Wednesday, February 18, 2009X PRIZE Foundation Teams With Consumer ReportsThe X PRIZE Foundation is expanding its list of partners for the firm's Progressive Automotive X PRIZE, the nonprofit's effort to inspire next generation fuel-efficient vehicles, saying Wednesday that it has partnered with Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports. According to the foundation, the partnership will focus on vehicle safety testing, advocacy, and education efforts. Consumer Reports will test competition vehicles, which must pass pre-race safety inspections, including braki (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2009(Full story)
Citrix Online Rolls Out New Web Support ProductSanta Barbara-based Citrix Online said Wednesday that it has rolled out a new software product that the firm is aiming at remote web support. According to Citrix, the new service, GoToAssist Express, is a version of the firm's remote support service which will allow individuals and small businesses to provide online, technical support to clients. The firm said the new web support service will cost $9.95 for any 24-hour period through a "day pass", and supports PCs and Macs. Citrix also said it h (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2009(Full story)
High Tower Software's Assets AcquiredThe assets of defunct Aliso Viejo-based High Tower Software, a developer of security, compliance, and log management software, have been acquired by netForensics, a provider of information security management software. netForensics announced the buy on Tuesday, but did not disclose financial details of the acquisition. High Tower Software had shut its doors in November, and was looking for a buyer for its assets. High Tower was founded in 1999 based on technology developed at NASA; the firm had (More info...)
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Insights and Opinions: The Stresses On Venture CapitalIn our Insights and Opinions section today, we have posted the latest podcast from Frank Peters, chairman emeritus of the Tech Coast Angels, and podcaster at the Frank Peters show. Frank talks with John Taylor, VP of Research at the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) about the stresses on the venture capital industry today.
posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2009(Full story)
OVGuide.com Gets $5MBeverly Hills-based OVGuide.com, an online site focused on video discovery and search, disclosed today that the firm has received $5M in funding from Baroda Ventures LLC, the investment firm of former GeoCities founder David Bohnett. According to OVGuide, the new funding will go towards further developing its search engine. OVGuide.com has previously received funding from Baroda, which helped to incubate the firm. According to OVGuide.com, the new funding comes as it saw its first month as a pro (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2009(Full story)
ReachLocal Adds Display AdvertisingWoodland Hills-based ReachLocal, which operates a service to help small and medium sized businesses place online advertising, said this morning that it is adding a online display advertising product to its mix. The firm said its new offering, ReachDisplay, will help local advertisers place online visual display ads on multiple web sites. The service is an expansion of the firm's existing services, which are focused on keyword-based search advertising and related tracking and analytics of those a (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2009(Full story)
CrownPeak Targets Landing Pages With New ProductLos Angeles-based CrownPeak, a developer of software-as-a-service for web site management, announced this morning that the firm has launched a new product targeted at landing page management. CrownPeak said its new product--CrownPeak Landing Page Manager--helps website managers to create, manage, and track landing pages for their marketing campaigns. The firm said the new product is already in use by clients such as Zimmerman Advertising, part of Omnicom Group, which is using the product on effo (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2009(Full story)
Interview with Kelly Tompkins, AdventureLinkLast week, Altadena-based AdventureLink (www.adventurelink.com) announced that it raised a Series A funding round, for the firm's adventure travel reservation network. The round came from Anthem Venture Partners and the Mail Room Fund. We caught up with Kelly Tompkins, the firm's founder and CEO, to hear more about the firm.
Thanks for the interview. What's the new company all about?
Kelly Tompkins: AdventureLink is a reservation network, which allows consumers and agents to book adventure (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2009(Full story)
Kythera Biopharmaceuticals Lands $10MLos Angeles-based Kythera Biopharmaceuticals, which is developing products for the aesthetic medicine market, disclosed this morning that it has received $10M as part of the firm's Series C funding round. According to Kythera, the round included all of its existing investors, including Versant Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, Prospect Venture Partners, BBT Capital Management/Apothecary Capital, JAFCO, PFM, and Altitude Life Science Ventures. The firm said that the round was part of a $40M, Serie (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2009(Full story)