Cupertino News Startup Ongo Gets $12M From Publishers

CUPERTINO (AP) - Ongo Inc., a Silicon Valley startup planning to launch a website for reading and sharing news from multiple sources, has received an initial round of funding from some of the country's top newspaper publishers.

The company said Wednesday that The New York Times Co., Washington Post Co. and Gannett Co., which publishes USA Today and other newspapers, have collectively invested $12 million.

The site, run by former eBay executive Alex Kazim, is expected to launch this year.

Its another example of the publishing industry's move toward new media partnerships as digital ad sales improve. Other initiatives have included mobile applications on smart phones and fees for reading news online.

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