Monday, March 15, 2010


Demand Media Snags Yahoo Exec
Los Angeles-based Demand Media, the online media venture of Richard Rosenblatt, announced Monday afternoon that it has hired on Joanne Bradford, most recently Yahoo's SVP of U.S. Revenue and Market Development, as its Chief Revenue Officer. According to Demand, Bradford will oversee brand advertisers on the firm's top 20 owned and operated web sites. Bradford reports to Rosenblatt. Bradford had also served at Spot Runner and Microsoft.
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SAIL Venture Partners Ups Commitments To $80.65M
Costa Mesa-based SAIL Venture Partners, a venture capital firm focused on clean technology, has upped its commitments in Sail Venture Partners II from limited partners to $80.65M, according to a regulatory filing from the firm today. The filing indicates the venture firm is in the midst of raising a $250M investment fund. SAIL is among one of the more active clean technology venture firms. The firm is managed by Thomas Cain, F. Henry Habicht II, David Jones, Walter Schindler, Alan Sellers, and M (More info...)
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Magento Raises $22.5M
Los Angeles-based Magento Commerce, a developer of open source, e-commerce software tools, has raised $22.5M in an equity funding round, according to a regulatory filing by the firm today. Source of the new funding was not disclosed. Magento (which lists its corporate name as Varien) is headed by Roy Rubin.
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DocStoc Adds Branded Viewer
Santa Monica-based DocStoc, the online professional document sharing site run by Jason Nazar, today said it has launched a customized document viewer. The new viewer allows any web site or user to create their own custom logo, button, and link on document views. In addition to the new branding, the viewer also allows publishers to share in advertising revenue.
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iStoryTime In License With DreamWorks
Los Angeles-based iStoryTime, a publisher of interactive children's books for the iPhone and iPad touch, announced today that it has entered into a digital publishing license with DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc.. Financial details of the license deal were not disclosed. iStoryTime said it has been granted the rights to publish online children's books based on How to Train Your Dragon, Shrek Forever After, Megamind and The Penguins of Madagascar. iStoryTime sells its books on the App Store for bet (More info...)
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United Online's Classmates.com To Pay $9.5M In Settlement
Online social networking site Classmates.com, which is a unit of Woodland Hills-based United Online, has agreed to pay $9.5M in a legal settlement over the firm's use of promotional emails implying that former classmates were looking to contact free members. According to the class action settlement, Classmates.com will pay $3 in cash for every Classmates.com member who upgraded to "gold" membership after one of those promotional emails. News of the settlement was first uncovered by TechFlash.
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Fandango Rolls Out Mobile Ticketing Product
Los Angeles-based Fandango, which operates an online movie ticketing service, announced today that it has rolled out a mobile phone ticketing option. The firm, which is a unit of Comcast Interactive, said its mobile ticket program allows users to use their mobile phones to get into movies. The offering works through a paperless, scannable barcode shown on a mobile phone's display. The firm said the new offering will be available in eight markets, starting in New York, New Jersey, Houston, Dallas (More info...)
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CFX Battery Becomes Contour Energy, Out Of Stealth
Azusa-based CFX Battery, the stealthy Caltech battery spinoff, said today that it has renamed itself Contour Energy, and emerged out of stealth mode. Contour Energy said it is developing advancements in fluorine-based battery chemistries, nanomaterials science, and manufacturing processes, and is targeted at portable power products. The firm--fresh off $14.2M in funding from CMEA Capital, Harris & Harris, Schlumberger and US Venture Partners--said it is targeting the transportation, government a (More info...)
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Fallbrook Taps Chinese Manufacturer
San Diego-based Fallbrook Technologies, a developer of continuous variable planetary transmissions being applied to the electric vehicle and other markets, is tapping a Chinese manufacturer for its products, the company said today. Fallbrook said it is using Tri-Star Group to manufacturer its Nuvici continuously variable planetary (CVP) transmission, beginning in Q2 2010. Business arrangements behind the manufacturing agreement were not announced. Tri-Star Group is a unit of Dutech Holdings Limi (More info...)
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SpaceX Signs Satellite Launch Deal With Space Systems/Loral
Hawthorne-based Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), the commercial rocket firm headed by Elon Musk, announced today that it has inked an agreement with Space Systems/Loral to launch a satellite for the firm. SpaceX said that the deal calls for launch of a manufactured satellite aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 as early as 2012. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. SpaceX said the contract covers the launch of its Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral, to insert the satellite into geosynchronous (More info...)
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Guidance Software Snags Marketing VP From Websense
Pasadena-based Guidance Software, a developer of forensics software for digital investigations of computers, said today that it has hired Leo J. Cole as the firm's Vice President of Marketing. Cole was most recently VP of Marketing for Websense, and also served for over 25 years at IBM. Guidance develops software used by government, corporate, and law enforcement customers to examine computers for e-discovery and other investigations.
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Nexiant Adds Board Member
Lake Forest-based Nexiant, a developer of materials management software tools, announced this morning that it has named Michael Aghajanian to its board. Aghajanian was most recently CEO of supply chain firm PRTM, and also was founder of The Performance Measurement Group. Nexiant said that Aghajanian has over 25 years of experience in the field. Nexiant's software-as-a-service is used to control, management, and optimize industrial supply chains. The firm is backed by Argentum Group, Forrest Bink (More info...)
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