Wednesday, June 30, 2010Move Networks Confirms It Is Looking For A Buyer, Lays Off StaffIrvine-based Move Networks, the streaming video technology firm, confirmed Wednesday evening that it is looking for "strategic alternatives", including a possible sale of the firm. The firm released a statement after widespread rumors of its demise. According to Move, President and CEO Roxanne Austin has stepped down from her position, and Marcus Liassides, Executive Vice President of Sales and Business Development, will be promoted to President. The firm also said--in order to conserve cash--it (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, June 30, 2010(Full story)
Fisker Eyeing IPO, Says ReportIrvine-based electric automobile firm Fisker Automotive is eyeing a possible IPO, now that competitor Tesla Motors, the electric auto firm headed by Elon Musk, has been so warmly received in the public markets, according to a report from The News Journal, a Wilmington, Delaware newspaper. Quoting Ray Lane, the managing partner of Fisker investor Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the paper said that Fisker is planning to hit the public market once "the Karma is on the road and we have visibility (More info...)
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Vitesse Completes Reverse Stock SplitCamarillo-based high speed networking semiconductor firm Vitesse reported Wednesday afternoon that it has completed a 1-for-20 reverse stock split. The firm said it would start trading tomorrow on the split-adjusted basis. The firm had said in January of this year that it was pursuing a reverse split, in an effort to regain listing on the NASDAQ. Vitesse has been relegated to the Pink Sheets (VTSS.PK) after being delisted back in June 2006 due to a major issue with stock options backdating and r (More info...)
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Report: Move Networks Shuts Down, Seeking SaleStreaming video technology firm Move Networks--which apparently moved to Irvine sometime over the last year from Utah after a management shakeout--is reportedly shutting down, and by some reports is now looking for a buyer. The firm, which was started by Novell founder Drew Major, had been backed by Benchmark Capital, Cisco Corp., Comcast Interactive Capital, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, Microsoft Corp., and Steamboat Ventures. The firm had been providing streaming HD video to a number of ma (More info...)
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NeighborGoods Expands Beyond LALos Angeles-based startup NeighborGoods.net, an online site which allows users to lend out their "stuff" to others, said Wednesday that the firm has expanded its site nationally. The firm, which was founded and is headed by Micki Krimmel, said it is looking to help members safely borrow things like lawnmowers and bicycles, rent out their DVD collection or other things they are not using. The site has been live since October of 2009. Krimmel was the former Director of Community at Revver.com.
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TargeGen Acquired By Sanofi-aventisSan Diego-based TargeGen, a firm developing small molecule kinase inhibitors for the treatment of myelofibrosis (MF) and polycythemia vera (PV), has been acquired by Sanofi-aventis, in a deal worth as much as $560M, the firm said Wednesday. According to TargeGen, the deal's purchase price depends on the achievement of certain future milestones events. TargeGen's products are also potentially useful in treating certain forms of leukemia, lymphoma, other hematological malignancies and blood disor (More info...)
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Baroda Ventures Funds FabulisBeverly Hills-based Baroda Ventures, the venture capital firm of GeoCities founder David Bohnett, has invested in gay social networking site Fabulis. Baroda Ventures Partner Peter Lee confirmed the investment in the New York company, which was worth $250,000. The deal was first reported by VentureBeat. Bohnett is well known for his activism in the gay and lesbian community, and through the The David Bohnett Foundation, has funded computer centers focused on the LGBT community. The investment in (More info...)
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Catchpoint: Amazon Down For 3 HoursLos Angeles-based Catchpoint, a new web monitoring service headed by former DoubleClick executive Mehdi Daoudi, reports that yesterday's downtime of e-commerce site Amazon.com lasted for three hours. The firm--which provides uptime monitoring and testing of web and e-commerce sites--said its service detected anomalies at the Amazon site starting at 3 PM EST, lasting until 8 PM EST, with high response time and availability between 5 PM EST and 8 PM EST. Amazon has yet to release any details on wh (More info...)
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Image Metrics Buys Avatar Technology FirmSanta Monica-based Image Metrics, a publicly held developer of facial animation technology for the entertainment industry, said today that it has acquired Character-FX, a firm which develops avatar creation technology. Financial terms of the buy were not disclosed. Character-FX was created by John Riggs, a 3D animator, for facial rigging in Autodesk Maya and 3ds Max. As part of the acquisition, Image Metrics said it will integrate the technology into its animation software, and has also hired Ri (More info...)
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Total Immersion, Olympus Tie On Augmented Reality AppLos Angeles-based Total Immersion, the firm working on augmented reality technology, said today that it has inked a deal with digital camera manufacturer Olympus and its advertising agency Mullen, to developed an augmented reality application for the Olympus PEN E-PL1 micro camera. According to Total Immersion, it has created a new augmented reality app which allows users to use a "virtual" 3D model version of the Olympus camera. The app will be triggered by a life-size, printed replica of the c (More info...)
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Starbucks Set To Launch Free Wi-FiIn what can only be good news for many a high tech professional, coffee chain Starbucks said today that it will turn on free Wi-Fi in its stores July 1st, at all of its U.S. and Canadian company-owned stores. Starbucks said that it will give Wi-Fi enabled laptops, tablets, and mobile phones with unlimited access to the Web. Starbucks said the simplified Wi-Fi offering eliminates the prior, two-hour limit and requirement that users be a member of its My Starbucks Rewards program. The new program (More info...)
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Interview with Tom Grasty, StroomeLast week, Los Angeles-based Stroome (www.stroome.com), a new startup originally spawned out of a project at the USC Annenberg School of Communications, won $200,000 in the 2010 Knight News Challenge. The Knight News Challenge is a contest which highlights digital news experiments and technology, and is closely watched by those in the news industry. Interested to hear more about how the company came about--and why it has been getting some attention for its efforts--we spoke with Tom Grasty, co-f (More info...)
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Abraxis BioScience Acquired For $2.9 BillionLos Angeles-based Abraxis BioScience, a developer of cancer treatments, is being acquired by Celegene Corporation in a deal worth $2.9 billion. According to Celegene, it will pay $58.00 in cash and 0.2617 shares of its common stock for Abraxis, in addition to payments tied to future regulatory milestones and commercial royalties. Celegene said the acquisition will accelerate its strategy to become a global leader in oncology. Celegene said it expects the acquisition to add approximately $1 billi (More info...)
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