Tuesday, February 17, 2009Vitesse Reduces Salaries, 401K ContributionsCamarillo-based Vitesse Semicondutor, a developer of networking semiconductors, said Tuesday afternoon that the firm is reducing the salary of its executives and other employees, forgoing annual merit increases, and suspending its 401(K) employer match, as the firm looks to take "strong actions" to reduce its spending in 2009. The firm--which disclosed the cutbacks along with its first quarter results--said the moves were targeted at helping the firm get to "cash flow neutrality" for the fiscal (More info...)
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Cadence Pharmaceuticals Raises $86.6M In PIPESan Diego-based Cadence Pharmaceuticals, which licenses, develops, and commercializes biopharmaceuticals, said Tuesday that it has reached an agreement to raise approximately $86.6M from a group of venture capital investors. The publicly held firm said that the funding was led by Venrock, and also included Frazier Healthcare Ventures, Domain Associates, Versant Ventures, New Enterprise Associates, Bay City Capital and T. Rowe Price Associates.
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Report: Ingram Micro Lops 8 PercentSanta Ana-based Ingram Micro, an electronics distributor, has reportedly laid off about 8 percent of the firm's North American workforce, or 300 employees, according to a report from ChannelWeb. ChannelWeb quoted an executive at Ingram, who said that the layoff occurred Tuesday, with as many as 150 cuts in the firm's Orange County offices. Ingram Micro distributes technology products, including electronics, computer accessories, and other products.
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Our Survey: Corporate Spending, Not Stimulus, To Drive RecoveryWe've just released the results of our first non-scientific survey of our readers and others on the economy and business conditions, and found that the majority of our survey respondents believe that corporate spending--not the government stimulus--is what will drive a recovery in business conditions.
Our survey--conducted from January 19th to January 30th for us by the David James Agency--had 150 respondents, 40 percent of whom thought that it will take longer than on year for business to im (More info...)
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Nokia Selects Qualcomm, BroadcomFinnish cell phone maker Nokia has selected both Qualcomm and Broadcom as suppliers for its next generation cell phones, the firm said today in two separate announcements. Nokia said that it will use Irvine-based Broadcom's next generation 3G baseband, radio frequency, and mixed signal chipsets in its upcoming products. Separately, Nokia said it will work with San Diego-based Qualcomm to develop advanced UMTS mobile devices for North America, using Qualcomm's Mobil Station Modem (MSM) chipsets, (More info...)
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Schematic Names VPLos Angeles-based interactive agency Schematic said this morning that the firm has added a new Senior Vice President of Client Services, Baron Conway. According to Schematic, Conway joins the firm from Organic, and also has served at Genentech and Razorfish. Schematic is owned by WPP, and offers creative, marketing and technology services to Disney, Coca-Cola, Comcast, Conde Nast, and others.
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CampusExplorer.com Gets $2.25MSanta Monica-based CampusExplorer.com is announcing this morning that the firm has raised $2.25M in a Series B funding round, for the firm's online service for searching for colleges. The firm said the new round was led by OCA Ventures, and also included Origin Ventures and Rincon Venture Partners. CampusExplorer.com said the funding will go towards product and technology development at the firm. According to CEO Jerry Slavonia, the new round took about 7 months to close. "I think the economy ha (More info...)
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Xirrus Rolls Out Wi-Fi SoftwareThousand Oaks-based Xirrus, a developer of Wi-Fi networking hardware, said today that it has released a new, free Wi-Fi software which will allow users to search for and locate Wi-Fi networks, and manage their Wi-Fi connections. According to Xirrus, its new Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector tool runs on Windows Vista and XP and requires a Wi-Fi adapter, but does not require Xirrus hardware to run. The new software shows wireless configuration, network configuration, network performance, and more, and is th (More info...)
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Emergent Game Technologies Scores $12.5MCalabasas-based Emergent Game Technologies, a supplier of video game development software, said Monday that it has raised $12.5M in a new round of funding. According to Emergent, the round was led by new investor Hopewell Ventures, and also included prior investors Worldview Technology Partners, Jerusalem Venture Partners, Walker Ventures, and Adena Ventures. Emergent develops Gamebryo, which is used by video game developers to develop PLAYSTATION 3, Xbox 360, PC and Wii games. The firm's softwa (More info...)
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Axesstel Expands BoardSan Diego-based Axesstel, a developer of wireless and broadband data products, said Tuesday that it has added Richard M. Gozia to its board of directors. Gozia was most recently CEO of Fenix Companies, a holding company of Union Pacific Corporation. Gozia has also served at Cellstar Corporation, SpectraVision, Wyatt Cafeterias, Harte-Hanks Communications, and Campbell Taggart. According to Axesstel, Gozia also sites on the board of DGSE Companies. Axesstel develops broadband modems, 3G gateways, (More info...)
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Boingo Launches Software Preview EffortLos Angeles-based Boingo Wireless, which operates a network of Wi-Fi access points across the world, said Monday that it has rolled out a new web site focused on alpha and beta versions of its software. According to Boingo, the new Boingo Labs web site will provide the general public with proof of concept trails and beta code from its engineers. The firm said the new effort will allow its users to test the newest versions of its software for Android, Windows Mobile, and other smartphone platform (More info...)
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