Monday, April 5, 2010V-Vehicle CEO Out, VCs Take ChargeSan Diego-based V-Vehicle Corp., the stealthy alternative energy automotive firm backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers and T. Boone Pickens, appears to be undergoing a shakeup after the firm's rejection by the Federal government for $321.1M in federal loans. According to Louisiana publication The News Star, V-Vehicle Co. CEO Frank Varasano has been ousted and replaced by KPCB's Ray Lane, the firm has cancelled a lease on the Louisiana automotive plant it intended to refurbish and use as p (More info...)
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Q1 Southern California Venture Deals Rise To Around $1.4BA quick analysis of venture capital deals in Q1, tracked by socalTECH, finds that there was around $1.4 billion in venture activity here in Q1, up significantly from around $997M tallied in Q4. The information--gleaned from funding announcements, regulatory filings, and other sources--are also up significantly from Q1 of last year, when only $729.89M was invested in the region. Biopharmaceuticals continues to drive the investment totals in Southern California, with $222M in investments; followed (More info...)
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MySpace Creates Custom iPad PageAmong the many companies launching iPad-focused applications and content over the weekend, Los Angeles-based social networking site MySpace said that it is now presenting a custom, home page for people visiting the site through the Apple iPad browser. According to MySpace Co-President Michael Jones, the custom iPad site features customized content for the iPad, including 1080p HD trailers, and will be updated weekly. MySpace said it is in the midst of translating the site into HTML5, to provide (More info...)
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Accelrys, Symyx In MergerSan Diego-based Accelerys and Santa Clara-based Symyx announced this morning that the two are in a all-stock merger to create a new, scientific information software firm. The firms said that Symyx shareholders will receive 0.7802 shares of Accelerys common stock for each share of Symyx, creating a firm with a market capitalization of $335M and around $150M in cash. The combined firm will be headquartered in San Diego.
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By the Numbers: The Returns from Southern California IT IPO's 1995-2009 On March 10, socaltech.com profiled a study of the financial outcomes of 700+ southern California IT startups from 1995-2009 completed by Jon Funk of OceanRoad Partners and others. This Insights and Opinions column by Jon is the first in an occasional series delving deeper into the data.
One of the numbers most interesting to venture capital firms, their investors and other observers is how successful Initial Public Offerings are for venture capital firms and others which invest prior to (More info...)
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GoToMeeting Hits iPadAmong a slew of Apple iPad application launches over the weekend, Santa Barbara-based Citrix Online said it has released a version of its GoToMeeting App for the iPad. Citrix said its online conferencing software allows iPad users to view online presentations on the iPad display, connect to conference audio from the iPad via VoIP, and supports both portrait and landscape views. The new app is free for iPad users.
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Rubicon Hires Two ExecsLos Angeles-based Rubicon Project is expanding its executive team today, saying that it has hired Ben Trenda as VP of U.S. Demand, and Eric Matza as Director of Product Marketing. Trenda was most recently VP Global Partnerships at AOL, and also served at Advertising.com, Yahoo, Overture and GoTo, among other firms. Matza was most recently VP of Product Management at Experian, and also has served at Yahoo, Q Interactive/CoolSavings, and AdForce. Rubicon develops online advertising optimization s (More info...)
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CareFusion Acquires Medegen For $225MSan Diego-based CareFusion, a firm that develops a wide range of medical devices, said today that it is paying $225M in cash for Ontario, California-based Medegen. Medegen develops needleless access valves and disposable IV sets that are used to deliver intravenous medication to patients. According to CareFusion, the acquisition will add to the firm's existing infection prevention portfolio.
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DivX Inks Partnership With SharpSan Diego-based DivX, which develops video encoding and decoding technology, announced today that it has inked a new partnership with Sharp. DivX said that Sharp will support its HP 1080p video format on its AQUOS LE820 TV line. Financial terms of the license were not disclosed. The LE820 line is being shipped in Europe, and the inclusion of DivX is being used to power play of videos on the TV's USB slot.
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iRise Updates Visualization AppEl Segundo-based iRise, a developer of enterprise visualization software, said today that it has released an updated version of the firm's flagship title. The firm said that iRise 8 adds such features as application programming interfaces (APIs), support for drag-and-drop applications, and better enterprise administration. The firm's software is used by companies to prototype enterprise applications without requiring software coding. iRise is backed by Morgan Stanley Venture Partners and Deutsch (More info...)
posted on Monday, April 5, 2010(Full story)