-up announced Wednesday.

The Money Hunt VCs Stretched on Many Boards Entrepreneurs looking for sage advice from their investors say they re encountering a problem: Some venture capitalists are juggling too many companies.

An energy startup from Canada on Tuesday defended its plan to launch the first significant U.S. oil sands project in eastern Utah, after opponents argued it would dig up fragile topsoil and pollute groundwater.

If you get the job, be sure to let us know what this startup actually does.

The patent research startup has now raised $8 million to date.

Merck in Talks for China Partnership Merck is in talks with China s Sinopharm for a venture to market vaccines and, potentially, Merck drugs.