Los Angeles-based FlowTab, the developer of a smartphone application which allows users to order food and drink from their smartphone, has scored the top position in a competition hosted by Glendale-based startup incubator/office space Voivoda Labs. Voivoda Labs said that Flowtab was judged the top startup out of 15 companies which pitched their firms to investors and judges on Tuesday evening....Continue →

Camarillo-based Cool Planet BioFuels, the developer of technology to convert biomass to gasoline, is claiming a "major breakthrough" in its technology. The company said it has been able to produce 4,000 gallons of acre biomass-to-gasoline conversion in its pilot testing, which it says is about twelve times the yield than current, corn ethanol production levels....Continue →

San Diego-based SG Biofuels, which is developing hybrid seeds for bioenergy crops, said Wednesday that it has named Miguel Motta as Chief Operating Officer. Motta was most previously Vice President of Marketing and Strategy and SG Biofuels, which he joined in 2010. Motta has previously served at Monsanto, and also had been at Seminis. SG Biofuels is enture backed by Thomas, McNerney & Partners, Finistere Ventures, Flint Hills Resources, and Life Technologies Corporation....Continue →

WHI Solutions, a developer of software and digital catalog products for the auto parts distribution market, which had an office in Los Angeles, in addition to New York and New Jersey, has been acquired by eBay. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. eBay said it will make WHI Solutions part of its eBay Motors operations. eBay said it will continue to maintain offices in New York, New Jersey and Los Angeles after the acquisition....Continue →

Ever wish you had a better way of sharing your favorite recipes with family and friends? Wish that cookbook for your church, school, or club could enter the modern age? Los Angeles-based BakeSpace.com, the online social networking and recipe site, has a new product for you....Continue →

Thousand Oaks-based Xirrus, the developer of wireless networking equipment headed by Dirk Gates, has snagged the CEO of networking equipment maker Calix for its board. Xirrus said it has added Carl Russo, President and CEO of Calix, to the position....Continue →

Thousand Oaks-based Ceres, the developer of specialized seeds for the biofuels market, has priced its IPO, saying that it will offer up 5,000,000 shares of its common stock at $13.00 per share. The firm will start trading today on the NASDAQ Global Market as CERE....Continue →

Los Angeles-based SocialVibe, which provides online, social advertising to brands, said today that it has named Todd Tapping as its Chief Executive Officer. Tappin was previously COO and CFO at the company. Tappin has previously served as CFO at Overture, had served at private equity firm The Gores Group, was a VP at News Corporation and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and Fox Interactive, in addition to serving at Deloitte, Haskins and Sells....Continue →

Pasadena-based UberMedia, the Idealab-backed developer of mobile and desktop messaging and social media apps, is announcing this morning that it has hired Ken Rudman as its Vice President of Developer Relations. Rudman joins the company from AT&T Interactive, where he was Director of the Developer Program and Platform. Rudman has also served at Technicolor, Overture/Yahoo! Search Marketing, and Citysearch.com. UberMedia develops a suite of Twitter messaging apps such as UberSocial and Echofon....Continue →

In a move which significantly broadens its market focus, Santa Ana-based RealPractice said Tuesday that it has launched a new, automated marketing software called ReplyWise. The company said the new software is aimed at all types of small businesses, and helps local businesses to respond faster to customer inquiries, track online and offline advertising, and reply more effectively to calls, emails, and social media inquiries....Continue →

Los Angeles-based TeleSign, the provider of Internet fraud prevention and authentication services led by Steve Jillings, said Monday that it has been awarded a patent. The firm said it was awarded patent #8,117,106 for its TeleBureau clearinghouse for submission of fraud activity from online businesses and merchants. According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, inventor of the patent was Schlomo Gonen. The patent was granted February 14th, and had been filed in October of 2008....Continue →