Wednesday, March 26, 2008


CraveOnline Buys Two Basketball Sites
Los Angeles-based CraveOnline said Wednesday that it has acquired two basketball focused web sites, HoopsVibe and StreetBallTalk. Financial terms were not disclosed. HoopsVibe.com is an online site focused on basketball culture, and was founded in 2002. StreetBallTalk.com was started in 2005, and was part of HoopsVibe, focused on street basketball. According to CraveOnline parent AtomicOnline, the acquisition is part of its strategy to acquire and grow its family of niche properties. CraveOnline (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, March 26, 2008(Full story)

Materia Spins Off New Company With $40M In Funding
Pasadena-based Caltech spinoff Materia said today that it has created a new company called Elevance Renewable Sciences. The new firm, which is being created in partnership with Cargill, Incorporated, has raised $40M in new venture cpaital funding. The funding came from TPG STAR, L.P., and TPG Biotechnology Partners. Elevance is developing chemicals and materials using Materia's metathesis technology. The new company will be headed by K'Lynne Johnson, who was most recently at Innovene and has als (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, March 26, 2008(Full story)

Geni Adds Web Sharing Features
Los Angeles-based, Web 2.0 genealogy site Geni said Tuesday that the firm is adding a number of upcoming features, including a new Posted Links feature which will allow users of the site to share any web page with friends and family. The new feature will allow users of the site to attach URLs to any profile on the site, such as connecting information sites with a profile of an ancestor or pointing to a YouTube video of family members. Geni is venture backed by Charles River Ventures and the Foun (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, March 26, 2008(Full story)

Central Desktop Rolls Out Security Features
Pasadena-based software-as-a-service firm Central Desktop said today that it has rolled out a new platform targeted at enterprise-grade security. The firm said that its new Central Desktop Security Pack will provide perimeter, network, server, application and data security to its customers. Central Desktop, which offers software-as-a-service for project management, said that the security offering includes single sign-on between Central Desktop and third party applications, and is an add-on to it (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, March 26, 2008(Full story)

Aktino Hires CEO
Irvine-based Aktino said Tuesday that it has hired on a new CEO, Lonnie Martin. The firm, which develops equipment for Carrier Ethernet and broadband services, said that Martin joins from White Rock Networks. Martin has also served at Broadband Telesytems and Coastcom, as well as ADC Telecommunicaitons and Ascom/Timeplex. Martin has also served on the boards of Lightwave Systems, TXP, Efficient Networks, Adaptive Broadband, and Quarry Technologies.
posted on Wednesday, March 26, 2008(Full story)

Divx Gets Samsung License Renewal
San Diego-based DivX said Tuesday that Samsung Electronics has renewed a two-year licensing agreement with the firm. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. According to DivX, the deal allows Samsung to continue to include its technology in consumer electronic devices, including DVD players and recorders and portable media players. DivX is a provider of video encoding and decoding technology.
posted on Wednesday, March 26, 2008(Full story)