SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Target Corp (TGT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Friday it opened a new San Francisco office to track down technology companies that can help the second-largest U.S. retailer grow its online commerce business.

Target’s Technology Innovation Center is run by David Newman, an executive who spent six years at the online business of Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which has had a major presence in Silicon Valley for several years.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc decided not to turn pilot project “Zombieland” into a full TV series, but is going ahead with “Alpha House,” as the world’s largest online retailer enters the next stage of its foray into original video creation.

“Zombieland” writer and producer Rhett Reese wrote on Twitter that Amazon’s decision was “sad for everyone” and blamed it on negative online reviews of the pilot by viewers.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 16 (Reuters) – Developers at eBay Inc
are working on potential applications for Google Inc’s
Glass project, opening up the possibility that shopping
and broader commercial activities might be conducted through the
wearable technology.

“EBay Inc is participating in the beta of Google Glass and
we are exploring the various use-case scenarios,” said eBay
spokeswoman Amanda Miller.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 16 (Reuters) – Former Groupon Inc.
Chief Executive Andrew Mason is moving to San Francisco
to start a company after recently recording an album of
“motivational business music,” according to an update on his
blog on Thursday.

“If there’s a silver lining to leaving Groupon, it’s the
opportunity to start something new,” Mason wrote. “I’ve
accumulated a backlog of ideas over the last several years, my
favorite of which I’ll be turning into a new company this fall.”

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Apptio, a start-up that helps big companies like Boeing Co track billions of dollars in technology spending, said on Wednesday that it raised $45 million from institutional investment firms including Janus Capital Group.

T. Rowe Price; The Hillman Company, the investment firm of billionaire Henry Hillman; and existing venture capital backers including Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock Partners and Madrona Venture Group, also invested.

BOSTON (Reuters) – Jana Partners, one of the leading activist hedge fund firms run by Barry Rosenstein, has taken a liking to two of the most beaten-up technology stocks, giving a fillip to the share prices of both companies Wednesday.

Groupon climbed 5.5 percent to $7.28 in midday trading, a nine-month high. Zynga Inc. shares jumped 7 percent to $3.57.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – As Amazon.com Inc(AMZN.O: Quote, Profile, Research) seeks to transform itself into a leading provider of technology to the world’s largest corporations, it’s discovering that it needs help.

The online retailer, which since 2006 has moved aggressively into the business of renting remote computing, storage and other IT services, is roping in thousands of consulting and technology partners, from Cap Gemini SA (CAPP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) to BMC Software Inc (BMC.O: Quote, Profile, Research), in a major push to woo big-spending corporate customers to its cloud computing division.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – As Amazon.com Inc seeks to transform itself into a leading provider of technology to the world’s largest corporations, it’s discovering that it needs help.

The online retailer, which since 2006 has moved aggressively into the business of renting remote computing, storage and other IT services, is roping in thousands of consulting and technology partners, from Cap Gemini SA to BMC Software Inc, in a major push to woo big-spending corporate customers to its cloud computing division.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 14 (Reuters) – Kabbage, a start-up that
specializes in financing for small online merchants, has teamed
up with Intuit Inc to expand its service to
bricks-and-mortar businesses.

Kabbage said on Tuesday it will use data from QuickBooks,
Intuit’s accounting software, to make quick decisions on whether
to extend financing to businesses that use the software.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc said on Monday it had acquired Liquavista NV from Samsung Electronics Co to help the world’s largest Internet retailer develop new displays for mobile devices.

Amazon also launched its own digital currency, Amazon Coins, on Monday, allowing people to buy apps and games in its app store and on its Kindle Fire tablet computers.