Wednesday, May 14, 2008


SK Telecom Looks To Sell Helio Stake
SK Telecom, the South Korean mobile phone firm behind Santa Monica-based MVNO Helio, and Virgin Mobile USA said Wednesday that the firms are talking about "strategic opportunities" for Helio. No details on the negotiations were released, however, both Virgin Mobile and SK Telecom said in terse, released statements that they were in preliminary discussions on the strategic opportunities for Helio. SK Telecom owns 69 percent of Helio, which is co-owned by Earthlink Inc. Helio operates a youth-focu (More info...)
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SocialVibe Launches Social Media Site, Discloses $4.2M In Funding
West Hollywood-based SocialVibe said Wednesday afternoon that the firm has launched a new social media site focused on allowing people to promote, distribute, and support brands and charities via social networks, blogs, and personal websites. The firm also disclosed that it has raised $4.2M in a Series A funding from Redpoint Ventures. Redpoint's Greg Martin has joined the firm's board of directors along with the funding, which actually closed in December of last year. SocialVibe allows users to (More info...)
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SheKnows Buys PregnancyandBaby.com
Los Angele-based SheKnows.com, the online women's destination site owned by AtomicOnline, said Wednesday afternoon that it has acquired PregnancyandBaby.com, an online community for pregnant women. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. PregnancyandBaby offers online articles, a message board, and other features focused on women in preconception through pregnancy. According to SheKnows, the acquisition is one of several planning to strengthen the site's pregnancy channel.
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Digital Insight's Stiefler Joins Venture Firm
Jeffrey Stiefler, who was most recently chairman and CEO of Calabasas-based Digital Insight, has joined a Silicon Valley venture capital firm as a venture partner. According to San Mateo-based Emergence Capital Partners, Stiefler has joined the firm to help it expand its team and network. Stiefler was head of Digital Insight when it was sold to Intuit last year for $1.4 billion. A spokesperson for Emergence Capital Partners told socalTECH that the Stiefler will remain in Southern California, whe (More info...)
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iq4bis Partners With Software Firm
Irvine-based iQ4bis Software, a provider of business intelligence and reporting software, announced today that the firm has inked an OEM partnership with Miles 33, a provider of software for the newspaper publishing industry. Financial impact of the deal was not disclosed. iQ4bis said that Miles 33 will offer its software suite to publishers. The software will be used to help publishers track advertising revenues, accounts receivable, and circulation data.
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Interview with Allison Kingsley, BushLeague.TV
Today, BushLeague.TV (www.bushleague.tv), is launching its online site video and web site for "dudes." The site is backed by DECA, an online entertainment studio which is venture funded by Mayfield, General Catalyst, and Atomico. The new site is the latest for DECA, which is also behind the video podcasts for the popular BoingBoing blog site, CNET's Dog and Pony Show, and other video podcasts and blogs. We spoke with Allison Kingsley, the site's General Manager and former Executive Director of t (More info...)
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Passenger Raises $8M
Los Angeles-based Passenger has raised $8M in a Series C funding, the firm announced this morning. The funding was led by StarVest Partners and included prior investors Shelter Capital Partners and Steamboat Ventures. Passenger, which develops software and consulting services for engaging customers of brands, said that the funding brings the firm's total raised to $20.5M. Passenger's software-as-a-service provides online customer communities and social networking features for brands to conduct (More info...)
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DECA Launches BushLeague.TV
Santa Monica-based DECA, a venture funded entertainment studio, said today that it has launched BushLeague.tv, a new web site focused on creating original video and blog posts for guys. According to the firm, the site will offer irreverant commentary and topical daily information and news focused on 18-34 year old men. The new site is being hosted and produced by Allison Kingsley, former Groundlings Executive Director, and Matt Kirsh, who is a comedy writer. Other people involved in producing se (More info...)
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Smith Micro Partners With Mobile Firm
Aliso Viejo-based Smith Micro Software said today that it is collaborating with BT iNet on development of "secure mobile connectivity solutions." According to the firms, they will offer a combined offering which will provide secure communications between mobile PDAs and enterprise networks. Financial details of the partnership were not disclosed. BT iNet is a unit of telecommunications giant BT plc, which provides Cisco-based LAN and other IT services to customers. Smith Micro Software is a pub (More info...)
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Boost Mobile Hires VP, GM
Irvine-based Boost Mobile, the youth lifestyle mobile phone brand owned by Sprint, said today that it has named Matt Carter as Senior Vice President and General Manager. Carter joins the firm from Sprint, where he was SVP Base Management. Carter has previously served at Bristol Myers, Coca-Cola, Leap Wireless, and BellSouth. Carter will be responsible for Boost's marketing, sales and distribution, product development, finance, and customer service.
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