Ok, it was started by a former MS exec and funded by Gates... that's shitty, but Microsoft has lots of former employees and I'm sure Gates invests in lots of things. For all we know it was a family office investment that he wasn't even aware of... or the dude was a friend or something.
Microsoft doesn't have a stake in the company nor do they provide the company with any assistance..? Unless there's more to the story I think it's kind of a stretch to say that this is a Microsoft operation. According to Wikipedia they've actually _sued_ Microsoft.
Upon closer inspection it appears that you are correct. I interpreted "raised" as "extorted." That still may be the case (the cited source is a dead link) but I think you are right... particularly since some of the names listed are venture firms.
Whatever the case, IV is quite an enigma... founded by the creator of MS Research (which is a great group), funded by Reasonable People, but apparently sketchy as hell. I'm intrigued and will definitely be digging deeper into their story. Thanks for bringing them to my attention.
People who like Bill Gates believe it is a bad idea to volunteer your time. If you can earn $60 an hour, you should earn that $60 doing whatever you have to do so thus way you can later pay for four hours at $15.
I don't know. I mean it looks better than earning that $60 and not putting towards a charity?
http://techrights.org/wiki/index.php/Intellectual_Ventures
http://techrights.org/2014/12/16/trolling-not-working-out/