Wednesday, January 27, 2010SpaceX Gets Satellite ContractHawthorne-based Space Exploration Technologies, the commercial rocket firm headed by Elon Musk, said late Wednesday that it has signed a deal with Israeli satellite firm Space Communications Ltd., to launch a communications satellite aboard its Falcon 9 rocket as early as December of 2012. SpaceX said the launch will insert the satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. Financial impact of the deal was not disclosed. Spacecom's satellites are used for direct broadcast satellite television, (More info...)
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Local Charities Score Funding From Facebook ProgramTwo, Southern California charities are among the charities who are receiving grants from JPMorgan Chase in a promotion on Facebook, Chase said today. According to Chase, five California charities were awarded a total of $5M in grants through Facebook, including $1M to San Diego-based Invisible Children, a charity helping children in central Africa who were kidnapped in Uganda, and $100,000 to Santa Barbara-based Gwendolyn Strong Foundation, focused on finding a cure and awareness for Spinal Musc (More info...)
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TCA Stresses Mixers, New WebsiteThe Tech Coast Angels is stressing its mixer program, seed investment efforts, and a new website, as it kicks off a 2010 program, according to the angel investing group. According to the Tech Coast Angels' Richard Sudek, Chairman of the TCA, the group is looking to hold bi-monthly mixers which will help entrepreneurs connect with its angel investors, after a successful mixer in late 2009. The group also said it is focusing on its SeedTrack program, which is specifically focused on seed stage fun (More info...)
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The Search Agency Highlights Growth In Revenues, JobsSanta Monica-based The Search Agency joins a number of privately held, Southern California firms this week reporting strong growth in 2009. According to the company, which provides search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), and other related online marketing services, it had revenue growth of 37% in 2009, and hired more than 40 additional employees. The firm said the growth came as a result of increasing demand for the firm's online marketing services. The Search Agency sai (More info...)
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SightCine Gets Seed FundingLos Angeles-based SightCine, a developer of digital overlay projection technology, told socalTECH today that the firm has raised an initial round of seed funding. Amount of the funding and source was not disclosed. According to the firm, its initial product allows movie theaters to display subtitles in multiple languages on a single screen. The firm's product allows deaf, hearing-impaired, and non-native speakers to use special glasses to see subtitles on movies, which aren't visible to other th (More info...)
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Interview with Alex Schneider, Ventura Ventures Technology CenterOn Thursday, the City of Ventura is formally launching a new incubator, the Ventura Ventures Technology Center (www.v2tc.com), targeted at high tech businesses. The incubator so far includes startups Lottay, Geodelic, and a number of other Internet and other technology firms. We spoke with Alex Schneider, who is managing the effort, about what the incubator is and what it hopes to accomplish.
Tell us about the incubator--how long has it been around?
Alex Schneider: We actually opened our (More info...)
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eHarmony Settles Same-Sex Class Action LawsuitPasadena-based online dating site eHarmony has settled a class action lawsuit over its lack of support for gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals, the firm reported Tuesday evening. According to eHarmony, it is in an agreement to settle Carlson, et. al. v. eHarmony, Inc., which was filed in 2007. eHarmony said that as part of the settlement, all claims will be dismissed, and it will create a $2M settlement fund, with $500,000 of that fund to be designed for claims by the class, with any unclaime (More info...)
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Passenger Expands BoardLos Angeles-based Passenger, which operates online communities for major brands, said today that it has named Jaynie Miller Studenmund to the firm's board of directors. Studenmund is an advisor focused on startups, rapid growth, turnaround, and merger and acquisition, and was previously Chief Operating Officer at Overture. Studenmund also serves on the boards of Orbitz, eHarmony, Western Asset, and was on the baord of aQuantive before its acquisition by Microsoft. The firm said Studenmund also h (More info...)
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SOA Software Touts 2009 Results, GrowthLos Angeles-based SOA Software, a developer of software tools used by enterprises to connect various IT systems, said Tuesday that the firm had 55 percent annual revenue growth in 2009. The firm said the firm was also profitable for the full year, though it did not disclose any actual financials. The firm attributed the revenue growth to new customers, as well as existing customers scaling up their SOA programs. SOA Software develops Service-oriented Architecture governance software, used to man (More info...)
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XCast Labs Claims GrowthLos Angeles-based XCast Labs, a provider of voice-over-IP services, is reporting today that it had 48 percent revenue growth in 2009, and now has more than 100,000 users. The firm did not disclose financials. The firm said it has been profitable since July, and saw growth from IP-PBX, SIP Trunk, residential, and reseller customers. XCast Labs has previously raised funding from Siemer and Associates, Frontera Capital and the Pasadena Angels.
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MySpace Mail Hits 15M AccountsLos Angeles-based MySpace reported yesterday that its mail service, MySpace Mail, now has 15 million accounts. The firm launched its mail service in August of 2009, which integrates the social networking service with traditional email service. The firm attributed the rapid signup to the service as a result of its automatic reservation of email addresses based on users' vanity URLs.
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Neomend Raises $30MIrvine-based Neomend, a developer of sealants for the surgical market, announced this morning that it has raised $30M in a Series D funding round. Neomend said the round was led by Clarus Ventures, which contributed $17M of the total round. Other investors in the funding were Sanderling Ventures, Novo Ventures, Vivo Ventures, and Prospect Venture Partners. According to Neomend, the new funding will help move the firm towards cash flow break-even. As part of the new funding, the firm said it has (More info...)
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