CHART OF THE DAY: Ex-Googlers Get More Funding For Their Startups Than Other Big Company Refugees (GOOG, YHOO, MSFT)

Googlers who quit to form their own companies do get more venture funding than founders from other big tech companies.

That's according to research from online recruiting startup TopProspect, which has job data about more than three million tech workers (mostly in Silicon Valley) drawn from sources like LinkedIn and Facebook.

TopProspect took a look at startups founded in the last five years with publicly available funding information, and more than 10 employees in TopProspect's peer-recommended network (which shows they're a decent size and well-connected).

It found that ex-Yahoos have started the most companies in this category -- 15 total. But those companies have only received about $126 million in funding.

The 13 companies started by former Google employees, including Foursquare, Tapjoy, and Color, have raised almost $310 million in venture funding.

One reason is there are quite a few Silicon Valley angels and investors who also came from the company, like Chris Sacca, Aydin Senkut, and Paul Buccheit (who joined Y Combinator last year). It might also help that Google is the most acquisitive of the big tech companies right now -- and occasionally buys back its own spawn, like it did with Aardvark.

TopProspect also found that former Microsoft employees fared well with venture money (14 founders raised $189 million). Companies started by Facebook founders are hot on buzz -- Path, Asana, and Quora were all founded by ex-Facebookers -- but there are only 7 of them and they're still relatively young, so haven't gotten as much money yet -- only about $65 million.

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See Also:

• The Firefox People Are Building A Mobile OS
• THE GOOGLE INVESTOR: Baidu Continues To Push Google Aside, Dominates In China
• The Ex-Leader Of Microsoft's Fastest Growing Business Lands At Juniper Networks

CHART OF THE DAY: Ex-Googlers Get More Funding For Their Startups Than Other Big Company Refugees (GOOG, YHOO, MSFT)

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CHART OF THE DAY: This Is What Microsoft Is Getting For Its Big Bing Investment

After spending billions of dollars over the last two years fighting Google with Bing, what does Microsoft have to show for it?

Not much from a marketshare perspective. The latest comScore data shows Bing's share is at 14.4%, and it's not exactly growing like a weed. 

If you're looking for something positive in here from Microsoft's perspective, it's that Google's share has been stalled at 65% in the U.S.

Don't Miss: Can We Stop Pretending Bing Is Doing Well?

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• Ballmer Talks About How Skype Will Fit Into Microsoft
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CHART OF THE DAY: This Is What Microsoft Is Getting For Its Big Bing Investment

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China Wants To Buy A Big Piece Of Facebook

China wants to buy a huge chunk of Facebook, a source at a fund that buys stock from former Facebook employees tells us.

This source learned of China's interest when it approached him to see if he could help put together a stake large enough "to matter."

Seperately, a source close to Facebook employees tells us there is a rumor going around the company that Citibank is at this very moment trying to acquire as much as $1.2 billion worth of Facebook stock on behalf of two sovereign wealth funds –  China's and another from the Middle East.  Another source from an investment bank that is very influential in Silicon Valley says he's also heard a rumor about Citibank's interest on behalf of China.

Representatives from Facebook and Citibank declined to comment on this story. We reached out to China's investment group, but haven't heard back.

Word that China, a state that actively combats privacy online, wants to buy a big stake in Facebook is bound to provoke some concern amongst the 700 million or so people who trust the site with their photos and online activity.

There's little need for such concern. For one, even a billion dollar stake isn't a very big stake in Facebook, these days. The company is expected to IPO at a $100 billion valuation. For another, China would be buying non-voting stock and would have no say in Facebok's operations. And finally, it's not like shareholders in Facebook have some special privilege that allows them to see what users are doing or saying.

Importantly, sovereign wealth funds are pretty distinct from their governments.

Because it's a private company, Facebook will have to approve any sale of its stock to China. We imagine it will. It's been reported that Mark Zuckerberg would like Facebook to move into China. One big reason American firms stumble in China is that the government tends to favor locals when it comes to regulation. One way to make sure that doesn't happen is to allow the governement to own a stake.

Related: 10 Ways Google+ Just Copied Facebook

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China Wants To Buy A Big Piece Of Facebook

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Android Or iPhone? Here's What The Big Names In Tech Use

We mined the Twitter accounts of the technology and startup elite to figure out their choices on the age-old question: Android or iPhone?

Or even Blackberry and Windows Phone 7, perhaps?

You may be surprised at what we found out.

Dennis Crowley, co-founder of Foursquare: iPhone

Dennis Crowley tweets from his iPhone to talk about Dirk Nowitzki.

Fred Wilson, principal of Union Square Ventures: Android

Fred uses an Android device to tweet about good-smelling parks.

Steve Case, co-founder of AOL: iPhone

Case uses an iPhone to tweet about entrepreneurs.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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• The Truth About iOS 5: Apple Can't Be Beat
• 10 Things In iOS 5 Apple Is Still Hiding From You
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Android Or iPhone? Here's What The Big Names In Tech Use

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