Wednesday, May 12, 2010


AeroVironment Gets $11.2M Contract
Monrovia-based AeroVironment, which manufactures unmanned aircraft systems, said Wednesday that it has received an $11.2M order from the U.S. Army for its Raven small unmanned aircraft systems. According to Aerovironment, the order covers 63 of its Raven, and will be used by the Army, Marine Corps, Special Operations Command and other U.S. military services. Aerovironment's Raven is a 4.2-pound hand-launched UAV used for reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition. The latest order foll (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, May 12, 2010(Full story)

Sequenom Gets $51.6M In PIPE
San Diego-based Sequenom, a developer of genetic analysis technology, said Wednesday that it has raised $51.6M in a private placement, from undisclosed investors. According to the firm, the new funding will go to advance research, development and commercialization of various diagnostic tests, plus general corporate purposes. The firm's placement agents were Jeffries & Company and Lazard Capital Markets LLC. Sequenom said the investors paid $4.15 per share for 12.435M shares of its common stock.
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Insights and Opinions: Equity is the currency of early stage businesses
For our Insights and Opinions section this afternoon, we have an article from angel investor Dave Berkus, who is past chairman of the Tech Coast Angels, which talks about the structure of equity in an early stage business. Equity is the currency of early stage businesses. The truth of this statement may be obvious, but the execution of a good incentive program using equity is often mismanaged, damaging the corporate capitalization structure and even affecting the outcome of subsequent inves (More info...)
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SciVee Adds Elsevier Health Sciences Journal
San Diego-based Scivee, which develops software for hosting scientific videos on the web, said today that it has added The American Journal of Preventive Medicine (AJPM), published by Elsevier, as a customer. Scivee said that Elsevier has signed an agreement to deploy the firm's products and services, which enable posting of videos which synchronize with scientific abstracts and articles. Financial impact of the win was not disclosed. SciVee is headed by Marc Friedmann, and is a result of techno (More info...)
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ZAM Media Buys Tankspot
Los Angeles-based ZAM, a firm which operates an online community of Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) gamers, said Tuesday afternoon that it has acquired Tankspot, an online site focused on World of Warcraft videos. Financial terms of the buy were not disclosed. ZAM, which is backed by Goldman Sachs and Oak Investment Partners, said that Tankspot gets over 4 million video views a month. ZAM said that Tankspot founder Patrick O'Callahan joins the company as a part of the acquisition, and will co (More info...)
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FoodLink Online Names CEO
Torrance-based Foodlink Online, a provider of supply chain software for the perishable food market, said this week that it has named Eric Peters as the firm's new CEO. Peters replaces Vijay Yajnik, who remains as Chairman of the Board. Peters previously served at Acosta TrueDemand as President, and also served at TrueDemand Software, where he was a co-founder before its acquisition by Acosta. Foodlink develops a web-based procurement platform for the perishable food market. The firm is venture b (More info...)
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Boingo In Wi-Fi Bundle With Samsung
Los Angeles-based Boingo Wireless, which operates a global network of wireless hotspots, said today that it has inked a deal with Samsung, where Samsung will bundle Boingo's Wi-Fi services with its Wi-Fi enabled digital cameras. The firm said the deal will initially roll out with Samsung's new ST5500/CL0 digita camera, which allows users to instantly share their photos via Wi-Fi to sites such as Facebook and YouTube. Boingo said the cameras will include three months of complimentary Boingo Wi-Fi (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, May 12, 2010(Full story)

Sidebar Teams With Indiagames
Santa Monica-based Sidebar, a developer of mobile content recommendation software, has tied with Indian mobile and online games firm Indiagames Ltd., the two said today. According to the two, they are in a strategic relationship where Indiagames will use Sidebar's Smart Menu products to deliver personalized recommendations for its mobile users. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Sidebar Games is venture backed by Mobile Media Ventures.
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Mindflash Hires Mint.com Vet, Launches Private Beta
Santa Barbara-based Mindflash.com, a provider of online training software for small businesses, said today that it has named Donna Wells as its new President and CEO. Wells was most recently CMO of Mint.com. The firm--which offers self-driven, online employee training courses--also said that it has launched into private beta. Mindflash said it has received funding from Investment Group of Santa Barbara (IGSB), although it did not disclose financial terms of that funding. Wells was CMO at Mint.co (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, May 12, 2010(Full story)

Citysearch Updates Mobile Apps
West Hollywood-based Citysearch, the online local business guide site owned by IAC, said Tuesday afternoon that it has updated all of its mobile applications. The firm said it has updated its apps for Android, iPhone, and Blackberry, including a complete rewrite of its Android application. All of the mobile applications are free.
posted on Wednesday, May 12, 2010(Full story)