Wednesday, April 16, 2008Vivendi Gets EU Nod On Activision AcquisitionThe European Commission said Wednesday that it has approved the proposed acquisition of Santa Monica-based online game publisher Activision by Viviendi S.A. of France. According to the EU, the Commission has concluded that the proposed transaction would not significantly impeded effective competition in Europe. In approving the deal, the EU cited Electronic Arts, Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft as strong, effective competitors in the space. The acquisition of Activision by Vivendi--which was first (More info...)
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Conexant Names New CEONewport Beach-based semiconductor manufacturer Conexant said late Tuesday that the firm has appointed D. Scott Mercer as the firm's Chief Executive Officer. Mercer replaces Daniel Artusi, who had served as both president and CEO. According to Conexant, Artusi is leaving the firm to pursue outside opportunities. D. Scott Mercer is a member of Conexant's board of directors. Conexant also said that Christian Scherp, its SVP of Worldwide Sales, has been promoted to President of the firm. Sailesh Chi (More info...)
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Cognition Releases Search SoftwareLos Angeles-based Cognition Technologies, which is developing natural language processing software for the search and software application market, said Wednesday that it has released its natural language processing software, Semantic NLP. The firm said that the software can understand word and phrase meanings in computer applications and the web. Cognition is targeting its technology towards improving technology products, providing better precision and recall on searches, for self-service applic (More info...)
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Dayak Gets Seed FundingCarlsbad-based Dayak, a provider of an online employee recruiting service, has scored $1.15M in funding from the Tech Coast Angels and First Round Capital. The San Diego Tech Coast Angels said that it led the round, and helped provide a board and key executives to the firm's management team. The TCA's investment in Dayak was led by Dan Caufield. Dayak helps matches employers with recruiters. Dayak was a part of the Tech Coast Angel's seed track, which focuses on promising, but very early stage c (More info...)
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Gizmo5 Adds SMS, Email SupportSan Diego-based Gizmo5, which provides Internet calling and instant messaging services, has added support for SMS and email to the firm's software. The firm's new software, which loads onto mobile phones, allows users to instant message, SMS, and email from their mobile phone. According to the firm, the software now supports IM, SMS, and email from a single program and single interface. Gizmo provides free and low-cost, Internet-based phone calls and instant messaging service for both PCs and mo (More info...)
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Vantage Media Expands TeamEl Segundo-based Vantage Media, which provides search marketing and other marketing services, said this week that it has hired on three new executives. Vantage Media said that it has appointed Neil Kaplan as Senior Vice President of Operations, Greg Isaacs as Vice President Incubation, and Sumant Sridaran as Vice President of Marketing. Kaplan has previously served at Internet Brands, Universal Studios, The Los Angeles Times and Bain and Company. Isaacs joins from LeadPoint, and also served at e (More info...)
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Central Desktop Raises $7MPasadena-based Central Desktop, which operates a software-as-a-service offering for project management, said today that it has raised $7M in a first round of funding from OpenView Venture Partners. According to the firm, the investment will be used to further accelerate its R&D, marketing, and sales efforts. Isaac Garcia, the firm's CEO, told socalTECH that the firm has been cash flow positive for over 6 quarters, and decided to raise a round of venture funding to try to break away from the pack (More info...)
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