Thursday, January 29, 2009Startup Advisor, Former VC Probable Plane Crash VictimAccording to a report from the Los Angeles times, Martin Schaedel, an advisor to a number of local startups and former VC, was the second victim in a plane crash in Santa Monica Wednesday. Confirmed dead was Paulo Emanuele, general manager of the website www.airliners.net. The men crashed in a two-seat, Marchetti SF-260, according to reports. No official word on Schaedel's identity was given, however, the LA Times quotes GumGum's Ophir Tanz as having confirmed the identification with NTSB invest (More info...)
posted on Thursday, January 29, 2009(Full story)
Meade Instruments Sells European OperationsIrvine-based Meade Instruments, a manufacturer of telescopes and other optical products, said Thursday that it has soled its European subsidiary to a buyout group for $12.4M. Meade said that the European unit distributes the company's products, and also sells products under the Bresser brand name. The firm said the move was part of an effort to look at strategic alternatives to secure liquidity for the firm. Meade also said that the European buyout group, Bresser GmbH, would continue to purchase (More info...)
posted on Thursday, January 29, 2009(Full story)
Overland Swaps CEOSan Diego-based Overland Storage has swapped out its CEO, saying earlier this week that it named board member Eric Kelly as its new CEO. Current President and CEO Vern LeForti will retain his title of President. Overland said in the appointment that Kelly was a key person in the purchase of Snap Alliance from Quantum Corp in 2002; the sale of Snap to Adaptec, Inc. in 2004, and the acquisition of Snap by Overland in June of 2008. Kelly has also served at M&A and consulting firm Silicon Valley Man (More info...)
posted on Thursday, January 29, 2009(Full story)
Siimpel's November Haul: $8.78MArcadia-based Siimpel, a developer of micro-electro-mechanical optical technology, hauled in $8.78M in its November funding, according to figures released in this week's PricewaterhouseCoopers/NVCA MoneyTree report. The firm--which disclosed the funding in November, but did not released financial terms of the round--is developing MEM-based optical systems which are targeted at enabling digital cameras in mobile phones and other mobile hardware. Siimpel's MEMs-based products provide autofocus, an (More info...)
posted on Thursday, January 29, 2009 (More)(Full story)
TranZfinity Expands BoardCarlsbad-based TranZfinity, a developer of secure payment products, said Wednesday that it has added a VeriFone executive to its board of directors. The firm said that Bud Waller, current Executive Vice President at VeriFone, has joined the company's board. Waller has been at VeriFone since 1986, and also served at General Electric. TranZfinity's products are based on near field communication (NFC) technology.
posted on Thursday, January 29, 2009(Full story)
MaintenanceNet Reports Growth In Q4Carlsbad-based MaintenanceNet, a privately held provider of contract management services and extended warranty services, joined the parade of Southern California firms reporting strong fourth quarter revenues. The firm said that its fourth quarter revenues in 2008 were the "highest in company history" and said it had a year-over-year revenue grwoth of 35 percent for the year. The firm did not report actual financial results. Maintenance provides software-as-a-service which helps companies manage (More info...)
posted on Thursday, January 29, 2009(Full story)
Aquea Scientific Gets $10.95MVentura-based Aquea Scientific, which develops a UVA/UVB sunscreen which can be washed on or applied in the shower, has quietly raised $10.955M in funding. The funding was first disclosed in the PricewaterhouseCOopers/NVCA MoneyTree venture capital report over the weekend. No details of the funding have been released by the company, however, the firm is listed as a portfolio holding of the Hawaii Angels and McGovern Capital. According to regulatory filings, the funding closed sometime in the Sep (More info...)
posted on Thursday, January 29, 2009 (More)(Full story)