Amazon Takes on Zynga: Tech Winners & Losers

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Amazon (AMZN) is taking on Zynga (ZNGA) by building a team of social game developers. Amazon Game Studios is launching its first social game called Living Classics on Facebook (FB) on Tuesday.

"Why is Amazon making social games, you ask? Good question!" Amazon said in a blog post on Tuesday. "We know that many Amazon customers enjoy playing games - including free-to-play social games - and thanks to Amazon's know-how, we believe we can deliver a great, accessible gaming experience that gamers and our customers can play any time."

Shares of the online retail giant edged up 0.76% to $1.77 on Tuesday. Shares of Zynga (ZNGA) also climbed, up 3.96% to $3.06.

McAfee, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel (INTC), won a $12 million, multi-year contract from the Department of Homeland Security.

Under the terms of the deal, McAfee will provide DHS with network and system security support, products, and services, according to a statement released Tuesday.

Shares of Intel rose in Tuesday trade, up 0.84% to $26.53.

On Monday, Anand Chandrasekher, former senior vice president and general manager for Intel's Ultra Mobility Group, joined Qualcomm (QCOM) as its chief marketing officer.

Qualcomm's shares rose 1.51% to $61.04 on Tuesday.

Groupon (GRPN) shares dropped 2.91% to $7.04 in Tuesday's trade, as investors pulled back after sending the stock on a 10% run the day prior.

Groupon announced the promotion of Kal Raman from senior vice president of Americas to senior vice president of Global Sales and Operations on Monday, "combining the company's sales and operations worldwide under one leadership," according to a statement.

The digital coupon space continued to gain investors' attention. FreeMonee Network raised $34 million in investment funding, WhaleShark raised $150 million, CouponCabin raised $54 million, and Coupons.com raised $30 million, according to AllThings D.

--Written by Nathalie Pierrepont in New York.

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