Friday, July 22, 2016TouchCommerce Acquired For $215M By Nuance
Agoura Hills-based TouchCommerce, the provider of customer service software and services, which e-commerce companies use to add live chat and support to their websites, has been acquired by Nuance Communications, Nuance said Thursday. Nuance said it would pay $215M, split between $110M in cash and $85M in stock, with $20M in earn out....Continue →
Friday, July 22, 2016Western Digital Backs Low Latency Interconnect Startup
Irvine-based Western Digital has made an investment in a developer of low latency interconnects, used to connect servers and flash memory storage together in fabrics. According to Kazan Networks, it raised $4.5M in a Series A funding, which was led by Samsung Ventures, and also included Intel Capital and Western Digital. WD is a major maker of flash-based storage devices....Continue →
Friday, July 22, 2016Interview with Gabe Grifoni, Rufus Labs
For our interview today, we have an interview with Gabe Grifoni, CEO and founder of Rufus Labs(www.getrufus.com), which has has developed an Android-based, wearable device which is aimed at use in the enterprise, warehouses, and factories. Rufus Labs is one of a number of hardware startups which have started to proliferate in the community, due to low cost hardware, 3D printing, and crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo....Continue →
Friday, July 22, 2016AristaMD Gets $11M To Reduce Unnecessary Doctor's Visits
San Diego-based AristaMD, which is developing software tools to help coordinate referrals by physicians to specialists, has raised $11M in a Series A funding round. The funding was led by Avalon Ventures, and also included Correlation Ventures. AristaMD says it has created software which is aimed at reducing the estimated 60 percent of specialists visits, which are routine and do not require and in-person visit....Continue →
Friday, July 22, 2016MyLucke Launches Private Parking Marketplace
In an interesting twist on an Airbnb-for-anything, a new, Los Angeles startup, MyLucke, has recently launched a marketplace for private parking spaces in Los Angeles, which lets people with their own parking spaces--say, your driveway--make them available to others. The startup says it lets users make their private parking spots available to others on an hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly basis, and is aimed at helping to make more parking spaces available for both consumers and commuters....Continue →
Friday, July 22, 2016Legend VR Teams With Stan Lee On VR Episodes
Hollywood-based virtual reality technology and content developer Legend VR--the new unit of Legend 3D dedicated to creating virtual reality content--has announced its first major virtual reality project, a new series of virtual reality episodes for Stan Lee's Comic Crusaders. The company said it would debut those virtual reality episodes at Comic-Con....Continue →
Thursday, July 21, 2016Guardian Circle Taps Your Social Network For Help In A Crisis
Just having one of those days, when you need some help--ie your car broke down, you can't get to daycare to pick up your child, you've got a medical emergency? Marina Del Rey-based Guardian Circle says it has the app for you--a new app which lets you connect with your own personal network of family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and others, who can get you out of a bind....Continue →
Thursday, July 21, 2016Impinj Sees Surge In IPO
Impinj, the developer of RFID chips and products which has operations in Orange County, saw a surge in its IPO this morning, and was trading around $17.24 in morning trading--up more than 23 percent from its $14.00 per share debut. Impinj priced its IPO last night, selling 4,800,000 shares of its common stock at $14.00 per share last night. The company now trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market as PI....Continue →
Thursday, July 21, 2016Tinder Launches Group Organization, Dating Features
Los Angeles-based Tinder said today that it has launched a new feature for its app, called Tinder Social, which will let its users plan group dates and get togethers. Tinder says its new platform is aimed at helping its users to plan their night out, letting users see who else is going out during an evening, what they are doing, and connect with other groups who have plans....Continue →
Thursday, July 21, 2016WeDo Gets $1M For To Do List App
Santa Barbara-based WeDo, a new startup developing social, to-do list apps, has raised $1M in a funding from angel investors, the company said this morning. The startup--founded by Spencer Shulem and Raad Mobrem--lets users track tasks, get reminders, and even collaborate on lists with other people. Name of the angels were not announced. Mobrem is a serial entrepreneur, who was the founder of Lettuce, which he sold to Intuit in 2014; Shulem is a 21-year old Mac software developer....Continue →
Thursday, July 21, 2016Jukin Media Launches Marketplace For Viral Videos
Los Angeles-based Jukin Media has launched a new, online marketplace to let marketers, advertisers, TV producers, digital publishers, and others license viral content, the company said on Wednesday. Jukin--which helps obtain clearance and rights to viral and trending videos--said its marketplace features more than 30,000 user generated videos available for licensing. Jukin Media is known for its licensing of such viral clips as "Hero Cat" and others....Continue →
Thursday, July 21, 2016New Podcast Covers Manufacturing, Entrepreneurs In LA
A new podcast, hosted by technology entrepreneur and technology evangelist Kristina "Z" Holly, has launched in Los Angeles, covering entrepreneurship and manufacturing, as part of the MAKE IT IN LA initiative from Mayor Eric Garcetti. The Art of Manufacturing podcast's first three episodes includes interviews with Karl Kani of Urban Streetwear; Eric Ellestad of Local Roots; and Kabira Stokes, the head of an electronics recycling company which specifically looks to hire ex-prison offenders....Continue →
