Monday, February 23, 2009eSolar Signs 500MW Solar DealPasadena-based eSolar, which is developing technology for utility-scale, solar thermal energy plants, has scored a deal with power generator NRG Energy, NRG said today. The deal calls for NRG to use eSolar to develop solar plants with a capacity of 500 megawatts, and will invest $10M in equity in three project sites. According to NRG, the plants will power more than 400,000 homes, and will be based on up to 11 eSolar modular solar generating units at the sites. eSolar is backed by Idealab, Googl (More info...)
posted on Monday, February 23, 2009(Full story)
RealD Adds UK Theater ChainLos Angeles-based RealD, which provides technology for projecting 3D movies on digital theater screens, announced this morning that it has signed up another theater chain as a customer. RealD said that Vue Entertainment, which operates multiplex cinemas in the UK, will add RealD to 200 screens in its chain. Financial impact of the deal was not disclosed. According to RealD, the firm's systems have already been installed at Vue's flagship location. RealD said it now has over 1,700 screens deploye (More info...)
posted on Monday, February 23, 2009(Full story)
CoreValve Acquired By Medtronic For $700MIrvine-based CoreValve, a venture-backed developer of an aortic valve replacement market, has been acquired by Medtronic in a $700M deal, Medtronic said this morning. According to Medtronic, it will pay $700M plus additional contingent payments based on milestones, for CoreValve, which develops a product that uses catheters for non-surgical heart valve replacement. The acquisition represents a win for CoreValve's venture backers, which include Apax Partners, Healthcap Venture Capital, Maverick C (More info...)
posted on Monday, February 23, 2009(Full story)
Broadcom, Chumby Link On Set Top Box EffortIrvine-based Broadcom and San Diego-based Chumby are working together to integrate Chumby's technology into set top boxes, the firms announced this morning. Chip maker Broadcom said that it is integrating Chumby's rich media Internet platform into a system-on-a-chip for digital television and set-top boxes. Chumby develops a Linux-based software set and hardware which allows users to pull Internet content--including news, weather, social networking pages, videos, and more--onto a alarm-clock lik (More info...)
posted on Monday, February 23, 2009(Full story)
Nexsan Ships iSCSI ProductThousand Oaks-based storage equipment provider Nexsan announced today that the firm has shipped its first iSCSI product, a new product targeted and small and medium sized companies. According to Nexsan, its new iSeries products provides up to 1 petabyte of storage, virtualized storage, and support for SAS and/or SATA disk drives. Nexsan is a developer of storage arrays used by companies for their data storage.
posted on Monday, February 23, 2009(Full story)
Insights and Opinions: Nicole Jordan, The Slow BuildNicole Jordan, who has been instrumental in bringing together the Los Angeles technology industry, gives startup CEOs a primer on what to expect from their PR efforts in our Opinions and Insights section today:
...Look, CEO's, we understand that you're excited. And we are too. But, you have to come to terms with the fact that building a truly positive and well-known brand for your company takes time. Show me one company that did it any other way.
Read more of Nicole's advice.
posted on Monday, February 23, 2009(Full story)
Interview with Vince Bianco, NewsforceSan Diego-based Newsforce (www.newsforce.com) is a startup which is looking to take advantage of the hunger of the newspaper and media business for revenue, and has created a product which takes press releases and commercial content, and inserts them onto news sites in "sponsored content" blocks. We spoke with Vince Bianco, the firm's CEO, about the company and its services.
Tell us a little bit about Newsforce?
Vince Bianco: Newsforce is a premium online network, made up exclusively of di (More info...)
posted on Monday, February 23, 2009(Full story)
Rubicon: CPMs Flat, Seeing Revenue GrowthLos Angeles-based Rubicon Project, the venture funded online advertising effort run by Frank Addante, is reporting this morning that advertising CPMs were flat in Q4, even as the firm said it had an 30 percent growth in revenue across its publishers. Rubicon, which is backed by Clearstone Ventures, Mayfield, and IDG Ventures, publishes its market report every quarter, examining the online advertising industry. Other tidbits from the report: CPMS for dating sites dropped by more than 40 percent i (More info...)
posted on Monday, February 23, 2009(Full story)
TCA Hits $1B In InvestmentsThe Tech Coast Angels, Southern California's largest angel investment group, disclosed this morning that it has finally reached the $1 billion mark in investments received by its portfolio firms. The group, which makes investments in local technology startups, said that $99M of that came from the TCA's members, with the remainder coming from venture capital firms and other private equity investors. The TCA also said that it invested $75M in 2008, across 15 first-time financings and 16 follow-on (More info...)
posted on Monday, February 23, 2009(Full story)
Optimer Hires VP, Adds to BoardSan Diego-based Optimer Pharmaceuticals is reporting this morning that the firm has appointed Francis-Xavier Frapaise, M.D. as its Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, and also appointed Peter E. Grebow, Ph.D. to its board. Dr. Frapaise joins the firm from Asphelia Pharmaceuticals, and has also served at Acera Therapeutics, TAP Pharmaceuticals, Bayer, Sanofi, and Abbott. Grebow is EVP of Worldwide technical Operations at Cephalon. Optimer is developing antibiotics.
posted on Monday, February 23, 2009(Full story)
Break Launches NASCAR SiteLos Angeles-based Break Media, which operates a network of online content sites focused on men, said today that it has launched a new NASCAR-themed site called All Left Turns. Break said the new site will offer news, race analysis, driver interviews, and profiles on NASCAR. The company said the new site will allow advertisers to reach NASCAR fanatics, who the company claims spend about $3B each year on licensed products. The site has hired on former Sports Illusrated writer Stephen Thomas as the (More info...)
posted on Monday, February 23, 2009(Full story)
Powerwave Opens Hyderabad OfficesSanta Ana-based Powerwave Technologies, a developer of hardware for the wireless industry, announced this morning that the firm has opened up a new facility in Hyderabd, India. According to Powerwave, the new facility will employ around 300 people, focused on sales and marketing, engineering, and technical and customer support for its customers in the region. Powerwave develops antennas, base stations, and more for 4G wireless networks.
posted on Monday, February 23, 2009(Full story)