Wednesday, February 3, 2010Verve Wireless: 100M Mobile News Pages Per MonthSan Diego-based Verve Wireless is reporting tonight that the firm served up 100 million mobile news pages per month in 2009, up 160% year over year. The firm, which powers such mobile news applications as AP Mobile, said it is on track to serve up 2.2 billion news pages this year. The firm attributed the growth in news page views to local media partners, who have recently been signing up to the company's white label mobile application product. Verve develops mobile applications for Android, Bla (More info...)
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Factual Gains Funding, Names InvestorsSanta Monica-based Factual, the new data focused startup run by Gil Elbaz, the co-founder of Applied Semantics, which invented Google's AdSense technology, is announcing the investors in the firm this evening. According to Elbaz, the firm has a number of very high profile investors backing the the firm, including Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz, Bill Gross of Idealab, Danny Rimer of Index Ventures, Esther Dyson, the Founder Collective, Gunderson Dettmer, Lee and June Stei (More info...)
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THQ Reorgs Studios, Cuts StaffAgoura Hills-based video game maker THQ said Wednesday afternoon that it is laying off around 60 employees, as part of a reorganization of its Juice Games and Rainbow Studios development studios. According to the firm, it has "refocused" the two units into THQ Digital Studios Warrington and THQ Digital Studios Phoenix, and reduced headcount at the studios by around 60. The firm said the new studios will focus on digitally distributed games. Juice Games is based in the UK, and Rainbow Studios is (More info...)
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Broadcom Buys TeknovusIrvine-based Broadcom announced Wednesday that it has acquire Teknovus, a maker of EPON (Ethernet Passive Optical Network) chipsets and software. Broadcom said it will pay approximately $123M to acquire all of the shares of Teknovus, which is based in Petaluma. Broadcom said the buy will allow it to tap into the widespread adoption of EPON in the Asia Pacific region, where it said more tha 94 percent of the Fiber-to-the-Home connections use the technology.
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Proximetry Ramps Smart Grid EffortsSan Diego-based Proximetry, a firm which develops real-time network and performance management software for the communications market, said today that it has linked with Arcadian Networks on a smart grid effort. Arcadian is a developer of wireless broadband communication systems for the energy sector. The two firms said they would integrate Arcadian's hardware and software with Proximetry's AirSync RF control software. Financial details of the arrangement between the firms was not announced.
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Slacker Gets $2.0M In Debt FundingSan Diego-based Slacker, the personalized Internet radio service backed by Austin Ventures, Centennial Ventures, Mission Ventures, Rho Ventures, and Sevin Rosen Funds, has raised $2.0M in a debt funding round, according to a regulatory filing by the firm today. The filing indicates the firm has a target of $6.0M for the fundraising effort. Source of the funding was not disclosed. Slacker runs an online personalize, Internet radio service, tied to its own hardware device and smart phones like the (More info...)
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Apriso Wins IsuzuLong Beach-based Apriso, a developer of manufacturing and supply chain software, reports today that it has sign on auto manufacturer Isuzu as a customer. The firm did not disclose the impact of the win, but said that Isuzu is using its FlexNet product to manage production of their knock-down parts at overseas factories. Apriso's product is being used for manufacturing and logistics operations management by Isuzu.
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Acacia Research Gets $12.4M Win Against YahooNewport Beach-based patent licensing firm Acacia Research Corporation has scored a major patent lawsuit win, this time against Yahoo!, the firm announced this morning. According to Acacia Research, its subsidiary, Creative Internet Advertising Corporation, has received $12.4M in a final judgment for willful infringement of the firm's patents. The firm said the judgment was signed Monday in the District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The firm said the total award includes $6.6M in damag (More info...)
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Cogi Launches iPhone AppSanta Barbara-based Cogi, a startup which allows people to capture and transcribe conference calls and conversations, announced today that it has released a new, iPhone application. The firm said the app allows users to record and share meetings, interviews, lectures, and more on their iPhone, and to share those with others via a web browser. The firm said the new app is now available on the Apple App store. The app costs $1.99, and Cogi said that users can also subscribe to other, Premium servi (More info...)
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Covario Targets Mobile Web SitesSan Diego-based Covario, a developer of search engine marketing and search engine optimization software, said today that it has launched a new product focused on creating mobile web sites. According to the firm, its new product--Mobile COntent Optimizer--helps advertisers create mobile-friendly web sites. The firm said the software can take an advertiser's existing website content, and place it into a template for all major mobile devices, including the BlackBerry and Apple iPhone. Pricing on th (More info...)
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INTEGRITY Global Security Links With DellSanta Barbara-based INTEGRITY Global Security, a subsidiary of Green Hills Software, is in a deal to provide security for desktop computing systems to government customers of Dell. According to Dell, it will provide enhanced security to its government customers, through a new global alliance with INTEGRITY. The new service will provide cyber security for federal agencies. Financial details of the alliance were not disclosed. INTEGRITY Global Security serves government, military and commercial en (More info...)
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Arrowhead Research Names New CFOPasadena-based Arrowhead Research, which is commercializing nanotechnology and other research, said today that it has named Ken Myszkowski as the firm's new Chief Financial Officer. Myszkowski replaces interim CFO Joseph T. Kingsley in the position. Myszkowski was most recently at Broadwind Energy, and has also served at Epcor Utilities, NanoInk, Delphion, FMC Corporation, Premark International, as well as Arthur Andersen & Co.
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Interview with Scott Sangster, Tech Coast AngelsWe thought today for our interview, that we'd get an update on the angel investment environment here in Southern California from Scott Sangster, the incoming President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Tech Coast Angels, the biggest angel investment group in Southern California. Scott sat down with us last week and gave us some hints and tips about finding angel investment nowadays, and how the economy has affected local angel investors.
It seems that the economy hit angel investors pretty ba (More info...)
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Insights and Opinions: GRP's Suster On How Not To Suck On PresentationsFor our Insights and Opinions section today, we have a piece from GRP Partners' Mark Suster, who--after watching and judging pitches at last week's Twiistup event--gives some hints and tips about how not to suck at presentations.
Most people suck at presenting to big groups. It's a shame because the ability to nail these presentations at key conferences can be once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to influence journalists, business partners, potential employees, customers and VCs.
This was ev (More info...)
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SpaceX Hits Another MilestoneHawthorne-based SpaceX, the commercial rocket firm run by Elon Musk, said this morning that it has hit another milestone on its Dragon Spacecraft. The firm said it has conducted a three-day long demonstration of cargo loading and unloading procedures for NASA, one of the milestones needed to meet requirements for its NASA contract. NASA has contracted SpaceX to deliver cargo to the Internation Space Station, starting sometime this year. SpaceX gained the NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Se (More info...)
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