Either way he’s invested in the Berlin based startup, along with Accel Partners, Simon Levene, Michael Birch, Joachim Schoss, Martin Sinner, Ulrich Essmann, Christian Vollmann and Rolf Christof Dienst. Cohler, Levene and Schoss also join the company’s board of directors. Oddly the company won’t disclose the size of the round, other than to say it’s a typical series A round, which implies $5 million or so.

We first wrote about ResearchGate in May, when Leena Rao called it, ahem, LinkedIn for scientists (I know, but context is always nice):

The news was unveiled at a 3,000-strong Salesforce conference in London today. Below we have an exclusive interview with Loic Le Meur of Seesmic and Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.

Once you see Seesmic working with Salesforce’s Chatter it make perfect sense. Suddenly you can be having internal and external conversations at once.

Salesforce Chatter, which was originally announced last November, was launched into public beta in June after four months in private beta. In the realtime collaboration platform’s firts three months open to the public, Chatter has been adopted by 25,000 companies; with 25 percent of Salesforce’s client base using the platform. .

Chatter Mobile includes all of the functionality of the web-based product. With Chatter Mobile, users will be able to monitor their Chatter feeds, including posts from colleagues and alerts from apps, as well as post status updates and comment on conversations taking place within their company.

Chatter was launched as a platform to deliver realtime access to data and information, using social sources, such as YouTube and Twitter. Similar to interactions on Facebook, employees can create business profiles with professional information like personal contact data, area of expertise, and work history. Searching other people’s profiles, colleagues can quickly identify individuals who are relevant to their enterprise needs. Users can post status updates to share communications, files and links around a project, sales deal or customer support case. And users can see realtime feeds of personalized updates from people, applications and documents.

Of course, with a mobile platform, it would make sense for Chatter to leverage GPS of users and get into the location game. However, Salesforce says that while location-based services aren’t shipping out on the first version of the app, location features could be included in future versions. Salesforce is also announcing that third parties can now integrate Chatter into their mobile apps as well.

Originally Chatter was available within the Salesfore CRM apps, which have seen 250,000 downloads from the Apple App Store and more than 100,000 from the BlackBerry App World (You can see a demonstration of the Chatter on the CRM app here.)

Salesforce Chatter is included at no additional charge to all paying user subscriptions of Salesforce CRM and Force.com, with Chatter-only user licenses available for customers using Professional Edition, Enterprise Edition or Unlimited Edition for $15 per user. Mobile apps will be available at no additional charge for Salesforce CRM and Force.com subscribers.

Chatter Mobile apps for BlackBerry, iPad, iPhone and the new iPod touch are currently scheduled to be available in late 2010. Chatter Mobile for Android devices is currently scheduled to be available in the first half of 2011.

With the launch of mobile apps and a mobile app ecosystem, it looks like Chatter is becoming a full-fledged independent platform. Earlier this spring, Salesforce launched an app marketplace for Chatter, called ChatterExchange. As the need for social networks within the enterprise grows, Salesforce wants Chatter to be a viable option for existing customers and new customers who may not have need for the CRM application or Force.com platform.

However, while Chatter looks and feels like a social network, CEO and founder Marc Benioff has been fairly adamant that Chatter is best characterized as a collaboration platform, not a social network.

That being said, the social network/collaboration platform is a competitive space. Yammer is launching soon as a full-fledged social network for the enterprise, and Jive, Bantam Live, and SuccessFactor’s CubeTree also offer compelling products.

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

While full-time tech jobs might not be making a roaring comeback, freelance and part-time work seems to be picking up the slack. One data point just came out today illustrating the shift to freelance and online work. Online outsourcer oDesk passed one million hours of work on its system for the first time in the month of August. A year ago, workers on oDesk were logging less than half of that, about 400,000 hours per month. Online hiring is up 129 percent since last year, compared to flat employment growth in the larger economy.

The work on oDesk is spread across 215,000 employers and 720,000 contractors, whose desktops are monitored by oDesk’s software. The top three job categories on oDesk are Web Programming, Web Design, and Blog & Article Writing. Cumulatively, employers have paid out more than $185 million to online workers through oDesk, up from the $100-million mark last October.

A couple other key stats: eCommerce sites are hiring 70 percent more Web developers than a year go. While many of these online workers are overseas in the Philippines, India, Pakistan, and Russia, the U.S. is the the largest source of online workers on oDesk. California is the top state for virtual workers, and the top ten cities in the U.S. where virtual workers live are:

1. Manhattan
2. Los Angeles
3. San Francisco
4. Austin
5. Chicago
6. Pittsburgh
7. Brooklyn
8. San Diego
9. Miami
10. Charlotte

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

Apptio, a Bellevue, Washington-based provider of SaaS-delivered Technology Business Management solutions this morning announced that it has closed a $16.5 million Series C round – the company has now raised up to $37.5 million in venture capital.

The financing round, which the company says was oversubscribed, was led by Shasta Ventures, with participation from all current investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock Partners and Madrona Venture Group.

The additional capital will be used to scale Apptio’s business across all functions and enter new markets with its solutions, which help businesses manage the cost, quality and value of IT services. Apptio claims the additional funding comes on the heels of 300 percent year-over-year bookings growth.

Apptio’s aptly named Technology Business Management solutions provide a single source of record for both IT financial and operational data, data analytics to drive real-time decision support, and applications to automate TBM challenges and streamline business processes. Apptio delivers this technology on-demand in a SaaS model to maximize business value.

