Thursday, March 19, 2009


Mahalo's Calacanis Offers $500K For Twitter Spot
Santa Monica-based Mahalo, the human-powered search engine run by Jason Calacanis, is in the spotlight again, this time for putting a price on being a top Twitter user. According to Mahalo head Calacanis, he is offering the micro blogging service $500,000, to have Mahalo's new Answers service featured as a "suggested user" for three years. Mahalo Answers is Mahalo's question and answer service, where users can post questions and answers, with the best answer getting paid. Calacanis had original (More info...)
posted on Thursday, March 19, 2009(Full story)

GrindTV, Sportnet Merge
Los Angeles-based GrindTV, a online sports-focused video site, and Los Angeles-based sports site Sportnet announced Thursday that the two will merge into a new company under the name Sportnet. Financial terms of the merger were not disclosed. According to the two companies, they will have their headquarters in El Segundo, with offices in Orange County and New York. Erik Hawkins, CEO and co-founder of GrindTV will serve as CEO of the firm; GrindTV co-founder and COO Greg Morrow will continue to s (More info...)
posted on Thursday, March 19, 2009(Full story)

AdventureLink Buys Competitor, Get Investment
Los Angeles-based AdventureLink, the new adventure travel booking site run by Kelly Tompkins, announced this morning that it has acquired a competitor, Adventure Central. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. According to AdventureLink, the all-stock deal also included a new investment from Allegis Capital. Amount of that funding was not released. Denver-based Adventure Central provides a search engine and services for finding adventure travel. AdventureLink is also venture back (More info...)
posted on Thursday, March 19, 2009(Full story)

Steamboat Gets Big Win With Pure Digital
Burbank-based Steamboat Ventures has seen a big exit in one of its portfolio firms, San Francisco-based Pure Digital, with the announcement this morning that Cisco will pay $590M in stock for the video camera maker. Steamboat is one of a number of venture investors in Pure Digital, which makes the popular "Flip" consumer video cameras. Other investors in Pure Digital are AllianceBernstein, Benchmark Capital, Crescendo Ventures, Focus Ventures, Heights Capital Management, Morgan Stanley, Samsung, (More info...)
posted on Thursday, March 19, 2009(Full story)

Hirsch Gets Approval On Merger
Santa Ana-based security systems manufacturer Hirsch Electronics Corp. announced this morning that its shareholders have approved a proposed merger with SCM Microsystems. According to Hirsch, its shareholders adopted an agreement and plan of merger dated Dec. 10 of last year between Hirsch, SCM and a pair of wholly owned SCM subsidiaries that would result in Hirsch becoming a U.S.-based SCM subsidiary. Headquartered nationally in Fremont and internationally in Ismaning, Germany, SCM Microsystems (More info...)
posted on Thursday, March 19, 2009(Full story)

Topspin Rolls Out Music Marketing Software, To Some
Venice, California-based Topspin, a developer of software focused on helping musicians market and distribute their work, launched an upgrade to its product Wednesday at the SXSW festival. The firm said that it has commercially released its software, which helps artists generate demand from fans via direct marketing, social networking and other online channels, widgets, as well as email campaigns. However, the firm still isn't taking just any artists, however, explaining it is still in "invite mo (More info...)
posted on Thursday, March 19, 2009(Full story)

Cortex Pharmaceuticals Lops Half Of Workers
Irvine-based Cortex Pharmaceuticals, a developer of biopharmaceuticals for treating psychiatric disorders, neurological diseases and brain-mediated breathing disorders, said Thursday that it has cut half of its staff as part of a restructuring. According to Cortex, it has reduced its personnel by approximately 50 percent, because of the "continuing uncertainty in the capital markets" and the economy. The firm also said it has reduced the salaries of its executive officers and has "significantly (More info...)
posted on Thursday, March 19, 2009(Full story)

Buzznet Raises $12.5M More
Los Angeles-based Buzznet, which operates a network of web sites focused on celebrities and pop culture, announced this morning that it has raised $12.5M and will rename itself Buzz Media. According to the company, the funding round was led by Focus Ventures, and also included Anthem Ventures, New Enterprise Associates, Redpoint Ventures, and Sutter Hill Ventures. Buzznet operates a network of music and celebrity focused web sites, including Celebuzz, Buzznet, the Superficial, SocialiteLife, Wha (More info...)
posted on Thursday, March 19, 2009 (More)(Full story)