Monday, October 30, 2006OGPlanet Gets FundingLos Angeles-based OGPlanet has received a round of funding to bring multiplayer PC games from Korea to the U.S. The firm said today that the funding came from Richard Wolpert, former President of Disney Online and a strategic advisor to Accel Partners and RealNetworks;
Mark Surfas, formerly founder and CEO of GameSpy; Andrew Wright, former Vice President of RealArcade and currently CEO of SmileBox; and Peter Levin, CEO of BellRock Media and RealNetworks. The firm said it is looking to create ga (More info...)
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go2 Receives Strategic InvestmentIrvine-based go2 has received a strategic investment, the firm said today, worth $13M. The funding came from Geosign, an Internet publisher. Go2 is a publisher of local search and mobile content. The firm said the investment would provide it with additional capital and other resources to continue expansion.
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Netaphor Raises Series AIrvine-based Netaphor Software, a company that provides software for managing printers, has raised a Series A funding. The firm said that the round came from vSpring Capital. Ed Ekstrom and Jeron Paul of vSpring have joined the firm's board of directors. Netaphor said the funds would go to accelerate market demand for the firm's printer management software suite.
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Interview with Russ Mann, CEO of SEMDirectorRuss Mann is CEO of San Diego-based SEMDirector (www.semdirector.com), which provides search marketing automation software for Fortune 500 firms. Russ was most recently at Peregrine Systems, where he helped to sell the firm to Hewlett Packard for $425M. Prior to that, he also ran Fair Isaac's MyFico.com consumer financial group. SEMDirector is taking search engine marketing expertise - which has traditionally been considered a "black art" - and putting those best practices into software that (More info...)
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Spot Runner Gets $40M, Investments from WPP, CBS, InterpublicLos Angeles-based Spot Runner, a firm which has developed an automated, web-based way to place TV advertising, said today that it has received investments from WPP, CBS Corporation, and Interpublic Group. The investments came as part of a recent $40M investment round, which also included participation by Allen & Company, Tudor Investment Corporation, Capital Research and Management, Index Ventures, and Battery Ventures, along with individuals Lachlan Murdoch and Vivi Nevo. The firm said the stra (More info...)
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RadioShack to Offer MovieBeamBurbank-based MovieBeam, the venture-backed Walt Disney spinout developing a digital entertainment delivery system for movies, said today that RadioShack has agreed to sell the firm's movies-on-demand system in its stores. Radio Shack will sell MovieBeam's systems in 1700 neighborhood stores in 31 major metropolitan areas across the country. MovieBeam's system uses broadcast television signals to transfer movies to a dedicated device connected to a user's television. The firm is backed by The Wa (More info...)
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MySpace Taps Gracenote For Music Content FilteringLos Angeles-based MySpace.com announced today that it has licensed technology from Gracenote to block unauthorized posting of copyrighted music to its site. The firm said that it will use Gracenote's audio fingerprinting technology to review all music audio recording uploaded to member profiles. MySpace said that the technology will allow it to implement its long-standing user policy against the upload of copyrighted material.
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Yahoo, Nissan Target Live MusicYahoo's Santa Monica-based Music operation today said that it is has partnered with Nissan North America to create a new, online destination for live music performances. The new "Nissan Live Sets on Yahoo! Music" will feature bi-monthly performances of live music performances. The company said that the site will kick off November 15th with a performance by Christina Aguilera. The free shows will be bankrolled by a online advertising by Nissan at the site.
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SaySwap Unveils Video Game Trading SiteLos Angeles-based SaySwap today said that it has received an investment from LiveUniverse, and unveiled an online community site for gamers to trade video games and share tips and information. SaySwap said that LiveUniverse, the firm run by Brad Greenspan, is backing the firm. SaySwap said it will also provide its platform to other sites and retailers. The new firm is headed by Mark Elfenbein, co-founder of SkillJam Technologies.
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Qualcomm Says It Gets InjunctionSan Diego-based Qualcomm is claiming today that it has received an injunction against Broadcom prohibiting the use of its confidential information. Qualcomm said today that the Federal Court in San Diego has enjoined Broadcom from any further solicitation, use or dissemination of QUALCOMM's confidential WCDMA trade secrets, including source code. Qualcomm said the preliminary injunction will remain in effect at least through completion of the trial, at least through October 2007. Qualcomm and Br (More info...)
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Vivitar Acquired By Syntax-BrillianTempe, Arizona-based Syntax-Brillian said today that it is in an agreement to acquired Oxnard, California-based Vivitar, a developer of photographic related products. The deal is worth $26M in stock. Syntax-Brillian said that the acquisition will create new opportunities for the firm in digital photography, imaging, and optics. Vivitar develops digital cameras, film cameras, lenses, flashes and tripods, among other products. Syntax-Brillian said Vivitar had revenues of approximately $120M in cal (More info...)
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Verari, PolyServe Partner On ClusteringSan Diego-based Verari Systems said today that it is unveiling a new storage subsystem for its blade servers, with a version of POlyServe's clustering storage software. The firm said its new VB5150 storage blade subsystem combines Polyserve's clustered filesystem software with its storage hardware. Clustered filesystems are used in rich media, broadcast and entertainment, oil and gas research, and other areas to enable multiple computers to access the same data storage at the same time, typicall (More info...)
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StoreAge Signs McDataIrvine-based StoreAge Networking Technologies said today that it is providing its virtualization and data protection software to McData. McData will use its software through its new Application Services Module (ASM), a new module for McData's storage switching products. StoreAge is a provider of data protection software. McData is in the midst of being acquired by Brocade, and StoreAge recently announced it was being acquired by LSI Logic.
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DispenseSource Becomes NexiantIrvine-based DispenseSource has renamed itself Nexiant, the firm said last week. The company, which develops inventory management products for the industrial supplies and maintenance and operations industry, said it changed its name to reflect the broader scope of solutions the company provides to the industrial marketplace. The firm is backed by Argentum Group, Forrest Binkley & Brown, Innocal, Inverness Capital Partners, Mission Ventures, and Omnicell.
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