Apptio’s customer roster includes Alaska Airlines, Blue Cross Blue Shield, BNP Paribas, Cisco, Expedia, Hallmark, JPMorgan Chase and Starbucks.

The company says it has recruited more than 30 employees since the beginning of the year, with 30 additional hires expected by the end of 2010.

Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors

Cisco this morning announced its intent to acquire privately-held Arch Rock, which specializes in IP-based wireless sensor network technology with a focus on energy and environmental monitoring and Smart Grid applications.

Financial terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

Based in San Francisco, Arch Rock will help Cisco accelerate the company’s ability to facilitate the utility industry’s transition to an open and interoperable smart grid and enable Cisco to offer a fully IP and open-standards based advanced metering infrastructure solution.

Arch Rock’s technology is designed to enable utilities to connect smart meters and other distributed intelligent devices over a scalable multi-way wireless mesh network. The acquisition complements the recently announced strategic alliance between Itron and Cisco to develop solutions that enhance smart-metering technology.

Upon the close of the acquisition, which is expected to follow in the second half of calendar year 2010 pending regulatory approvals, the Arch Rock team will become part of Cisco’s Smart Grid business unit.

Arch Rock raised $15 million in venture capital from New Enterprise Associates, Intel Capital and Shasta Ventures.

Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors

And Vidyo has built a big business licensing its technology to large electronics companies, such as HP, Intel and Hitachi. Vidyo’s technology is also used by Google to power video for Google Chat.

And as the enterprise is increasingly becoming reliant on mobile devices for connectivity, Vidyo is making a strong push for its mobile technologies. The company has submitted an iPhone and iPad app to the App Store for approval, which will allow Vidyo customers to access the video conferencing product from their iOS devices (pictured above with CEO Ofer Shapiro). Here’s a video of Vidyo’s mobile technologies in action.

The idea is that you will be able to access and connect with Vidyo from any platform, whether it be an Android phone, iPad or computer. Shapiro says that increasingly clients are demanding cross-platform technologies for video conferencing; meaning that users on a variety of devices can all access the same video conference. And the company will be launching apps on other mobile platforms, including Android, soon.

Of course, it’s important to note that anyone using Vidyo’s iPad app will not be able to turn on video for themselves but the iPhone 4′s front-facing camera will be able to do this. However, Vidyo believes that next-generation versions of the iPad will have a front-facing camera included.

Of course, Vidyo isn’t the only player eying the potential for video conferencing to take off in the enterprise world. Cisco is rumored to be in talks with Skype; who just launched a nifty group video call feature for up to ten people. Skype, which filed for an IPO in early August, is looking for revenue channels and unsurprisingly sees potential in enterprise use of the service.

Another end game for Vidyo, who has raised a whopping $63 million in funding, could be an acquisition from one of the companies that licenses its video conferencing technology, such as Google, HP or others.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Dell had previously signed an agreement to acquire 3PAR for $18 per share or $1.13 billion, with a provision for matching competing bids. HP then effectively outbid the company and offered $1.6 billion, but Dell matched that offer yesterday, after which HP made a renewed bid for $1.8 billion. HP then offered $2 billion last Friday.

According to the release, the 3PAR board of directors has determined that HP’s revised proposal constitutes a “Superior Proposal” (as that term is defined in 3PAR’s merger agreement with Dell). Accordingly, 3PAR notified Dell of its intention to terminate its merger agreement with Dell immediately following the expiration of the three business day period contemplated by, and the satisfaction of the other conditions set forth in, its merger agreement with Dell in order to enter into a merger agreement with HP on the terms set forth in HP’s revised acquisition proposal.

This latest offer more than doubles Dell’s original bid for 3PAR, which was high to begin with. 3PAR provides a virtualized utility storage platform that enables customers to significant drive down cloud computing infrastructure, storage and associated management costs.

It looks like this bidding war has come to an end, folks.

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

This morning, HP upped the ante with an offer worth $33 per share or $2.4 billion. 3PAR accepted HP’s bid and Dell withdrew.

The bidding war began when Dell had previously signed an agreement to acquire 3PAR for $18 per share or $1.13 billion two weeks ago, with a provision for matching competing bids. HP then effectively outbid the company and offered $1.6 billion, but Dell matched that offer last week, after which HP made a renewed bid for $1.8 billion. HP then offered $2 billion last Friday, which Dell matched. Now that Dell has pulled out, it will collect a $72 million termination fee from 3PAR for terminating the merger agreement.

According to the release, 3PAR’s storage products will compliment HP’s existing storage solutions and help the company drive growth in the virtual data center and cloud computing markets. 3PAR provides a virtualized utility storage platform that enables customers to significant drive down cloud computing infrastructure, storage and associated management costs.

Dave Donatelli, executive vice president and general manager, Enterprise Servers, Storage and Networking, HP stated in the release: “HP and 3PAR is a winning combination that will accelerate HP’s Converged Infrastructure strategy and bolster our ability to provide customers with the industry’s highest levels of performance, efficiency and reliability…We intend to invest in 3PAR’s technology to create long-term value for our stakeholders.”

So why did HP want 3PAR so bad? As TechCrunch contributor Steve Cheney wrote last weekend, 3PAR is so valuable because of its “thin provisioning” technology enables disk space to be allocated only when applications need capacity, greatly reducing IT management costs. It doesn’t make sense for HP to try to recreate this technology, so buying 3PAR was the best option. HP, in particular, wants to increase its innovations, especially after reports that Mark Hurd wasn’t an R&D friendly CEO.

After two weeks of a pretty intense bidding war, it looks like we can finally put this one to rest.

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.