Wednesday, August 13, 2008Spot Runner Lays Off 50 In ShiftLos Angeles-based Spot Runner, which operates a service which helps businesses create and buy television and other advertising, has laid off 50 employees in what the firm describes as a realignment of the firm's business. Rosabel Tao, the firm's VP of Corporate Communications, confirmed the layoffs, saying that the firm is actively hiring, but trimmed the positions because it found that it needed a different skill set as it has been realigning along three lines of business. The employees laid of (More info...)
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Pinkberry Taps VC For CEOLos Angeles-based Pinkberry, the frozen yogurt chain, said Tuesday afternoon that it has named Ron Graves, formerly General Partner of venture capital firm Maveron, as the firm's CEO. Maveron is an investor in the firm. According to Pinkberry, Graves will work the Shelly Hwang and Young Lee, the co-founders of Pinkberry, who continue on at the firm. Maveron is a Seattle-based venture capital firm which was founded by Howard Shultz, chairman of Starbucks.
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Move To Sell Welcome Wagon, Eyes CutsWestlake Village-based Move, Inc., which operates the Move.com, Realtor.com, and other real estate web sites, is looking to sell the firm's Welcome Wagon business and is looking to "realign its cost structure," the firm said in conjunction with its results late last week. Move did not detail the extent of the cuts, but said in conjunction with its earnings last week that it has "initiated a process to lower the company's total operating expenses." On a conference call with analysts, the firm sai (More info...)
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Boingo Wireless Expands NetworkLos Angeles-based Boingo Wireless, a provider of Wi-Fi access services, has expanded its coverage network, the firm said Tuesday. Boingo said it has launched services at Dulles International Airport and Ronald Reagan Airport in the Washington, DC area. The access is available both through hourly access, a daily access fee, or through its regularly monthly service. Boingo said the addition of the two airports brings its total coverage to mroe than 500 airports worldwide; the firm's overall networ (More info...)
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Shopflick Launches Online Shopping MarketplaceLos Angeles-based Shopflick said today that it has launched its online, video-shopping marketplace. The venture-backed startup, which recently scored $7M from Panorama Capital and Venrock, said that its online marketplace will allow sellers to connect with shoppers through videos created by those sellers. Shopflick explained that it is opening with 160 online stores, including a mix of entrepreneurs, boutiques, and artists. Those shops all feature videos about their products and items, which are (More info...)
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Jazz Technologies Merger On Track, Says FirmNewport Beach-based Jazz Technologies and Israeli firm Tower Semiconductor Ltd. said today that the two firms' merger is expected to close in September. The firms said in May that they would merge in a deal worth $169M, with Tower Semiconductor acquiring Jazz Technologies in a stock-for-stock acquisition. Jazz Technologies said that the acquisition will come up for a stockholder vote on September 17. Jazz, which manufactures analog and mixed signal semiconductors, had been looking for a buyer si (More info...)
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Local.com Hires Technology VPIrvine-based Local.com, which operates a web site for finding local businesses, announced that it has appointed Peter Mathews as its Vice President, Technology. Mathews joins the firm from AGIS Network, where he also was VP Engineering; he's also served at Autobytel, eTag Technology, Travelocity, and Oracle Corporation. Local.com said that Mathews will be responsible for leading the firm's technology team and initiatives.
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OpenX Updates Ad ServerPasadena-based OpenX Technologies, which develops ad serving software for web publishers, said today that it has updated the firm's software. The company said that version 2.6 of its open source software adds a new application programming interface (API), a dashboard to monitor key statistics, and faster ad serving. OpenX is venture backed by Accel Partners, Index Ventures, and O'Reilly AlphaTech Ventures; the firm also has offices in London and Poznan, Poland. The firm recently moved its headqu (More info...)
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Image Metrics Launches Facial Animation TechnologyLos Angeles-based Image Metrics, a venture-backed developer of facial animation and capture technology, has launched a beta of its products. The firm said yesterday that its new product is targeted at the entertainment industry, and offers studios a way to capture an actor's performance into a CG model. According to Image Metrics, its technology captures an actor's performance on video, and then uses its own proprietary technology to map that performance onto a computer graphics model. The firm (More info...)
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